Kenya M-Pesa QR Codes: Merchant Payments and Lipa na M-Pesa

1. Overview

M-Pesa is Safaricom's mobile money service, widely used in Kenya and other East African markets. The QR code standard encodes either a Lipa na M-Pesa (till number or paybill) or a personal phone number.

2. Payload Format

M-Pesa uses a proprietary payload format within a QR code or a structured link. The typical merchant flow encodes: * Business name. * Till number or paybill number. * Optional account reference. * Optional amount.

Safaricom provides a merchant portal and API to generate valid QR payloads. Do not construct payloads manually outside Safaricom's tools, as the format may change.

3. Consumer Experience

The customer scans with the M-Pesa app or the Safaricom app. The app pre-fills the merchant details; the customer enters the amount if not preset and confirms with their PIN.

4. Display Tips

Print the till number and paybill in plain text beside the code so customers who prefer to type can still pay.