Tende Pay
TendePay Limited is a Kenya-based, CBK-licensed Payment Service Provider offering a unified spend management and business payments platform for SMEs, microfinance institutions, and mid-market businesses.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Tende Pay firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tende Pay
- Legal name
- TendePay Limited
- Website
- https://tendepay.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- TendePay Limited is a Kenya-based, CBK-licensed Payment Service Provider offering a unified spend management and business payments platform for SMEs, microfinance institutions, and mid-market businesses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tende Pay industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Business Spend Management and Payments Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) Enablement (BNPL, wallets, local methods) (FSAMACAE)
Keywords
Where Tende Pay is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Tende Pay business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees - M-Pesa Payments: TendePay charges transaction fees on M-Pesa payments sent through the platform. Users can send up to KES 250,000 per M-Pesa transaction. Fees are calculated based on transaction amount and include M-Pesa fees plus excise duty.
- Transaction Fees - Bank Transfers: Revenue generated from bank transfer transactions with up to 50% discount on normal bank rates. Maximum transfer limit of KES 999,999 per transaction. Available 24/7, 365 days a year.
- PayBill and BuyGoods Transactions: Fees collected from PayBill and BuyGoods payment processing for utilities, suppliers, and business payments.
- Bulk Airtime Distribution: Bulk airtime top-up service across Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom networks. Marketed as 'instant, zero cost' to recipients, suggesting potential margin-based revenue.
- Payroll Processing: Payroll disbursement services with zero subscription fees but transaction-based fees. Includes PAYE, SHIF, and NSSF compliance features.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Zero Setup Entry Tier |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | M-Pesa Transfer Pricing |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Bank Transfer Pricing |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Payroll Processing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Tende Pay product offering
Product offeringCore offering
TendePay provides a unified, CBK-licensed spend management and payments platform for Kenyan businesses. It combines digitized petty cash, accounts payable, payroll, bulk payments, bulk airtime, payment tills, digital invoicing, and discounted bank transfers into a single dashboard, with M-Pesa and multi-bank orchestration plus QuickBooks/ERP integration. The platform is delivered via web and native iOS/Android apps under a transaction-based pricing model with zero setup fees.
Product overview
TendePay is a unified spend management platform offering integrated payment and financial operations modules designed for Kenyan businesses. The platform centers on core modules including Digitized Petty Cash for expense tracking and multi-branch control, Accounts Payable for supplier and bill automation, Payroll for compliant salary processing with statutory deductions, Bulk Payments for multi-destination disbursements, Bulk Airtime for zero-cost network top-ups, Payment Tills for collections via M-Pesa and bank, Digital Invoicing with automated reconciliation, and Bank Transfers with discounted rates via Pesalink. Supporting add-on modules include Checkout for online M-Pesa payments and Payment Links for creating customizable payment pages. All modules are accessible from a single CBK-regulated platform with ERP/QuickBooks integration and consolidated reporting.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digitized Petty Cash Real-time expense tracking and control module for managing petty cash with customizable spending limits, approval workflows, and multi-branch visibility for Kenyan businesses.
- Accounts Payable Automation module for bills and supplier payments, covering invoice capture through final payment with recurring bill automation, approval workflows, and ERP integration.
- Payroll Salary processing and disbursement module with automated PAYE, SHIF, and NSSF calculations, instant M-Pesa and bank transfers, and digital payslip generation for Kenyan employers.
- Bulk Payments Multi-destination payment disbursement module supporting simultaneous payments to M-Pesa, bank, PayBill, and BuyGoods recipients from a single platform for salaries, vendors, and casual workers.
- Bulk Airtime Instant airtime distribution module across Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom networks with zero transaction costs, Excel upload capability, and beneficiary management for team and customer rewards.
- Payment Tills Payment collection solution using M-Pesa and bank channels with STK Push and QR code support, multiple notification numbers, and consolidated reporting across branches for Kenyan merchants.
- Digital Invoicing Invoice generation and tracking solution with SMS, email, in-app, and WhatsApp delivery; automatic payment matching; recurring billing for subscriptions and rent; and school fees collection.
- Bank Transfers Low-cost bank transfer solution offering up to 50% savings on normal bank rates, sending up to KSh 1 million to all major Kenyan banks 24/7 with real-time tracking via Pesalink.
- Checkout Online payment collection module featuring M-Pesa STK push integration enabling customers to pay via M-Pesa, VOOMA, Equitel, and bank accounts.
- Payment Links Customizable payment page solution allowing businesses to create and share payment links via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or websites supporting 150+ currencies worldwide.
Quantifiable outcome
- Cut payment processing costs by up to 50%
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Tende Pay
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Tende Pay technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature6 records
Tende Pay partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Pesalink (IPSL)coreStrategic integration partnership enabling instant, 24/7 bank transfers up to KES 999,999 across all banks in Kenya. Pesalink's instant payment infrastructure combined with TendePay's spend management platform allows businesses to process salaries, supplier invoices, utilities, and customer collections in real time from one CBK-regulated platform. Partnership extends Pesalink's reach to underserved SME segment.
- Safaricom/M-PesacoreCore payment channel partnership enabling M-Pesa transfers, PayBill, BuyGoods, and STK Push transactions. M-Pesa is primary mobile money channel for Kenya with 39.8 million subscriptions (2024), making it essential infrastructure for TendePay's payment orchestration.
- QuickBooks OnlinecoreAccounting system integration enabling auto-sync of TendePay transactions, expense tracking, and chart of accounts import. Critical ERP integration for SME customers requiring automated bookkeeping.
- MelioraminorPartner listed in company ecosystem.
- Yetu Design LabminorDesign partner listed in company ecosystem.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Tende Pay competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Flutterwave: Pan-African payment gateway enabling merchants to accept and disburse payments across multiple countries and payment methods. Comparable payment orchestration and SME collection/disbursement capabilities, though operating at broader African scale rather than Kenya-only.
Direct peers
- KopoKopo: Kenyan fintech providing payment collection and disbursement tools (including Lipa na M-Pesa integrations) to SMEs. Directly comparable to TendePay's spend management and M-Pesa orchestration stack for Kenyan businesses.
- iPay (iPay Africa): Kenyan payment gateway offering merchants multi-channel collections and disbursements (M-Pesa, Airtel Money, cards, bank). Competes with TendePay's Checkout, Payment Tills, and Payment Links modules for the same SME and enterprise merchant base.
Peers
- Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform providing payment aggregation, mobile money, and banking integrations across multiple African markets. Listed as a partner in TendePay's ecosystem and offers overlapping payment orchestration capabilities across the region.
Broad incumbents
- Interswitch: Largest African payment processing company offering payment gateway, switching, and digital banking services across multiple countries. Comparable in payment orchestration and merchant acquiring capabilities, with deeper pan-African reach.
- Pesalink (IPSL): Kenya's bank-operated instant payment platform covering 80+ institutions. TendePay is both a partner and a competing overlay for interbank business payments; Pesalink's incumbency across the entire Kenyan banking sector makes it the dominant distribution infrastructure in this space.
- Safaricom (M-Pesa Business): Operator of M-Pesa and M-Pesa Business, Kenya's dominant mobile money platform with 39.8M subscriptions. Provides spend management and bulk payment features natively to merchants, competing directly with TendePay's core offering while also serving as its critical payment rail.
Emerging players
- M-Kopa: Kenyan fintech offering pay-as-you-go financing and digital financial services to underbanked customers. While focused on asset financing and lending rather than spend management, it shares the Kenyan fintech market, customer base, and regulatory environment.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Tende Pay social profiles
Digital presenceTende Pay compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Tende Pay financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tende Pay leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Tende Pay subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Tende Pay funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tende Pay 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 Tende Pay
What does Tende Pay do?
TendePay provides a unified, CBK-licensed spend management and payments platform for Kenyan businesses. It combines digitized petty cash, accounts payable, payroll, bulk payments, bulk airtime, payment tills, digital invoicing, and discounted bank transfers into a single dashboard, with M-Pesa and multi-bank orchestration plus QuickBooks/ERP integration. The platform is delivered via web and native iOS/Android apps under a transaction-based pricing model with zero setup fees.
Is Tende Pay a public or private company?
Tende Pay is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Tende Pay founded?
Tende Pay was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tende Pay based?
Tende Pay is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Tende Pay make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees - M-Pesa Payments are the primary driver. The others are transaction Fees - Bank Transfers, payBill and BuyGoods Transactions, bulk Airtime Distribution and payroll Processing.
Who are Tende Pay's main competitors?
Flutterwave is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are KopoKopo and iPay (iPay Africa). Cellulant is listed as a peer. Broad incumbents are Interswitch, Pesalink (IPSL) and Safaricom (M-Pesa Business). M-Kopa is listed as an emerging player.
Does Tende Pay have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tende Pay.
What industry is Tende Pay in?
Tende Pay's product category is Business Spend Management and Payments Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMACAE, Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) Enablement (BNPL, wallets, local methods).