Safaricom has announced a new service that allows M-Pesa customers to access monthly statements free of charge via email.

The Nairobi Stock Exchange listed communications company revealed that the service is one of the enhancements made possible to the system following the relocation of the M-Pesa servers from Germany to Kenya, which took place in April last year.

Betty Mwangi, Director of Financial Services at Safaricom says there is a definite need for the service. "Every month an average of 30,000 customers' visit our Retail Centres specifically seeking to receive printed M-Pesa statements, as a prerequisite to accessing credit from financial institutions or for business reconciliation purposes,"

Mwangi also noted that on average a further 9,000 calls are made to the Customer Centre every month requesting for statements. She listed the new services as illustrative of the transformative power of placing more control at customer's disposal.

The launch follows the roll out of another value-added service the system called Hakikisha, which allows subscribers to confirm the recipient of their mobile money transfer before it is sent.

With the new statements service, M-Pesa customers will also have the option to proactively request for a statement, as well as set up automatic monthly statements every 5th day of the month in a move that is designed to enhance transparency and accountability for users of the service.