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Paybill/Till Number Application Process

PAYBILL/TILL APPLICATION PROCESS

Before we go through the hectic application process, let's answer the question: Which one should you choose? Paybill or till?

A short answer, it depends.

If you intend to integrate online Mpesa payments into your system, paybill and till (BuyGoods) application requirements are almost similar. So the choice of whether to apply for a paybill or till all depends on how you intend to use it.

If your website requires only and only system online payments i.e. via STK push, then you can go for till. But if at a certain point you will need to track offline payments, then a paybill is the ideal choice since it provides the account number option that can act as a unique identifier for your transaction especially with the hashed numbers on the mpesa callbacks.

Not to limit yourself from the scalability of your application, always go for a paybill since it has all capabilities a till has plus an added advantage.

Requirements

All letters and forms should be stamped.

The bank letter should be signed or stamped.

Note:

Individual till and bank paybills cannot be used for Mpesa integrations. To integrate Mpesa online payments with a bank paybill or personal till, you can use a service like Lipia-online.

How to Apply

  1. After gathering all the required documents, scan them as one document.
  2. You can send your application through MPESA BUSINESS PORTAL (opens in a new tab) or Write an email to M-PESABusiness@safaricom.co.ke, CC: paybill@safaricom.co.ke, requesting the application of a till/paybill.
    • Note: Provide contact info in the email body.

If all the requirements are met, your application should be processed within 72 hours. If you don't receive any communication in the first 24 hours, recheck your documents and reapply.

What to Expect

When the paybill/till is processed successfully, you will receive an SMS with the details of:

  • Business ShortCode (for paybills)
  • Till Number & Store Number (for buy goods till)

Sample SMS for Paybill

sample sms
Dear [Name], Paybill Account has been activated for [Business Name]. Paybill Number [ShortCode] Thank you.

The SMS just shows that the application is successful and your till/paybill is ready to receive funds.

For online integration, the SMS alone is not enough. You should receive an email with the admin details to allow you to go live on the Daraja portal.

Sample Email for Admin Account

admin creation email sample
Your M-PESA user account for 4075139 - [BUSINESS NAME] has been created. Your username is [this] and your password is [this].

In most cases, Mpesa agents assume that the application is just for normal use (for shops and physical businesses), thus the admin details are not created by default. For that, if you receive the SMS without the email, rewrite to the same emails now requesting admin account creation. Attach all the documents again, but this time, the admin letter should be the first page.

Once this is done and you receive the email, you are good to go.

IntroductionGetting Credentials