M-PESA Business Account 2026: how it works, KYC, settle

An M-PESA Business Account is the merchant-side account Safaricom issues when you register a Lipa na M-PESA till, paybill or bulk payment shortcode. It sits apart from your personal M-PESA wallet, applies merchant tariffs instead of consumer send tariffs, and settles to a bank account on a schedule you control. In FY26 there were 3.13 million registered M-PESA merchants across all rails, and M-PESA processed 46.4 billion transactions in the year (Source: Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026).

What an M-PESA business account actually is

The name is misleading. It is not one account. It is a bundle of merchant products sitting under a single business identity:

Lipa na M-PESA Buy Goods (till), for point-of-sale retail.
Lipa na M-PESA Paybill, for account-referenced payments.
Bulk Payment, for salaries, supplier pay-outs and B2B disbursements.
Business Portal, the web console for reconciliation, roles and settlement.
Daraja API, for programmatic integration into your own system.

You do not need all five to open the account. A shop with a till plus a bank settlement cadence is a complete setup. Utilities and SACCOs typically layer Daraja onto a paybill. Enterprises add bulk payment for payroll.

How it contrasts with a personal M-PESA line

	Personal M-PESA	Business account
Held on	Your Safaricom SIM	A merchant shortcode (till or paybill)
Wallet ceiling	KES 500,000	None; balances settle to bank
Per-transaction limit	KES 250,000	KES 250,000 default; higher for approved enterprise paybills
Fee model	Consumer send tariff	Merchant tariff (0.55% Buy Goods, negotiated paybill)
Staff access	PIN only, one user	Role-based, multi-user
Reporting	M-PESA statement (per line)	Business Portal + Daraja callbacks

The full decision guide on which side to accept payments on is in M-PESA business vs personal.

KYC: what Safaricom asks for

Safaricom checks three things when you apply: that the business exists, that it is registered with KRA, and that a real bank account belongs to the business.

Sole trader (proprietorship)

National ID (original + copy)
KRA PIN certificate in your name
County business permit in the trading name
A bank account in the trading name, or a personal account with a signed letter of authority
Passport-sized photo

Limited company

Certificate of incorporation
CR12 (issued in the last 6 months)
Company KRA PIN
Directors' national IDs and personal KRA PINs
County business permit
Company bank account settlement letter
Board resolution authorising the M-PESA business account (some Safaricom Shops require this, some do not)

How settlement works

Business account balances do not sit on the shortcode forever. You choose a settlement cadence in the Business Portal:

T+0 (same day): available for tier-1 banks with a live PesaLink or M-PESA settlement rail. Multiple sweeps per day.
T+1 (next day): default for most other Kenyan banks. Overnight batch.
Manual: you trigger settlement from the Business Portal when you choose.

A small settlement fee applies per pay-out (typically KES 0 to KES 100 depending on the bank rail). Funds hit the bank as an EFT or PesaLink credit. The Business Portal shows the running balance, next scheduled settlement, and a downloadable per-transaction report you can hand to your bookkeeper.

Reconciliation flow

Customer pays your till or paybill. Safaricom sends an SMS to the customer and posts the transaction to your business account.
The Business Portal (or Daraja callback URL, if you have wired one) receives the payment record: amount, timestamp, customer number, till or paybill account reference.
Your point-of-sale, school management or utility billing system marks the invoice paid.
Balance accumulates on the business account until the next scheduled settlement.
Settlement sweeps the balance to your bank, minus the settlement fee.

For programmatic matching, wire a webhook via the Daraja API. This is what utilities, schools and SACCOs use so a paybill payment auto-closes the right customer invoice.

FY26 merchant figures

The M-PESA business ecosystem is now the majority of the Safaricom merchant footprint:

3.13 million registered merchants across all M-PESA rails at end of FY26 (Source: Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026).
46.4 billion transactions processed in FY26 across the M-PESA network (Source: Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026).
2.09 million Pochi la Biashara tills, up 81.5 percent year on year (Source: Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026).

Business account fees in 2026

Headline tariffs, before any negotiated enterprise discounts:

Buy Goods (till): 0.55 percent of the transaction, capped at KES 200 above KES 36,363, free below KES 500. Merchant pays.
Paybill: standard M-PESA send tariff for the customer (up to KES 108), plus a negotiated merchant fee set per paybill.
Bulk Payment: per-transaction fee scaled by amount, priced separately.
Settlement: typically KES 0 to KES 100 per settlement.

The deeper tariff breakdown lives in M-PESA for Business charges 2026 and, once published, in the Tier 2 pages till charges for businesses and paybill charges for businesses.

When to open a business account (and when not to)

Open a business account when any of the following are true:

You have a physical shop, restaurant or service outlet.
Your monthly M-PESA receipts consistently exceed KES 300,000 to KES 500,000.
You need per-customer accounts (utilities, schools, SACCOs).
You employ staff who accept payments on your behalf.
You need to pay salaries or supplier payments in bulk.

Do not open a business account if you are a low-volume sole trader who just wants to keep customer sends off your personal SMS log. Pochi la Biashara is the correct tool there. Compare in the Pochi vs Buy Goods vs Paybill guide.

Related business guides

FAQ

What is an M-PESA Business Account?

An M-PESA Business Account is the merchant-side account Safaricom issues when you register a Lipa na M-PESA till, a paybill, or a bulk payment shortcode. It is separate from your personal M-PESA wallet. It holds your business receipts, applies merchant tariffs (not consumer send tariffs), and settles to a nominated Kenyan bank account on a schedule you configure in the M-PESA Business Portal.

How is a business account different from a personal M-PESA line?

A personal line has a KES 500,000 wallet ceiling and a KES 250,000 per-transaction limit for peer-to-peer sends. A business account has no wallet ceiling per se; instead balances are settled to your bank on a cadence you set. Fees are applied on the merchant side (0.55 percent Buy Goods, negotiated paybill), not on the customer send tariff. Business accounts also get access to the Business Portal, reconciliation reports, staff roles and Daraja API integration.

What KYC documents does Safaricom need?

For a sole proprietor: national ID, KRA PIN, and the county business permit in the trading name. For a limited company: certificate of incorporation, CR12, KRA PIN, directors' IDs and PINs, and the county business permit. Safaricom asks for a bank account settlement letter or a stamped cheque leaf so business funds land in the right account.

How does settlement work?

Settlement is the automated transfer of your business account balance to your registered bank account. You choose the cadence in the Business Portal: same-day (T+0) for most tier-1 banks, T+1 for others. There is a settlement fee (typically KES 0 to KES 100 per settlement depending on the bank rail). Funds hit the bank as an EFT or PesaLink credit, depending on the bank.

What is the FY26 merchant figure Safaricom reported?

Safaricom reported 3.13 million registered M-PESA merchants at the end of FY26, spanning Buy Goods tills, paybills and Pochi la Biashara wallets. M-PESA processed 46.4 billion transactions in the year (Source: Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026).

Can staff access the business account without seeing my personal M-PESA?

Yes. The Business Portal supports separate operator, admin, checker and viewer roles. Each staff member gets their own credentials scoped to the business account. Your personal M-PESA line is completely separate.

Does a business account come with a business Fuliza overdraft?

Fuliza for Business is a separate opt-in facility for eligible merchants. Limits scale with business M-PESA throughput, up to KES 1,000,000 for established merchants. Apply via the Business Portal. See the Fuliza hub for the fee structure.

Verified 1 September 2026. Merchant volumes from Safaricom PLC Annual Report FY2026. Tariff and settlement details from the Safaricom M-PESA Business Portal help centre.