NHIF Confirms Delays In Payments Via ECitizen Single Pay Bill Number, Causes

• The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) migrated its services to the government's eCitizen platform in December 2023
• The integration has seen Kenyans make payments for NHIF contributions via the single pay bill number 222222
• However, there have been concerns about delays in payment confirmation response, taking more than a week or no reply at all
• NHIF ICT officer Martin Ayoo explained that the delays do not affect everyone, sharing the possible causes

TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia brings over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

Delays in NHIF payment confirmation via the eCitizen platform are two-fold.

National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHF) ICT officer Martin Ayoo confirmed receiving several complaints from Kenyans making payments via the government's single pay bill number 222222.

Is everyone experiencing delays in eCitizen payment?

In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, Ayoo explained that these challenges are 'on-case basis' and do not affect everyone.

"We have received complaints from members of the public concerning payments via the pay bill number 222222. We looked into the issues, and we noticed the challenge is two-fold."

"Not all Kenyans are having challenges with the direct pay bill option. It is not completely grounded... even right now you can pay KSh 5 and it will go through," said Ayoo.

Ayoo highlighted that the delays occur from both sides of the divide - from the members of the public and the eCitizen platform.

How NHIF members cause payment confirmation delays?

He noted that for members of the public, delays in confirmation occur when;

• They are not using the prefix NHIFM for normal contribution or NHIFP for penalty and ID number. eg NHIFM-11223344 or HIFP-11223344
• There is an instance where members of the public are using member numbers instead of ID numbers.
• Some members of the public are using the ID number provided in the example as their ID to make payments

"...if check that account, the person has a lot of money contributed up to 2036. We did not know that it was tied to someone else when we were setting up the example," he said.

• Members of the public are paying beyond the threshold, and then they request for refund.

What NHIF is doing to solve the challenge

"To curb this, we have enabled other channels of payment, which at the backend is still going to eCitizen. We have the NHIF self-care portal found on the website. The same applies to the NHIF mobile app."

The ICT manager noted that the eCitizen team is currently designing a USSD code for NHIF payments to supplement the 222222 pay bill, which will have all validation checks.

He urged Kenyans to utilise the alternative channels available to avoid challenges related to the direct pay bill.

"The problem with the single pay bill, it is used across all MDAs, making it difficult to set some validation controls.

"We urge members of the public to utilise these channels other than the direct single pay bill. For most Kenyans using that are not experiencing any challenges," he continued.

He also assured NHIF members of their funds' safety, adding that the services will be improved as they get full integration into the system.

How eCitizen contribute to NHIF payment delays

Ayoo explained that the delays resulting from the eCitizen side date back to when Safaricom and eCitizen experienced a major hitch.

"...when they were onboarding us. That has since been resolved, however, it is not as rampant as before," Ayoo noted

NHIF onboarded its services to eCitizen in December 2023, after the government summoned the entity together with 16 others to use the single pay bill number.

The eCitizen is working on a platform that will enable NHIF to see the transactions that do not go through due to the technical hitch and push them forward.

Who is handling reversals for NHIF payments via eCitizen?

On the reversal issue, the technician revealed that NHIF is in talks with the National Treasury to develop a mechanism that can facilitate that.

"So far the reversal issues that have been raised are being handled by the eCitizen and the National Treasury. If we leave it that way, it is the NHIF members who will suffer," he said.

He said the integration into the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will have the process, but what will be different is the amount that will be accommodated.

Kenyan lady raises concerns after paying NHIF via eCitizen

This followed concerns raised by some Kenyans using the service over delays in payment confirmation response.

A Kenyan woman complained of having paid KSh 6,000 more than a week ago without a response.

The lady said she paid KSh 6,000 via the pay bill a week ago, and nothing has been forthcoming despite her visiting the NHIF offices.