M-Pesa

What M-Pesa does

M-Pesa is the mobile money service operated by Safaricom in Kenya, providing money transfer, bill payment, savings, credit, and merchant collection services to individual consumers, small and medium businesses, and government/utility entities. The platform runs on USSD infrastructure (*334#) for any mobile phone, supplemented by the Safaricom My OneApp smartphone application, and is anchored by a nationwide physical agent network that enables cash-in and cash-out across Kenya — the only operating geography disclosed in the source.

The product portfolio is organized around a core M-Pesa wallet, with add-on modules covering P2P transfers, agent and ATM withdrawals, Buy Goods (Business Till) merchant acceptance, Paybill corporate collections, Pochi La Biashara small-business accounts, Ratiba scheduled payments, Bulk Payments disbursement, and the Fuliza overdraft and M-Shwari savings/loans credit products. Supplementary tools include multiple tariff calculators (Cost, Till, Paybill, Fuliza, Ratiba, Bulk Payments, M-Shwari, Taasi Till, Fuliza For Business). The platform is integrated with major Kenyan public payment rails — KRA taxes, eCitizen services, KPLC electricity, SHA/SHIF health insurance, and NSSF contributions — making it critical payment infrastructure rather than a standalone wallet.

Revenue is generated entirely through transaction-based fees across each service line: flat fees for P2P transfers (90 KES same-network, 115 KES cross-network as of March 2026), tiered agent and ATM withdrawal charges, business till and Paybill transaction fees, and interest/fees on Fuliza overdraft utilization. The go-to-market motion is product-led, combining direct-to-consumer digital access (USSD, My OneApp) with a field agent network that doubles as both a transaction channel and a customer acquisition touchpoint. M-Pesa is not an independent legal entity in the source data; it operates as a core product line within the Safaricom ecosystem, with no disclosed standalone funding, headcount, M&A, or leadership data.

Name

M-Pesa

Website

https://mpesa.co.ke

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

M-Pesa is a Safaricom-operated mobile money platform enabling Kenyan consumers, SMEs, and government entities to send money, pay bills, access credit, and save via USSD and a smartphone app through a nationwide agent network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Money / Mobile Financial Services

NAICS

Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

akta.pro primary industry

Carrier Billing & Telco Mobile Money (FSAMAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance (FSAMADAG), Mobility Payments & Wallets (Transit + Mobility) (THADALAD)

Keywords

• Mobile money services
• Mobile payments
• Money transfer
• Mobile financial services
• Merchant payments

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees - Send Money: M-Pesa charges flat fees for sending money between users on the same network (90 KES) and to other networks (115 KES). These fees apply to each transaction and are deducted at the point of transfer.
2. Transaction Fees - Withdrawals: Fees charged for withdrawing cash from M-Pesa agents and ATMs. Rates vary based on withdrawal amount and channel (agent vs ATM).
3. Business Till Transactions: Merchants using Buy Goods Tills pay transaction fees when receiving payments from customers. Fee structure calculated using the Till Calculator based on transaction amounts.
4. Paybill Services: Businesses and organizations utilizing Paybill numbers pay transaction fees for each payment received from customers via M-Pesa.
5. Fuliza Overdraft: Users utilizing the Fuliza overdraft facility pay interest/fees on the overdrawn amount, generating revenue based on utilization and duration of overdraft.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

M-Pesa is Safaricom's mobile money service that enables users to send, receive, and store money, pay bills, and access digital financial services directly from a mobile phone. It provides peer-to-peer transfers, cash-in/cash-out via agents and ATMs, merchant payment acceptance (Buy Goods Till), business bill payments (Paybill), scheduled payments (Ratiba), overdraft credit (Fuliza), and savings and loans (M-Shwari) through USSD and the My OneApp.

Product overview

M-Pesa is Safaricom's core mobile money platform providing a comprehensive suite of financial services including money transfers, bill payments, savings, and credit. The offering consists of the primary M-Pesa core product, supplemented by specialized sub-products such as M-Pesa Paybill for business payments, Pochi La Biashara for business account management, M-Pesa Fuliza for overdraft facilities, and M-Shwari for savings and loans. The portfolio also includes multiple calculator tools (Cost Calculator, Business Till Calculator, Paybill Calculator, Fuliza Calculator, Ratiba Calculator, Bulk Payments Calculator, Taasi Till Loan Calculator) that help users understand transaction fees and costs based on Safaricom's published tariff schedules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wave Mobile Money: Wave is a fast-scaling mobile money operator in West Africa (Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Sierra Leone) targeting the same underbanked consumer base with P2P transfers and merchant payments at lower fees.
• Orange Money: Orange Money is a telco-led mobile money service operating across multiple African and Middle Eastern markets with the same USSD-and-agent distribution model and consumer/SMB product set as M-Pesa.
• T-Kash (Telkom Kenya): T-Kash is Telkom Kenya's mobile money service, directly comparable to M-Pesa as a telco-operated wallet offering P2P transfers, bill payments, and merchant services in the same Kenyan market.
• Airtel Money Kenya: Airtel Money is the primary direct competitor to M-Pesa in Kenya, offering mobile money transfers, payments, and merchant services to the same consumer and SMB base through a USSD-led model and an Airtel-led agent network.
• MTN MoMo: MTN MoMo is Africa's largest mobile money platform by user count, operating across multiple countries with a telco-led model nearly identical to M-Pesa's USSD agent-based architecture and product suite (P2P, merchant, lending, savings).
• Vodacom M-Pesa (outside Kenya): Vodacom M-Pesa operates the M-Pesa brand in Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Ghana using the same mobile money playbook as Kenya M-Pesa, making it the most structurally similar peer for product, technology, and go-to-market comparison.

Emerging players

• OPay: OPay is an emerging African fintech operating mobile money, payments, and merchant services in Nigeria, Egypt, and other markets, with a partially overlapping mobile wallet + agent model that increasingly competes with established players like M-Pesa for the same SMB and consumer segments.

Regional players

• GCash: GCash is the Philippines' leading mobile wallet, sharing M-Pesa's mobile-first, USSD-equivalent, agent-and-merchant-driven model for P2P, bill payment, savings, and credit, but operating in a different geography.
• Paytm Payments Bank: Paytm operated a payments bank and mobile wallet in India that mirrors M-Pesa's combination of payments, merchant acceptance, and basic financial services, though it is geographically distinct and serves a much larger but more competitive market.

Broad incumbents

• Equity Bank (Equitel, EazzyPay): Equity Bank is a major Kenyan financial institution offering mobile banking (EazzyPay) and MVNO-led mobile money (Equitel) that competes with M-Pesa for consumer and merchant transactions while also operating as a broader incumbent across deposits, lending, and payments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about M-Pesa