diff --git a/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/phone_number.py b/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/phone_number.py
index 2c476fa0..34bd3655 100644
--- a/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/phone_number.py
+++ b/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/phone_number.py
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ import phonenumbers
 from cic_ussd.db.models.account import Account
 
 
+class E164Format:
+    region = None
+
+
 def process_phone_number(phone_number: str, region: str):
     """This function parses any phone number for the provided region
     :param phone_number: A string with a phone number.
diff --git a/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/runnable/daemons/cic_user_ussd_server.py b/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/runnable/daemons/cic_user_ussd_server.py
index 6aad181f..171951ef 100644
--- a/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/runnable/daemons/cic_user_ussd_server.py
+++ b/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/runnable/daemons/cic_user_ussd_server.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from cic_ussd.metadata.base import Metadata
 from cic_ussd.operations import (define_response_with_content,
                                  process_menu_interaction_requests,
                                  define_multilingual_responses)
-from cic_ussd.phone_number import process_phone_number, Support
+from cic_ussd.phone_number import process_phone_number, Support, E164Format
 from cic_ussd.processor import get_default_token_data
 from cic_ussd.redis import cache_data, create_cached_data_key, InMemoryStore
 from cic_ussd.requests import (get_request_endpoint,
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ else:
 
 valid_service_codes = config.get('APP_SERVICE_CODE').split(",")
 
+E164Format.region = config.get('PHONE_NUMBER_REGION')
 Support.phone_number = config.get('APP_SUPPORT_PHONE_NUMBER')
 
 
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ def application(env, start_response):
 
         # add validation for phone number
         if phone_number:
-            phone_number = process_phone_number(phone_number=phone_number, region=config.get('PHONE_NUMBER_REGION'))
+            phone_number = process_phone_number(phone_number=phone_number, region=E164Format.region)
 
         # validate ip address
         if not check_ip(config=config, env=env):
diff --git a/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/state_machine/logic/transaction.py b/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/state_machine/logic/transaction.py
index 84c866ee..b8894103 100644
--- a/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/state_machine/logic/transaction.py
+++ b/apps/cic-ussd/cic_ussd/state_machine/logic/transaction.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from cic_ussd.balance import BalanceManager, compute_operational_balance
 from cic_ussd.chain import Chain
 from cic_ussd.db.models.account import AccountStatus, Account
 from cic_ussd.operations import save_to_in_memory_ussd_session_data
-from cic_ussd.phone_number import get_user_by_phone_number, process_phone_number
+from cic_ussd.phone_number import get_user_by_phone_number, process_phone_number, E164Format
 from cic_ussd.processor import retrieve_token_symbol
 from cic_ussd.redis import create_cached_data_key, get_cached_data
 from cic_ussd.transactions import OutgoingTransactionProcessor
@@ -29,8 +29,9 @@ def is_valid_recipient(state_machine_data: Tuple[str, dict, Account]) -> bool:
     :rtype: bool
     """
     user_input, ussd_session, user = state_machine_data
+    phone_number = process_phone_number(user_input, E164Format.region)
     recipient = get_user_by_phone_number(phone_number=user_input)
-    is_not_initiator = process_phone_number(user_input, 'KE') != user.phone_number
+    is_not_initiator = phone_number != user.phone_number
     has_active_account_status = user.get_account_status() == AccountStatus.ACTIVE.name
     return is_not_initiator and has_active_account_status and recipient is not None