Pesawise
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Pesawise firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pesawise
- Legal name
- Pesawise Services Limited
- Website
- https://pesawise.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pesawise industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing Infrastructure
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure (FSAGABAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF), Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB), Digital Payments & Money Movement (ACH/SEPA/FPS, Bill Pay, P2P) (FSAGAAAF)
Keywords
Where Pesawise is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pesawise business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees - Local Card Payments: Charges 2.9% per transaction for local card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Discover). No upfront costs, no subscription fees, no integration or maintenance fees.
- Transaction Fees - International Card Payments: Charges 3.5% per transaction for international card payments (VISA, Mastercard, American Express) with settlement in KES or USD.
- Mobile Money and Bank Transfer Fees: Transaction-based fees for M-PESA, Pesalink, and other bank transfers. Specific rates available in charge schedule PDF.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Local Card Payments |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | International Card Payments |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Pesawise product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pesawise provides a unified business payment platform that lets Kenyan businesses accept card, mobile money (M-PESA), bank transfer (Pesalink), and QR-code payments, manage multi-currency virtual wallets, and disburse outgoing payments including bulk and payroll transfers. The platform is exposed via a web app, mobile apps, and a REST Merchant API for developers, all backed by a Central Bank of Kenya Payment Service Provider license.
Product overview
Pesawise is a unified business payment platform serving as an all-in-one financial transactions hub for African businesses. The platform comprises three core product lines: Platform (virtual wallet management, team collaboration, marketplace for utility payments, and financial analytics), Gateway (payment collection via cards, mobile money, bank transfers, and QR codes including payment links, checkout, and invoicing), and Payouts (outgoing transfers, bulk payments, payroll, and settlements). The Merchant API enables developers to integrate these payment capabilities into custom systems. The platform is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya as a Payment Service Provider.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pesawise Platform Central dashboard product for businesses to create and manage virtual wallets and accounts, invite team members with role-based permissions, access a marketplace for utility payments (electricity, water, internet), and view financial analytics. Supports multi-wallet management with multi-level approvals.
- Pesawise Gateway Payment collection product enabling Kenyan businesses to accept card payments (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), M-PESA mobile money, Pesalink bank transfers, and KE-QR code payments. Includes shareable payment links, embeddable checkout, and invoicing capabilities.
- Pesawise Payouts Outgoing payment product enabling businesses to send instant B2B transfers, bank transfers, and mobile money disbursements to suppliers, employees, and customers. Supports bulk payments via CSV upload and payroll processing.
- Merchant API Public REST API for developers to integrate Pesawise payment processing capabilities into their own systems, including M-PESA STK Push, Pesalink interbank transfers, wallet management, QR code generation, bulk payments, and account lookup. Supports OAuth2 with Bearer tokens, API key authentication, webhooks for payment notifications, and includes a sandbox test environment.
Quantifiable outcome
- Real-time payment processing eliminating long processing times
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Pesawise
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Pesawise technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Pesawise partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- IPSL (Pesalink)corePartnership enables instant settlement of funds to IPSL/pesalink clients 24/7 to any bank account in Kenya. Pesawise integration with Pesalink network allows merchants to pay suppliers and enables cross-border payments across Africa. Peter Ndehi from IPSL stated: 'Our partnership with Pesawise enables instant settlement of funds to their clients 24/7 to any bank account in Kenya.'
- DTB (Diamond Trust Bank)corePartnership for Banking as a Service product (Astra). DTB is a valued partner providing banking infrastructure that Pesawise leverages for virtual account functionality. DTB account number 0845762001 is used by Pesawise for receiving and holding client money. Philip Ochieng from DTB stated: 'DTB is proud to be associated with Pesawise as a valued partner for our Banking as a service product (Astra).'
- FlagrightsupportingFlagright provides AI-powered financial crime compliance and risk management solutions. Pesawise leverages Flagright's technology for compliance and fraud prevention. The Flagright team stated: 'Pesawise is dedicated to delivering cutting-edge services while prioritizing the security and protection of client's transactions from fraudulent activities.'
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Pesawise competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Paystack: African payment gateway (now Stripe-owned) supporting card and bank payments for online businesses. Closely comparable product surface to Pesawise's Gateway/API offering, with stronger distribution through Stripe.
- Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform operating a single API for collections, payouts, and mobile money across multiple African markets. Comparable to Pesawise in its API-first aggregation model but with broader geographic reach.
- Pesapal: Kenya-headquartered payment gateway serving SMEs with card, M-PESA, and bank transfer acceptance. Most directly comparable peer given shared Kenya focus, similar SMB target market, and overlapping payment-rail coverage.
- Flutterwave: Pan-African payment gateway offering card, mobile money, and bank transfer acceptance across multiple countries, including Kenya. Directly competes with Pesawise on multi-rail aggregation for African merchants, but at a much larger scale.
- iPay Africa: Established Kenyan payment service provider offering multi-channel payment collection (cards, M-PESA, Airtel Money, bank) to merchants. Competes head-to-head with Pesawise for the same SME and enterprise customers in Kenya.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe: Global payments platform with growing Africa footprint via Paystack and direct presence. Competes with Pesawise for any merchant with cross-border ambitions and offers a comparable API-first developer experience.
- DPO Pay (Network International): Africa-focused payment gateway and acquiring processor (formerly Direct Pay Online). Competes with Pesawise for cross-border and local card acceptance but is part of a much larger regional processor group.
- Interswitch: Largest African payments ecosystem with card issuing, switching (Verve), gateway, and banking services. Overlaps with Pesawise on merchant payment acceptance but operates a far broader financial-services portfolio.
Emerging players
- Chipper Cash: African cross-border payments and neobanking app active in Kenya. Partial overlap with Pesawise's payout and cross-border capabilities, though primarily consumer-facing rather than a B2B merchant gateway.
Others
- Safaricom Daraja API: M-PESA's official developer API operated by Safaricom. Pesawise builds on top of Daraja (STK Push, B2C/B2B) for its mobile money rail — adjacent infrastructure rather than a head-to-head competitor, but a potential substitute if merchants integrate directly.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pesawise social profiles
Digital presencePesawise compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Pesawise financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pesawise leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Pesawise funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pesawise 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 Pesawise
What does Pesawise do?
Pesawise provides a unified business payment platform that lets Kenyan businesses accept card, mobile money (M-PESA), bank transfer (Pesalink), and QR-code payments, manage multi-currency virtual wallets, and disburse outgoing payments including bulk and payroll transfers. The platform is exposed via a web app, mobile apps, and a REST Merchant API for developers, all backed by a Central Bank of Kenya Payment Service Provider license.
Is Pesawise a public or private company?
Pesawise is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Pesawise founded?
Pesawise was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Pesawise based?
Pesawise is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Pesawise make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees - Local Card Payments are the primary driver. The others are transaction Fees - International Card Payments and mobile Money and Bank Transfer Fees.
Who are Pesawise's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Paystack, Cellulant, Pesapal, Flutterwave and iPay Africa. Broad incumbents are Stripe, DPO Pay (Network International) and Interswitch. Chipper Cash is listed as an emerging player. Safaricom Daraja API is listed as an others.
Does Pesawise have an API?
Yes. Public REST API for payment processing, including M-PESA and Pesalink payments. Supports OAuth2 authentication with Bearer tokens, webhooks for payment notifications, and API key authentication. Test environment available at https://api.pesawise.xyz. Key capabilities include: Account Lookup, B2B Payment, Bank Recipient Validation, Bulk Payment, Complete Payment, Create Wallet, Fetch Fee, M-PESA STK Push, Pesalink Payment, QR Code generation, and Wallet management. Developer documentation is at docs.pesawise.com.
What industry is Pesawise in?
Pesawise's product category is Payment Processing Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGABAE, Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure, with a secondary code of BPAMAFAF, Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms. Its SIC code is 6199.