Payless Africa locks customers out of the platform with millions of shillings trapped in digital wallets, leaving thousands of users unable to withdraw or transfer funds since Tuesday morning. The popular buy-now-pay-later service abruptly restricted access to user accounts around 8 a.m., displaying only a generic message that reads “System maintenance in progress – service will resume shortly.”
Four days later, the notice remains unchanged, customer care lines ring unanswered, and the official WhatsApp business number has been switched off, sparking panic across social media platforms with people wondering if they will be able to withdraw their money.
Users report wallet balances ranging from a few thousand shillings to over KSh 400,000, money mostly earned through the company’s cashback and referral programme.
The company, registered as Payless Africa Limited, exploded in popularity in 2024 by allowing users to purchase airtime, electronics, and household goods on credit repayable in weekly instalments. It further attracted deposits through an aggressive affiliate scheme promising 15 per cent monthly returns on money left in the wallet.
Central Bank of Kenya data shows the platform had onboarded over 680,000 active users by September 2025, with an estimated KSh 2.1 billion circulating in customer wallets at the time of the sudden shutdown.
Former employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, allege the platform adopted a pyramid-like structure in recent months, using new wallet deposits to pay cashback and referral bonuses while struggling to settle supplier debts.
One ex-marketer claimed senior managers cleared out offices on Monday night and moved computers to unknown locations. Suppliers of smartphones and televisions say that Payless owes them a combined KSh 640 million in unpaid invoices, some dating back to July.
The money service platform that rivalled Safaricom is under intense pressure to refund people’s money. Leaders of the affected users have formed a Telegram group with over 28,000 members and want to file a class-action suit seeking immediate release of trapped funds and compensation for financial losses. “This is daylight robbery dressed in an app,” a lawyer said during a press conference at his Upper Hill offices.
As of Friday evening, the Payless Africa app is in the Google Play Store and Huawei AppGallery despite the perceived fraud reports. The company’s Instagram and Facebook pages have been inactive, leaving only the frozen website with its unchanging maintenance message.
For thousands of Kenyans staring at empty Christmas budgets and unpaid school fees, the sudden collapse of Payless Africa has turned from inconvenience to financial nightmare. Authorities now race against time to trace directors rumoured to have fled to Dubai, while locked-out customers wait for answers that may never come.