Pochi la Biashara
Also known as: Pochi, pochi ya biashara, M-PESA Pochi
Full definition
Pochi la Biashara (Swahili for business pocket) is a lightweight M-PESA business rail Safaricom launched in 2020 for sole traders and informal merchants. Activation is a self-service USSD flow on *334#, needs no shop visit, no KRA PIN and no business registration document.
When a customer pays a Pochi merchant they choose Send Money in the M-PESA menu, enter the Pochi number (a masked shortcode, not the merchant's real MSISDN), enter the amount and confirm. The merchant sees the incoming payment tagged as a business receipt, separate from their personal M-PESA balance. This is what makes Pochi attractive to the mama mboga, the hawker and the boda rider: it separates business receipts from personal receipts on the same SIM.
Safaricom reported 2.09 million Pochi tills at the end of FY26, up 81.5 percent year on year (Source: Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026). During the current promo (through 31 October 2026 unless extended), Pochi is free at tickets of KES 0 to 500 for both sides; above KES 500 the sender pays the standard M-PESA send tariff and the merchant pays nothing.
Worked example
A mama mboga activates Pochi on *334#, gets a Pochi number, prints it on a paper tag on her stall. A customer buying tomatoes worth KES 200 opens the M-PESA menu, chooses Send Money, enters the Pochi number, enters 200, confirms. The mama mboga sees a Pochi receipt without ever sharing her personal phone number.
Verified 2026-09-01. Definitions on paybillke are sourced from Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Communications Authority of Kenya, the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the primary operator documentation for each product. How we verify. Report a change.