Pesapal
Pesapal is a Kenya-founded payment services provider operating across seven African countries, offering merchants unified acceptance of M-Pesa, cards, and mobile money via online gateway, SABI POS, and vertical software for hospitality, fuel retail, and ticketing, regulated by multiple central banks and integrated with KCB Bank and Oracle Hospitality.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Pesapal does
Pesapal is a Nairobi-headquartered, Kenya-founded payment services provider established in 2009 that operates across seven African markets: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The company is regulated by the Central Banks of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia, the National Bank of Rwanda, and holds PCI-DSS Level 1 and PCI-PIN security certifications. Its core platform enables merchants to accept M-Pesa, Visa, Mastercard, Airtel Money, MTN Mobile Money, Vodacom M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Zamtel, and bank transfers through a unified online payment gateway, API and developer portal, and the SABI POS hardware family (Connected POS, Mobile POS bundled with Samsung, Mini-POS). Beyond core payment processing, Pesapal operates an expanding vertical software portfolio including the Forecourt Management Solution for fuel stations, Drive for fleet fuel management, Reserveport booking engine, Rack Hospitality restaurant platform (built with Drift Consult), Ticketsasa event ticketing, Oracle Hospitality reselling and integration, Openfloat for payouts, Pesapal Business Credit, and the Pesapal Mobile consumer app.
Revenue is generated primarily through per-transaction processing fees on card and mobile money rails, supplemented by one-time POS hardware sales and specialized enterprise solutions for hospitality and petroleum retail. Go-to-market is hybrid: self-serve website onboarding for SMBs and direct enterprise sales supported by a network of country offices (Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Arusha, Kampala, Kigali, Lusaka, Lilongwe). Distribution is reinforced by the KCB Group minority stake acquired in October 2025 and the KCB Bank Kenya partnership targeting 10,000+ fuel stations across East Africa, alongside integrations with Pezesha for data-driven SME credit and Oracle as a Gold-level Hospitality partner. Customer concentration sits in an SMB-heavy long tail with named enterprise logos in hospitality (Best Western Plus, Casa Solada, TSG-Curve by the Park), healthcare (Rocket Health), travel (Fly540), and entertainment (Capital FM, Kenya Open Golf).
Pesapal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pesapal
- Legal name
- Pesapal Limited
- Website
- https://pesapal.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pesapal is a Kenya-founded payment services provider operating across seven African countries, offering merchants unified acceptance of M-Pesa, cards, and mobile money via online gateway, SABI POS, and vertical software for hospitality, fuel retail, and ticketing, regulated by multiple central banks and integrated with KCB Bank and Oracle Hospitality.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pesapal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing Services
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Payments & Money Movement (ACH/SEPA/FPS, Bill Pay, P2P) (FSAGAAAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB), In-App / Online Checkout Wallets (FSAMAEAH)
Keywords
Where Pesapal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices8 records
Markets served
Pesapal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Transaction Processing Fees: Pesapal charges merchants a per-transaction fee for processing payments. The pricing is described as 'simple, straightforward per transaction pricing' with 'no hidden fees'. Settlement to merchant bank accounts typically occurs within 2 business days.
- POS Hardware Sales: Pesapal sells POS hardware terminals including Connected POS (SP630 Pro), Mobile POS packages bundled with Samsung Android phones, and Mini-POS devices for portable payment acceptance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-per-transaction model with no monthly fees |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | POS Hardware Options |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Pesapal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pesapal is a regulated multi-country payment services company that enables African businesses and consumers to make and accept payments via M-Pesa, card (Visa, MasterCard), mobile money, and bank transfer channels. The platform combines an online payment gateway, in-store POS terminals (SABI), a consumer mobile app, and vertical-specific solutions for hospitality (Oracle Hospitality, Reserveport, Rack POS), fuel retail (Forecourt Management Solution, Drive fleet management), event ticketing (Ticketsasa), and merchant credit (Business Credit, Openfloat payouts).
Product overview
Pesapal is a multi-country payment services company offering an integrated platform of payment processing, business management, and financial services tools for African businesses. The platform operates across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The core product portfolio centers on the Pesapal Payment Gateway (online), SABI POS (in-store card and mobile money terminal available in multiple hardware form factors), and the Pesapal Mobile App (consumer payments). These are augmented by specialized vertical solutions: the Forecourt Management Solution for petrol stations, Drive for fleet fuel management, Oracle Hospitality for hotels and restaurants (resold as an accredited partner), Rack Hospitality for restaurant operations, Reserveport for booking and reservations, Ticketsasa for event ticketing, Openfloat for business payouts, Business Credit for merchant financing, Online Invoice for invoicing, and Payment Page for no-code payment collection. All solutions are unified under a single merchant dashboard and connected via the Pesapal API and developer platform. The company is regulated by the Central Banks of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia, and holds PCI DSS Level 1 and PCI PIN certifications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pesapal Sabi: Point of Sale (POS) solution enabling businesses to accept card and mobile money payments in-store. Features include real-time transaction reports, receipt printing, and integration with various payment methods including M-Pesa, Visa, and MasterCard.
- Reserveport
- Ticketsasa
- Pesapal Mobile
- Openfloat
- Rack POS / Rack Hospitality
- Forecourt Management Solution
- Drive
Products and services
- Pesapal Payment Gateway Pesapal's core online payment platform enabling businesses to accept M-Pesa, card, mobile money, and bank transfer payments on websites, e-commerce stores, and digital platforms. Provides a unified dashboard for transaction management, reconciliation, and reporting.
- Pesapal SABI POS Point-of-sale terminal solution combining card (Visa, Mastercard, contactless) and mobile money (M-Pesa, Airtel Money) acceptance on a single device. Available in multiple form factors: Connected POS (SP630 Pro), Mobile POS Package (bundled with Samsung Android phone), and Mini-POS (portable). Available across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
- Pesapal Mobile App Consumer-facing mobile application (iOS and Android) enabling users to pay bills in bulk, purchase airtime, order and pay for event tickets and holiday trips, and link VISA cards to scan and pay via QR code at participating merchants. Zero transaction fees for personal payments.
- Pesapal Business Credit Merchant credit facility offered through Pesapal's platform, enabling businesses to access working capital and growth financing based on their transaction history and digital payment data. Integrated directly into the merchant dashboard.
- Pesapal Drive Digital fleet fuel management solution for companies managing vehicle fleets and the petrol stations serving them. Provides vehicle/driver management, fuel policy enforcement, maker-checker approval workflows, real-time transaction logs, automated invoicing, and B2B reconciliation. Integrates with the Forecourt Management Solution at partner petrol stations across East Africa.
- Pesapal Forecourt Management Solution (PFMS) End-to-end digital management platform for petrol/fuel station operations. Covers fuel dispensing, sales monitoring, inventory tracking, payment processing, shift management, and financial reconciliation. Features remote price enforcement, fleet and B2B sales management, direct integration with EBM systems and TRA (Tanzania Revenue Authority) systems, loyalty programs, and real-time reporting. Supports over 200 stations across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia.
- Openfloat Business payouts solution enabling efficient fund disbursements to suppliers, agents, and employees. Provides batch payment processing, multi-channel disbursement options, and reconciliation tools for business payment operations.
- Oracle Hospitality Solutions Full suite of Oracle Hospitality solutions (Property Management, POS, Sales and Events, Inventory Management, Financial) resold and integrated by Pesapal as an accredited Oracle Hospitality partner and reseller. Covers hotel operations, restaurant management, front desk, billing, housekeeping, loyalty, reporting, and financial planning across Oracle Opera Cloud, Opera Premise, Simphony Cloud, and Infor SunSystems.
- Rack Hospitality (Rack POS) Restaurant management software built by Drift Consult with embedded Pesapal payment rails. Unifies order management, kitchen workflows, inventory, billing, and payments in a single operating system for the hospitality sector. Addresses restaurant reconciliation inefficiencies and enables real-time settlement tracking.
- Reserveport Central reservations and booking engine platform developed by Pesapal. Offers modules for hotel bookings, restaurant reservations, flight bookings, and activity scheduling. Integrates two-way with Pesapal payments and with Oracle Hospitality OPERA for rate/inventory synchronization. Gold level Oracle Partner Network member; available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace.
- Ticketsasa Event ticketing platform enabling concert and event organizers to sell tickets online, at the gate, and through multiple channels. Supports mobile money and card payments, bar-coded ticket verification, real-time sales reporting, marketing support to a community of 65,000+, and gate sales via Pesapal Mobile Card Terminal. Available in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
- Pesapal Payment Page Customizable branded web page that allows merchants to collect online payments without a website. Customers can be sent a payment link via WhatsApp, email, or SMS and complete checkout on the branded page. Supports 10+ payment methods across 5+ countries.
- Pesapal Online Invoice Online invoicing tool enabling businesses to create, send, and manage branded invoices via email. Supports credit card, debit card, mobile money, and bank transfer payments on invoices. Features automated payment reminders for due or overdue invoices, recurring invoice storage, and payment tracking via the merchant dashboard.
- Online Booking Engine Booking engine enabling hotels and restaurants to accept direct online reservations and orders on their websites. Developed by Reserveport, it synchronizes availability, rates, images, and amenities in real time. Integrates multiple secure payment channels, supports promotions and discounts, and includes simple settlement to local bank accounts within 2 business days.
- Pesapal API and Plugins Developer API and ready-to-use plugins enabling e-commerce platforms and custom applications to integrate Pesapal's full payment processing capabilities. Supports M-Pesa, card, and mobile money acceptance; e-invoicing; payment link generation; and transaction reporting. Documentation available at developer.pesapal.com.
Quantifiable outcome
- Target: 1 million African entrepreneurs and customers connected to electronic payments, e-commerce, and global financial system by 2030
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Pesapal
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Pesapal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration28 records
Feature6 records
Pesapal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Drift ConsultcorePesapal and Drift Consult launched Rack Hospitality, an integrated commerce platform for Kenya's hospitality sector. The platform unifies order management, kitchen workflows, inventory, billing, and payments. Drift Consult developed the restaurant management software while Pesapal provides embedded payment rails. The platform addresses reconciliation inefficiencies where discrepancies of 2-3% on monthly sales translate to significant financial losses.
- KCB Bank KenyacoreKCB Bank Kenya and Pesapal partnered to implement a digital Forecourt Management Solution for over 10,000 fuel stations across East Africa. The collaboration combines Pesapal's operational technology with KCB's financing capabilities. KCB leverages real-time performance data from Pesapal's platform to assess creditworthiness and offer stock financing and working capital solutions to fuel dealers.
- PezeshaminorPesapal partnered with Pezesha to pilot a data-driven credit solution targeting Uganda's SMEs. The initiative addresses financial inclusion with nearly 60% of Ugandan adults excluded from formal financing. The solution leverages real-time Pesapal transaction data to extend responsible and affordable credit to underserved merchants, aligning with Bank of Uganda's National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2023–2028).
- Oracle HospitalitycorePesapal is an accredited Oracle Hospitality partner and reseller, delivering the full suite of Oracle Hospitality solutions including Opera PMS, Simphony POS, Sales and Events, Inventory Management, and Infor SunSystems. Reserveport by Pesapal achieved Gold level membership in Oracle Partner Network (OPN) with validated integration with Oracle Hospitality OPERA 5.5, available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace.
- Oil Marketing CompaniesminorPesapal has developed Forecourt Management Solution in partnership with Oil Marketing Companies, fleet operators, and fuel dealers to address unique challenges in Africa's petroleum sector. The platform is purpose-built for Africa's operating environment.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Pesapal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Paga: Nigeria-focused multi-channel payment processor with consumer wallet and merchant acquiring. Comparable payment-gateway and wallet functionality to Pesapal, though focused primarily on the Nigerian market.
- Yoco: South Africa-focused POS and payments provider for SMBs offering integrated card acceptance and software tools. Closely comparable to Pesapal SABI POS in product, though Pesapal's mobile-money integration is materially deeper.
- iPay (Africa Online / payment aggregators): East African online payment aggregator providing multi-channel payment acceptance for merchants. Comparable to Pesapal's payment gateway in scope, with overlapping coverage in Kenya and Uganda.
Direct peers
- DPO Group (Network International): African and Middle East payment processor serving merchants across multiple countries with card, mobile, and online acceptance. Competes head-to-head with Pesapal on multi-country merchant acquiring and gateway services.
- Interswitch: Largest African payments network, originally Nigerian, with multi-country card and digital payment processing plus enterprise switching infrastructure. Comparable to Pesapal on payment gateway, POS, and broad merchant services across Africa.
- Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform providing payment gateway, mobile money aggregation, and developer APIs across more than 35 countries. Closely comparable to Pesapal's payment gateway, API, and Tingg-style aggregator model.
- Flutterwave: Pan-African payment processor offering unified card, mobile money, and bank-transfer acceptance across multiple African countries. Directly competes with Pesapal on the online payment gateway and developer API, with a similar multi-rail value proposition and SMB-to-enterprise merchant focus.
Emerging players
- Kopo Kopo: East African fintech providing mobile money payment acceptance, business credit, and merchant tools for SMBs. Directly comparable to Pesapal SABI and Online Payment Gateway, particularly for M-Pesa-driven merchants in Kenya.
- Jumo: Africa-focused digital financial services platform providing credit and embedded finance products built on partner transaction data. Comparable to Pesapal's emerging credit/embedded-finance play alongside KCB and Pezesha.
Broad incumbents
- Safaricom M-Pesa (M-Pesa Africa): Dominant mobile money operator across East Africa and a key infrastructure partner for Pesapal (which integrates M-Pesa as a payment rail). Functions as both a deep partnership enabler and a strategic competitor via its own Lipa na M-Pesa merchant services.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pesapal social profiles
Digital presencePesapal compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Pesapal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pesapal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Pesapal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pesapal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pesapal
What does Pesapal do?
Pesapal is a regulated multi-country payment services company that enables African businesses and consumers to make and accept payments via M-Pesa, card (Visa, MasterCard), mobile money, and bank transfer channels. The platform combines an online payment gateway, in-store POS terminals (SABI), a consumer mobile app, and vertical-specific solutions for hospitality (Oracle Hospitality, Reserveport, Rack POS), fuel retail (Forecourt Management Solution, Drive fleet management), event ticketing (Ticketsasa), and merchant credit (Business Credit, Openfloat payouts).
Is Pesapal a public or private company?
Pesapal is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Pesapal founded?
Pesapal was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pesapal based?
Pesapal is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Pesapal make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Transaction Processing Fees are the primary driver. The others are POS Hardware Sales.
Who are Pesapal's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Paga, Yoco and iPay (Africa Online / payment aggregators). Direct peers are DPO Group (Network International), Interswitch, Cellulant and Flutterwave. Emerging players are Kopo Kopo and Jumo. Safaricom M-Pesa (M-Pesa Africa) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Pesapal have an API?
Yes. Pesapal offers a public developer API accessible via developer.pesapal.com. The API enables developers to integrate Pesapal's payment processing capabilities — including M-Pesa, card, and mobile money acceptance — into e-commerce stores and custom applications. Developers can also access payment plugins for popular e-commerce platforms, send e-invoices programmatically, generate payment links, and retrieve transaction reports. The API is available to merchants and third-party developers building on the Pesapal platform. Developer documentation is at developer.pesapal.com.
What industry is Pesapal in?
Pesapal's product category is Payment Processing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAAAF, Digital Payments & Money Movement (ACH/SEPA/FPS, Bill Pay, P2P), with a secondary code of FSAGALAB, Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.