Safaricom now allows online SIM card registration on deadline day

Safaricom customers no longer have to endure long queues to register their SIM cards to beat today’s deadline, after the leading telco finally rolled out online registration.

The company, which has 42.8 million mobile subscribers, now follows in the footsteps of its competitors Telkom Kenya and Airtel Kenya, which allow their customers to submit their details online for the registration that closes today.

The telco had insisted that all their customers needed to physically visit their outlets to submit their details afresh, leading to long queues at their shops as Kenyans rushed to beat the deadline set by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

“Please visit the nearest shop or agent to resubmit your details,” said the service provider in text messages to its customers.

CA Director-General Ezra Chiloba on Sunday clarified that subscribers who had already registered their SIM cards didn’t need to register their lines afresh and could confirm their validation statuses by dialling *106#.

The USSD code allows Kenyans to confirm phone numbers registered under their national identity cards.

But Safaricom customers were surprised when the company insisted they had to resubmit their details afresh despite the telecommunications regulator’s clarification.

The move to online registration will hasten the process, with the long queues at its outlets getting longer as only hours remain before the listing closes.

In the link provided by Safaricom, customers only need to input their mobile number, confirm the number(s) registered using their national ID number and upload photos of the front and back of their IDs before submitting for verification.

This is happening as a source at CA told the Nation yesterday that the regulator could extend the deadline for registering.

“Many people are yet to register, so we could see the deadline extended to allow them to register,” said the source.

Mr Chiloba last week said the SIM card registration directive followed an inspection of the listing carried out by the agency in 22 counties last year.

They noted that some cards were registered using other people’s IDs or other documents such as student and National Social Security Fund cards, he said.

In some instances, the cards were given out for free while others used fake ID numbers. Other cards were sold with no identification document presented and without verification.

To submit your details online for your Safaricom SIM card, use this link.