Onfon Mobile’s General Manager has moved to clarify the technical circumstances that led to a service disruption for a section of their “Lipa Mos Mos” device financing clients.
The disruption, which occurred recently, left several PAYGO (Pay-As-You-Go) customers unable to access their smartphones, sparking concerns among users who depend on the devices for their daily business operations and communication.
Addressing the issue from the company’s headquarters, the GM explained that the “lockouts” were not due to non-payment by customers, but rather a significant hitch in the payment synchronization software.
The Lipa Mos Mos service operates on a PAYGO model where devices are automatically locked if a daily or weekly installment is missed. According to the GM, a technical error occurred between the mobile money payment gateway and the device management system.
“We experienced a lag where payments made by customers were not being reflected in our management system in real-time. Consequently, the automated security protocol triggered a ‘lock’ command on active devices, erroneously flagging them as overdue,” the GM stated.
In a move to restore customer goodwill and provide a buffer for the technical teams, Onfon Mobile announced a 48-hour payment waiver for all affected clients.
This waiver serves two critical purposes:
- Immediate Access: It ensures that all locked devices are opened immediately, regardless of the current system-side payment status.
- System Synchronization: It provides the technical team with a window to manually verify and sync thousands of delayed transactions without the risk of the system “re-locking” devices mid-process.
The “Lipa Mos Mos” program is a popular smartphone financing plan designed to increase digital inclusion by allowing Kenyans to pay for devices in small, manageable installments.
For the affected clients—many of whom are small-scale traders—the hitch was more than a minor inconvenience. Dozens of customers voiced their frustrations after being locked out of their devices despite having valid payment receipts.
The GM assured the public that the technical team has since rectified the software bug.
- System Recovery: The majority of affected devices have already been restored to full functionality.
- Manual Overrides: For clients still experiencing issues, Onfon has deployed a dedicated support team to handle manual overrides.
- Apology to Clients: The GM offered a sincere apology to the affected traders, acknowledging the disruption to their livelihoods and promising more robust system fail-safes in the future.
Onfon Mobile has pledged to improve its customer support response times and is auditing its payment scripts to ensure this “false-positive” locking mechanism does not recur. Customers who are still facing challenges after the 48-hour window are encouraged to visit the nearest Onfon dealer or contact their support desk directly.
