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Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecommunications company and operator of M-PESA, has partnered with payments company Pesapal to introduce tap-to-pay functionality at physical merchant locations across the country.
The service allows customers with near field communication (NFC)-enabled Android and iPhone devices to tap their phones on compatible Pesapal point-of-sale (PoS) terminals to pay merchants through M-PESA. Customers whose devices do not support NFC can use a QR code displayed on the same terminals.
M-PESA taps into Pesapal’s PoS network
The partnership enables Safaricom to extend M-PESA contactless payments across thousands of existing checkout terminals without having to build a separate PoS network.
The new functionality adds M-PESA tap and QR payments to Pesapal terminals already deployed at merchant locations while retaining the existing M-PESA Till Number as the account through which merchants receive payments.
The initial rollout covers 30,000 Pesapal terminals in Kenya, mainly across restaurants, hotels and selected supermarkets, according to Pesapal founder Agosta Liko.
Customers do not pay an additional fee for using the service, with transactions priced in line with existing M-PESA payments made through merchant Till Numbers.
Liko said Pesapal spent six months testing the service before making it available to merchants with compatible terminals.
“Thousands of businesses trust our platform, and by teaming up with Safaricom, we are delivering the faster, error-free transactions their customers expect. Today, we activate the future of payments,” he said.
How M-PESA tap-to-pay works
The merchant’s existing M-PESA Till Number remains the destination for the payment, while Pesapal provides the PoS terminal and Safaricom processes the M-PESA transaction.
At checkout, the cashier enters the transaction amount into the Pesapal terminal. A customer with an NFC-enabled smartphone then taps the device against the terminal, triggering Safaricom’s My OneApp with the merchant’s Buy Goods number and payment amount already populated.
The customer reviews the information and authorises the transaction using an M-PESA PIN or biometric authentication.
For customers without NFC-enabled devices, the terminal can display a QR code that can be scanned to initiate payment.
Safaricom’s existing scan-to-pay functionality also supports QR codes displayed by other merchants, meaning customers are not restricted to Pesapal terminals when using the QR payment option.
The telecommunications company said its scan-to-pay service is already available at more than 60,000 merchant outlets and has set a target of reaching 500,000 outlets within the next year.
Safaricom focuses on faster checkout
The new tap-to-pay service forms part of a broader effort by Safaricom to reduce the amount of information customers have to enter when making M-PESA payments.
Through My OneApp, customers can also scan printed or handwritten receipts and, where the required information is available, have the application identify the merchant’s Till or PayBill number and transaction amount.
Safaricom said the application has recorded more than seven million downloads.
The different payment features address a common friction point in M-PESA transactions. Traditionally, customers may need to locate a merchant’s Till Number, enter the number and payment amount, wait for a prompt and then authorise the transaction with their PIN.
The tap-to-pay model shifts much of that information exchange to the merchant’s terminal and the customer’s smartphone.
For Pesapal, the partnership also expands the role of its PoS infrastructure in Kenya’s payments ecosystem. While PoS terminals have traditionally been associated with card transactions, M-PESA payments have largely been initiated directly from customers’ mobile devices.
Integrating M-PESA into existing PoS hardware connects the two payment experiences without requiring merchants to change their underlying M-PESA account.
Pesapal expands role in merchant payments
Kenya had more than 57,000 PoS terminals in August 2026, according to Central Bank of Kenya data provided by payment companies, compared with 54,454 at the end of 2025.
Pesapal says around 30,000 of those terminals operate on its platform, although the figures are not directly comparable.
“Most of Pesapal’s terminals are deployed at restaurants, hotels and selected supermarkets,” Liko said.
The partnership gives Safaricom access to established physical checkout points without the cost and operational requirements of developing and distributing its own PoS network.
Pesapal merchants, meanwhile, gain another way to accept M-PESA payments through hardware already installed at their businesses.
The service is available to Pesapal merchants with compatible terminals and carries no additional merchant fee. Tap-to-pay is initially exclusive to Pesapal as Safaricom works to expand the service.
“For now, Pesapal is the partner on board, but there are ongoing discussions with other POS providers to integrate,” a Safaricom representative said.
The QR component of the rollout has also gone through the relevant regulatory process. Kenya introduced the Kenya Quick Response Code Standard in 2023 to provide guidance for banks and payment service providers issuing QR codes for digital payments.
According to Liko, Pesapal worked with the Central Bank of Kenya before launching the new QR functionality.
Safaricom and Pesapal have not disclosed the proportion of M-PESA merchant payments currently completed through QR codes or the number that still require customers to manually enter Till Numbers. The companies have also not disclosed how many additional Pesapal terminals they expect to upgrade for NFC payments.
Safaricom’s target of 500,000 scan-to-pay outlets within a year indicates an effort to expand the physical reach of the service, although no customer adoption or transaction-volume target has been announced.
A new attempt at M-PESA contactless payments
The partnership marks another attempt by Safaricom to bring contactless payments to M-PESA.
In 2017, the company introduced M-PESA 1Tap, which allowed customers to make payments by tapping NFC-enabled cards, wristbands and stickers on merchant terminals. The service was subsequently discontinued the same year after failing to achieve sufficient adoption.
The new approach removes the need for a separate payment card, wristband or sticker. Customers can use an existing smartphone as the payment device, while those without NFC can use QR codes.
My OneApp provides the software interface for completing the transaction, while Pesapal’s terminals provide the physical point of interaction.
The earlier experience also highlights the importance of customer and merchant adoption. A faster payment method still needs sufficient visibility, consistent checkout experiences and merchant acceptance to become part of everyday payment behaviour.
Safaricom is now relying on payment interactions that smartphone users are already familiar with. Phone-based contactless payments are increasingly common, while QR scanning is already established across digital payment services.
By applying these behaviours to M-PESA while retaining the existing Till Number infrastructure, Safaricom and Pesapal are seeking to reduce payment friction without requiring merchants to overhaul their existing payment arrangements.
James Maitai, Safaricom’s group chief technology officer, said the partnership is part of the company’s broader effort to evolve M-PESA beyond its traditional role as a payment processing platform.
“Our partnership with Pesapal is an important part of that journey, bringing together our respective capabilities to shape the next generation of everyday payments,” Maitai said.
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