Public WiFi is not encrypted. Anyone on the same network can see your transactions. A VPN protects your connection end-to-end.
See top VPNs →Mobile banking is the backbone of financial life in Africa — M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Wave, Orange Money, GTBank, Access Bank. Most people access these services from their phones, often on public WiFi at a café, university or bus park. Public WiFi networks are not encrypted. Anyone on the same network can intercept your session data — login credentials, transaction details, account numbers.
A VPN encrypts your connection end-to-end before it leaves your phone. Even on an open public WiFi network, your data is protected. The person sitting next to you at the café cannot see your M-Pesa PIN or your bank transaction. This applies to every banking app you use — whether it is Zenith, Equity, KCB, Co-op or any mobile money service.
Cafés, universities, co-working spaces, airports, shopping malls — anywhere public WiFi is available. In African cities like Lagos, Nairobi, Abidjan and Dakar, these networks are everywhere and often unprotected.