Safaricom and Pesapal have begun rolling out new M-PESA payment experiences designed to reduce the number of steps customers take when paying at physical stores. The collaboration brings Dynamic Scan-to-Pay and Tap-to-Pay to Pesapal point-of-sale terminals, while Safaricom is also introducing AI Pay through My OneApp.
The changes move M-PESA closer to a modern contactless checkout experience in which merchant details and payment amounts can be populated automatically instead of customers manually entering Till Numbers, PayBill details or transaction amounts.
Key Overview
- Safaricom and Pesapal are rolling out Dynamic Scan-to-Pay and Tap-to-Pay through Pesapal POS terminals.
- Tap-to-Pay lets customers with NFC-enabled smartphones tap a compatible terminal to start an M-PESA payment.
- Dynamic Scan-to-Pay generates a QR code containing the merchant details and exact transaction amount.
- AI Pay can scan printed or handwritten receipts and, where supported, identify payment details automatically.
- My OneApp has recorded more than 7 million downloads.
- Scan-to-Pay is already available at over 60,000 merchant outlets.
- Safaricom aims to expand Scan-to-Pay to 500,000 outlets within the next year.
Dynamic Scan-to-Pay Cuts Manual Payment Entry
Safaricom’s existing Scan-to-Pay service allows customers to scan a QR code connected to a merchant’s M-PESA Till Number. The Pesapal integration takes the process further by generating a dynamic QR code directly on a POS terminal.
With the new setup, the transaction amount is included automatically in the QR code, alongside the relevant merchant information. Customers open My OneApp, select Scan-to-Pay, scan the code, verify the details and authorise the payment with their M-PESA PIN.
The approach removes the need to manually key in the amount and can reduce errors associated with entering incorrect Till Numbers or transaction values. It also gives merchants a way to process M-PESA payments through the same POS environment used for other payment methods.
Tap-to-Pay Brings NFC Payments to M-PESA
The partnership also introduces an NFC-based payment flow for customers using compatible smartphones. At checkout, the cashier enters the purchase amount on the Pesapal POS before the customer taps an NFC-enabled phone against the terminal.
My OneApp then opens with the transaction details ready for review. The customer can authorise the transaction using an M-PESA PIN or supported biometric verification, after which the payment is processed and the terminal can issue a receipt.
Near Field Communication is already widely used for contactless card and mobile-wallet payments. Extending it to M-PESA allows customers to complete an in-store transaction without manually typing a Till Number or waiting for a conventional payment prompt.
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AI Pay Targets Receipt-Based Payments
Safaricom is also adding AI Pay to My OneApp, which the companies say has surpassed 7 million downloads. The feature is designed for situations where customers are presented with a physical receipt rather than a QR code or compatible POS terminal.
Customers can scan a printed or handwritten receipt, after which AI Pay can, where available, identify and populate the Till or PayBill details and payment amount. The user can then review the information before completing the transaction.
The feature is intended to reduce repetitive manual entry, although the announcement does not specify that every receipt format, merchant or location is supported. Its usefulness will therefore depend on the quality of the receipt and whether the required payment information can be recognised.
Safaricom Targets 500,000 Scan-to-Pay Outlets
The rollout is also significant because of the scale Safaricom is targeting. Scan-to-Pay is currently available at more than 60,000 merchant outlets, and the company intends to expand that network to 500,000 outlets within the next 12 months.
Reaching that target would increase the Scan-to-Pay footprint by more than eight times and could make QR-based M-PESA payments a more common option at supermarkets, restaurants, pharmacies, retailers and other physical businesses.
Pesapal already provides merchant payment infrastructure to thousands of businesses across East Africa, giving Safaricom an existing POS network through which it can extend the new payment experience.
What the Rollout Means for Kenyan Payments
The new features reflect a broader shift in Kenya’s payments market from manual mobile-money entry toward faster digital checkout methods. M-PESA transactions have traditionally relied heavily on customers entering Till Numbers, PayBill Numbers, account references and amounts themselves.
Dynamic QR codes, NFC and receipt scanning reduce some of those steps while still requiring the customer to review and approve the transaction. Safaricom also already provides businesses with Dynamic QR and merchant payment APIs, allowing merchants and payment providers to integrate M-PESA into digital checkout systems.
For businesses, the partnership could help shorten queues, reduce payment-entry errors and consolidate more payment methods on a single terminal. For customers, the main benefit is convenience: scanning, tapping or reading a receipt can replace several manual steps without removing the final payment authorisation.
The rollout therefore represents an evolution of M-PESA’s physical checkout experience rather than a change to the underlying mobile-money account. Its success will depend on merchant adoption, availability of compatible Pesapal terminals and how quickly Safaricom expands Scan-to-Pay toward its 500,000-outlet target.
Sources: Safaricom / Pesapal / TechCabal / TechTrendsKE / CIO Africa
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