NAIROBI, Kenya – Safaricom and Pesapal have today, Thursday, October 1, 2026, announced the rollout of next-generation payment experiences designed to make everyday transactions faster and more convenient for businesses and customers across Kenya.
The collaboration builds on Safaricom’s continued innovation around M-PESA payments, including Scan-to-Pay, AI Pay and Tap-to-Pay.
Pesapal brings its merchant payment infrastructure to this journey, enabling Dynamic Scan-to-Pay and Tap-to-Pay through its POS devices, extending these payment experiences to the physical point of sale.
“As the way Kenyans shop and transact continues to evolve, we are focused on ensuring that M-PESA evolves with them,” said James Maitai, Group Chief Technology Officer, Safaricom PLC.
Why partnering with Pesapal matters significantly to Safaricom
According to Maintain, this means moving beyond simply enabling payments to reimagining the payment experience itself.
“Our partnership with Pesapal is an important part of that journey, bringing together our respective capabilities to shape the next generation of everyday payments,” Maitai added.
Scan-to-Pay enables customers to scan a QR code linked directly to a merchant’s M-PESA Till Number.
Building on this experience, Safaricom’s partnership with Pesapal introduces Dynamic Scan-to-Pay, allowing customers to scan a QR code displayed on the Pesapal POS.
The merchant details and payment amount are automatically populated, making it easier for customers to verify and complete their payment.
Pesapal’s Tap-to-Pay and Scan-to-Pay
The partnership also introduces Tap-to-Pay, which enables customers with NFC-enabled smartphones to simply tap their device on a Pesapal POS, verify the transaction details and complete the payment.
“Tap-to-Pay and Scan-to-Pay on the Pesapal POS represent the biggest leap in Kenya’s checkout experience in years. Thousands of businesses trust our platform, and by teaming up with Safaricom, we are delivering the faster, error-free transactions their customers expect. Today, we activate the future of payments,” said Agosta Liko, Founder, Pesapal.
Safaricom is also introducing AI Pay, an exciting new addition to the M-PESA payment experience on My OneApp, which has more than 7 million downloads. Customers can scan any receipt, whether printed or handwritten, and where available, AI Pay automatically identifies and populates the Till or PayBill details as well as payment amount, reducing the need for manual entry.
With Scan-to-Pay already available at over 60,000 merchant outlets and a target of scaling to 500,000 within the next year, alongside the expanding footprint of Pesapal POS devices, Safaricom maintains that it will continue to accelerate the rollout of innovative payment solutions that enhance convenience, simplify transactions, and meet the evolving needs of customers and businesses.
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