Airline paybills in Kenya, and the account field each one wants
The paybill number is the easy half. The account field is where flight payments go wrong, because every airline here matches your money to a booking by its reference — and a reference typed wrong does not bounce back to you. It sits against no ticket until someone reconciles it by hand.
| Airline | Paybill | Account field |
|---|---|---|
| Kenya Airways | 777777 | Your Kenya Airways booking reference |
| Qatar Airways | 816850 | Your Qatar Airways booking reference |
Why the reference matters more than the number
A paybill payment carries two things the airline can see: the amount and whatever you typed in the account field. The airline's system looks up that string against open bookings. If it matches, the ticket issues, usually within a few minutes. If it does not match anything, the payment is not rejected — M-PESA has done its job, the money has left your wallet and arrived at the airline. It simply belongs to nobody.
That is the difference between an airline paybill and, say, paying KPLC, where a wrong meter number is usually caught at entry. Airlines accept free-text references, so there is no validation to save you. Check the reference twice before the PIN prompt, not after.
What it costs
None of the airlines here adds a fee of its own on M-PESA. What you pay on top is the standard Safaricom paybill tariff, charged to you as the sender. Fares sit at the top of the fee bands, and international fares can run into the M-PESA transaction limit rather than the fee. Work out the exact figure on the paybill calculator before you send a large amount.
Airlines not listed yet
These are being worked on. They are absent rather than guessed at: publishing a plausible-looking wrong paybill for an airline costs someone a ticket, so each one waits until its number and its account format have both been checked. Know one of them?
- Safarilink
- Jambojet
- Ethiopian Airlines
- RwandAir
Frequently asked
What do I put in the account field when paying an airline?
Your booking reference, in every case on this page. Not your phone number and not the ticket number. The reference is what matches the payment to a booking.
What happens if I type the wrong reference?
The payment does not bounce. It sits unmatched against no booking, which is why people discover the problem at check-in rather than on the day they paid. Call the airline with your M-PESA code and the reference you typed.
Why is my airline not listed?
Because its paybill has not been verified here yet. We publish a number only after checking it, since a plausible-looking wrong paybill costs a reader a ticket.
Can I pay an international fare in one M-PESA transaction?
Not always. Long-haul fares can exceed a single M-PESA transaction limit. That is the limit, not a problem with the paybill.
Other ways to travel and pay
paybillke is an independent directory and is not affiliated with any airline. Paybill numbers are re-checked each quarter; the date on this page is when it was last confirmed.