Safaricom and PesaPal have partnered to introduce new payment experiences aimed at making everyday transactions faster, simpler and more convenient for businesses and customers across Kenya.
The collaboration will enable merchants using PesaPal’s point-of-sale (POS) devices to accept M-PESA payments through Dynamic Scan-to-Pay and Tap-to-Pay, expanding digital payment options at physical checkout points.
The initiative builds on Safaricom’s ongoing efforts to enhance the M-PESA payment ecosystem through technologies such as Scan-to-Pay and Tap-to-Pay, while leveraging PesaPal’s merchant payment infrastructure.
Under the new Dynamic Scan-to-Pay service, customers can scan a QR code displayed on a PesaPal POS device using their phones.
The merchant’s details and the amount payable are automatically populated, allowing customers to verify the transaction before completing the payment.
The technology is designed to reduce manual entry of payment details, potentially minimising errors and speeding up the checkout process.
Safaricom Group Chief Technology Officer James Maitai said the partnership reflects the changing way Kenyans shop and make payments.
“As the way Kenyans shop and transact continues to evolve, we are focused on ensuring that M-PESA evolves with them. This means moving beyond simply enabling payments to re-imagining the payment experience itself,” Maitai said.
He added that the partnership with PesaPal brings together the capabilities of the two companies to develop new everyday payment experiences.
The companies have also introduced Tap-to-Pay on PesaPal POS devices, allowing customers with NFC-enabled smartphones to tap their devices on the terminal, verify the transaction details and complete payment.
PesaPal founder Agosta Liko said the new services would help businesses provide faster checkout experiences to their customers.
“Thousands of businesses trust our platform and by teaming up with Safaricom, we are delivering the faster, error-free transactions their customers expect,” Liko said.
The partnership also includes AI Pay, as Safaricom and PesaPal seek to expand M-PESA’s payment infrastructure across both physical and digital channels.
Safaricom said Scan-to-Pay is currently available at more than 60,000 merchant outlets, with the telecommunications company targeting 500,000 outlets within the next year.
The expansion comes as businesses increasingly adopt cashless payment options, driven by demand for quicker transactions and greater convenience at the point of sale.
For customers, the new payment options reduce the need to manually enter merchant details or payment amounts, while merchants can access additional digital payment capabilities through existing POS infrastructure.
The rollout is expected to further expand the use of M-PESA beyond traditional mobile-money transactions by integrating the service more deeply into retail and other physical checkout environments.
The partnership therefore represents another step in the development of Kenya’s digital payments ecosystem, with the two companies seeking to make mobile, contactless and QR-based payments more seamless for businesses and consumers.
