Mercy Buku

Mercy Buku, CAMS, LLB Hons (Nbi), LLM (London) ACIB (UK)

Mercy Buku is currently practising as a Legal and Risk Management Consultant in the Digital Financial Services Sector.

She was previously the Senior Manager, Money Laundering Reporting Office in Safaricom Limited (between December 2010 and February 2015), which is the leading mobile telephone network and mobile money service provider in Kenya and has also worked with a number of local banks in Kenya in Senior Compliance and Regulatory roles.

Mercy is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Commissioner for Oaths and Notary Public, and was admitted to the Kenyan Bar in December 1989.

Mercy has extensive experience as a trainer and consultant in Compliance and Anti-money Laundering in the Digital Payments and Banking Sector and has also consulted on various financial inclusion projects undertaken by international organizations such as CGAP ‎(Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) and the GSMA.

Mercy has made presentations on DFS Risk Management at various local and international AML Workshops and Conferences, and has also contributed articles on Mobile Money and Financial Integrity to the University of Washington Law Journal, the ACAMS Magazine and CGAP publications; among others.

By Mercy Buku

Blog

Innovation in Mobile Money: What Are the Risks?

As mobile money continues to evolve, new kinds of fraud are emerging. Here are some steps that providers and regulators can take to keep up.
Research

Fraud in Mobile Financial Services

Mobile financial services (MFS) have rapidly become a conduit for fraud and other criminal activity. Various fraud types have been noted in key MFS markets, including consumer-facing fraud from agents and third parties and fraud perpetrated against agents.
Blog

Safaricom Launches Feature to Stop Erroneous Transfers: Hakikisha

Safaricom recently launched an additional functionality “Hakikisha” on the M-Pesa Menu in Kenya, which will enable subscribers to confirm a recipient’s name before completing an M-Pesa transaction. Hakikisha has been under pilot for the last month.