You want customers to pay by M-Pesa, but should it be a Till, a Paybill or Pochi la Biashara? All three take the money, but they differ in who pays the charges, the paperwork, and how easily you and your staff can check that a payment really came in. Here is each one, with Safaricom's charges as of November 2026.
Which account fits which business
| Compare | Pochi la Biashara | Till (Buy Goods) | Paybill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One person serving | A counter with staff | Customers on account |
| Getting one | Dial *334#, no paperwork | Apply online with an ID | Business permit or registration |
| Who pays the charge | The customer | The business | Depends on your tariff |
| Customer enters | Your phone number | Till number | Business and account number |
Pochi la Biashara runs on the line you already have. Dial *334#, choose Pochi la Biashara, then Join, accept the terms and pick your business category. Business money stays apart from your personal M-Pesa, but the payment messages come only to your phone. It suits a mama mboga, a kiosk or a boda rider who serves every customer personally.
A Till suits a counter. Customers pay no charge, a separate notification SIM can sit at the till so staff see each payment arrive, and cashiers can have their own assistant login. Individuals apply online with an ID, and Safaricom says it processes their applications within 10 minutes.
A Paybill adds an account number to every payment, so you know which customer, house or invoice it is for. That matters for a water business with regular deliveries, a school, a landlord or a wholesaler giving credit. Individuals cannot apply: Safaricom asks a sole proprietor for a business registration certificate or permit.
How customers pay each one
From the M-PESA menu on the SIM, or by dialling *334#, customers choose Lipa na M-PESA and then:
- Till: Buy Goods, the till number, the amount, then their PIN.
- Paybill: Pay Bill, the business number, the account number, the amount, then their PIN.
- Pochi la Biashara: Pochi la Biashara, your phone number, the amount, then their PIN. On *334# it also sits under Send Money, as "Send to Pochi la Biashara".
In the M-PESA app, all three are under Pay.
Tip: a customer who uses ordinary Send Money to your number pays your personal M-Pesa, not your Pochi. Say "Pochi la Biashara" every time, and print it on the poster.
What each costs, as of November 2026
In August 2026 Safaricom cut several merchant charges. Its M-PESA charges page, last updated on 4 August 2026, has the full tables. Check it before you decide, because fees change.
Till (Buy Goods)
- Customers pay nothing, except at fuel stations.
- Since 7 August 2026, payments of Ksh 500 or less cost the business nothing. The free limit used to be Ksh 200 (The Standard).
- Above Ksh 500, the business pays 0.55% of each payment, never more than Ksh 200.
- Moving money out of a Business Till got up to 50% cheaper. Sending Ksh 10,000 from the till to a phone number now costs Ksh 45, down from Ksh 90.
Pochi la Biashara
- Receiving costs the business nothing. The customer pays a charge, as when sending money.
- Normally that is the Send Money charge: free up to Ksh 100, then Ksh 7 for Ksh 101 to 500, rising to Ksh 108 at most.
- From 1 August to 31 October 2026, a Safaricom offer made Pochi payments up to Ksh 200 free and capped the charge at Ksh 50.
- On 2 November 2026 we could not find a Safaricom notice saying whether the offer continues. Check the charges page before you tell customers a payment is free.
Paybill
- When you apply, you pick a tariff: the customer pays the charge, the business pays it, or the two share it.
- The charge grows with the amount. In Safaricom's Paybill guide, payments of Ksh 100 or less are free and no payment costs more than Ksh 108 in total.
Example: one month at a duka
These are made-up numbers for a duka in Kisumu that took Ksh 240,000 by M-Pesa in 600 payments last month. The table compares what the shop pays on a Till with what its customers would pay on Pochi.
| Payments | How many | Total (Ksh) | Till: shop pays (Ksh) | Pochi: customers pay (Ksh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ksh 100 or less | 180 | 12,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Ksh 201 to 500 | 300 | 84,000 | 0 | 2,100 (7 each) |
| Ksh 1,200 each | 120 | 144,000 | 792 (0.55%) | 2,760 (23 each) |
| Total | 600 | 240,000 | 792 | 4,860 |
On the Till, the shop pays Ksh 792, about a third of one per cent of its M-Pesa takings. Before 7 August, the 300 payments between Ksh 201 and 500 would have cost it another Ksh 462 (0.55% of Ksh 84,000). On Pochi, the shop pays nothing but its customers pay Ksh 4,860 between them, both at normal rates and under the offer. If your customers mind charges, that is the number to weigh.
Getting the money to the bank
- Till: from the nominated number (the owner's phone on the account), dial *234#, choose Business Till, Withdraw Funds, then To my Bank. The M-PESA for Business app can do the same. Name the bank account when you apply: for an individual, Safaricom's requirements list asks for a KRA PIN certificate and proof of the account, such as a cancelled cheque.
- Paybill: from the nominated number, dial *234*4#, choose Withdraw Cash, then To the Bank. The money can only go to the account you gave when you applied, and Safaricom says it settles in real time.
- Pochi la Biashara: there is no direct bank link. Pay your bank's Paybill straight from Pochi (Lipa na Pochi), move the money to your M-Pesa first, or withdraw cash from Pochi at an agent. Normal M-Pesa charges apply.
Getting your statements
- Till: export one from the M-PESA for Business app, or dial *234# and register an email address to receive statements for 3, 6 or 12 months, or any dates you choose.
- Paybill: log in to the M-PESA web portal (org.ke.m-pesa.com), open Review Transaction, choose the dates and export.
- Pochi la Biashara: dial *334#, choose Pochi la Biashara, then My Account. In February 2026 Safaricom's care team gave the rest of the path as My Statements, then Full statement. Menus change, so if yours differs, ask Safaricom.
Download a statement every month, even when nothing looks wrong. Risiti reads Till, Paybill and Pochi la Biashara statements (CSV, Excel or PDF) and M-Pesa messages, and turns them into sales and expenses.
What to put on your poster
- Till: "Lipa na M-PESA, Buy Goods", the till number in big figures and your business name. Safaricom lets you download a sticker with your till number from "My Applications" on its application portal.
- Paybill: the business number and exactly what to type as the account number, such as "your phone number" or "your invoice number". A vague account line gives you payments you cannot match.
- Pochi la Biashara: the words "Pochi la Biashara" in big letters, your phone number, your name, and "Please don't use Send Money".
- All three: "We only accept payment to this number." It makes it harder for anyone at the counter to offer a different one; see how to track M-Pesa payments at a shop with staff.
A free Risiti business website also lists the M-Pesa numbers to pay and gives you a QR code for the poster.
What to do today
- Add up last month's M-Pesa payments above Ksh 500. Roughly 0.55% of that total, with no payment costing more than Ksh 200, is what a Till would cost you.
- If staff serve customers while you are away, a Till with a notification phone at the counter is easier to check than Pochi.
- If you use Pochi, check today's charges before telling customers a payment is free.
- Fix your poster: account type, number, name and, for a Paybill, what to type as the account number.
- Download last month's statement and keep it with your books.
Sources
- Safaricom: M-PESA charges, last updated 4 August 2026
- Safaricom: Pata More na Pochi la Biashara, August 2026
- The Standard: Safaricom halves M-Pesa merchant fees in CBK-led move, 2 August 2026
- Safaricom: Paying to businesses and online
- Safaricom: Pochi la Biashara
- Safaricom: M-PESA Business Till (in November 2026 this page still showed the charges from before August)
- Safaricom: M-PESA Business Till questions
- Safaricom: M-PESA Paybill questions
- Safaricom: M-PESA Paybill guide (PDF)
- Safaricom: Business One Account questions, on exporting Paybill statements
- Safaricom: Lipa na M-PESA requirements, 2023 (PDF)
- Safaricom on X: Pochi la Biashara statements, February 2026
- Business Radar: Pochi la Biashara, a practical guide for small traders, October 2026