Op-ed, Transparency and Accountability

One Mistake, One Attempt: Why Mobile Money Needs a Better Way Back

When a wrong transfer becomes a dead end, convenience alone isn't enough.

Husnah Mad-hy

October 21, 2026

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I love my mobile-money app.

I love being able to pay by Lipa Namba and QR code, send money to family or friends, buy internet bundles, and pay for government services in one place. It makes daily life easier.

But, boy oh boy, telecommunications companies can be frustrating.

What do you mean the app simply stops working for a day or two and I cannot access my own money? I have heard the same complaint from others, with no clear message about what has happened, when it will be fixed or what we are supposed to do in the meantime.

So I delete the app, pray that I can download it again and hope it works. That is, if it even appears in the App Store — how does an entire app disappear for days?

Then I have to consider getting another service provider, just in case the one I chose fails me for days. How am I meant to go about my day if I have no cash and I was relying on my app?

Money in limbo

The most annoying thing is when you make a mistake: you send money to the wrong person in a rush and forget to check the name. I should know better, but it happens.

Just the other day, I accidentally sent a sizable amount to the wrong number. Within 30 seconds, I called Mixx by Yas; the agent answered quickly and said they would try to stop and reverse the transaction.

Almost instantly, I received a message confirming that the process had begun. Ten seconds later, it was denied: I would not be getting my money back.

I asked why. I was told there could be several reasons: perhaps the recipient did not have enough money in their account, perhaps it was an issue involving another network, perhaps the system could not do more.

I called the number. It was off.

Later, I learned that the recipient’s account had an outstanding balance. In an increasingly ridiculous attempt to recover my own money, I sent more money to clear it, hoping that would allow the original transaction to be reversed.

It did not. When I called again, the agents told me that they could send the muamala — the reversal request — only once.

Once.

Mixx by Yas says its self-care service allows a reversal request within 12 hours, but says it is not liable when an unintended recipient has already used the funds.

That may explain some limits, but not why a failed first attempt had to end the matter. Its terms allow an unresolved case to be escalated to management and then to the Bank of Tanzania or TCRA; the Bank’s regulations require a consumer-redress plan and a clear referral route.

A better way back

I found myself saying: I understand the explanation. But how does a company this big, which we rely on so much, not have a better solution for mistakes beyond one attempt to correct them?

And I got frustrated with the agents, who are not the engineers, the thinkers or the owners behind these companies. They are not the people designing the system.

But surely someone should be thinking harder about customers and their money.

Maybe there could be a brief window to cancel a transaction when someone immediately realises their mistake. Maybe there could be a way to protect customers when a recipient’s outstanding balance complicates a reversal, without disclosing that person’s financial information; or a way to review a failed reversal more than once.

I do not know exactly how these systems work behind the scenes. But people are going to make mistakes, and there must be better ways to deal with them.

The stakes are not small. The Bank of Tanzania says mobile payments reached 7.96 billion transactions worth Sh255.13 trillion in 2025.

We use it for food, electricity, transport, government services and money for family. Mixx’s terms list transfers, merchant payments, bills, government payments and airtime.

And I love that convenience.

But if we are going to rely on these services for practically everything, should we not be able to rely on the companies behind them to protect our money and help us when something goes wrong?

Maybe it is just me, but Mixx by Yas, I think you can do better!

Husnah Mad-hy is a lawyer and writer based in Tanzania. She can be reached at husnahmadhy@gmail.com. The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Chanzo. If you are interested in publishing in this space, please contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com.