USSD giving: how *710*13414# reaches the members no app can

The digital divide in Kenyan churches

Kenya’s smartphone penetration is growing fast, but it is not universal. In many congregations — especially in rural areas, smaller towns, and among older members — feature phones are still common. These members can send and receive M-Pesa, but they cannot download an app or browse a website.

USSD bridges this gap. By dialling *710*13414# from any phone, a member enters a simple menu-driven flow: choose a church, select a department, enter an amount, and confirm with their M-Pesa PIN. No data, no app, no smartphone.

What a member can do on USSD

Behind the scenes

USSD sessions are backed by Redis with a 10-minute TTL. Each session is rate-limited (10 requests per minute per phone number) to prevent abuse. Invalid input retries the current step without losing session state — a typo does not reset the flow.

Kwa wanachama walio mashambani, hii ndio njia pekee ya kuchangia kimtandao. USSD imewafanya wawe sehemu ya mfumo wa kanisa, si watazamaji tu.