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Safaricom and Pesapal announced two new ways to pay with M-PESA at participating Pesapal checkout terminals in Kenya: scan a QR code displayed on the terminal, or tap an NFC-enabled smartphone on a compatible terminal. The customer checks the payment details and authorizes the transaction; the merchant’s existing M-PESA Till Number remains the receiving account, according to TechCabal’s report republished by Veltrix.
How does M-PESA Tap-to-Pay work?
In the Tap-to-Pay flow, a customer brings an NFC-enabled smartphone to a compatible Pesapal point-of-sale (POS) terminal and taps it. The transaction details are presented for the customer to verify before payment is completed. TechCabal’s account says authorization can take place in My OneApp using an M-PESA PIN or biometrics. This is a terminal-mediated M-PESA payment, not a phone-to-phone wallet transfer.
The launch reports do not list supported phone models, operating-system versions or app requirements. They also do not publish measured transaction times or error rates, so the feature cannot be described as proven faster or error-free based on the available reporting.
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Can I scan a QR code at a Pesapal POS?
Yes. With Dynamic Scan-to-Pay, the Pesapal POS displays a QR code for the customer to scan. The merchant details and payment amount are automatically filled in, then shown for the customer to verify and authorize. This path relies on scanning the terminal’s QR code rather than tapping an NFC phone.
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Tap-to-Pay and Scan-to-Pay compared
| Payment path | What the customer needs | What is prefilled | What the customer does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap-to-Pay | An NFC-enabled smartphone and a compatible Pesapal POS terminal | The reports do not specify which transaction details are prefilled | Tap the phone, review the transaction details and authorize payment |
| Dynamic Scan-to-Pay | A smartphone that can scan the QR code displayed on a participating Pesapal POS | Merchant details and payment amount | Scan, review the details and authorize payment |
The launch coverage does not establish a fee comparison, security ranking, or measured speed or error-rate advantage for either path.
Does M-PESA Tap-to-Pay need a new Till Number?
No new Till Number is described for this launch. TechCabal reports that the merchant’s existing M-PESA Till Number remains the receiving account, with Pesapal providing the terminal and Safaricom handling the M-PESA transaction.
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What does the 30,000-terminal figure mean?
TechCabal, in a report republished by Veltrix, attributes the figure of 30,000 terminals in Kenya’s initial rollout to Pesapal founder Agosta Liko. The report says the terminals are concentrated in restaurants, hotels and selected supermarkets, and that the feature is available to merchants with compatible terminals. The figure is an attributed company estimate of network scale, not an independently audited inventory or a count of customers using Tap-to-Pay.
The Star’s 1 October 2026 launch report says Safaricom already had Scan-to-Pay at more than 60,000 merchant outlets and set a target of 500,000 within the next year. Those figures refer to Scan-to-Pay outlets; they do not measure Tap-to-Pay availability or use.
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Which phones work with Pesapal Tap-to-Pay?
The phone must support NFC for the Tap-to-Pay flow, but the launch reports do not provide a model-by-model compatibility list or identify supported operating-system or My OneApp versions. Check whether your phone has NFC and whether the merchant’s Pesapal terminal supports the feature; NFC capability alone does not establish that every device or terminal is compatible.
For QR Scan-to-Pay, the reported flow uses the phone to scan the code shown on the POS. The announcement does not identify a separate scanner accessory as necessary.
Rank #4
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What is AI Pay, and is it part of the Pesapal terminal rollout?
AI Pay is a separate My OneApp feature mentioned in the same Safaricom announcement, not a function of the Pesapal POS. It can scan a printed or handwritten receipt and, when the information is readable and available, identify Till or PayBill details and the payment amount for the customer.
What has not been established about the rollout?
- The launch reports do not provide an independently measured adoption figure, transaction volume, speed comparison or error-reduction result for Tap-to-Pay.
- TechCabal reports that Pesapal spent six months testing the service, but does not give the testing method, sample size or independent results.
- No complete fee schedule or device compatibility list is provided in the launch coverage.
Pesapal founder Agosta Liko described the new flows as delivering “faster, error-free transactions” in The Star’s report. That is a company statement, not an independently measured performance finding.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Important Order Information - The purchase of this listing requires a new merchant account to be set up with SwyftPAY. Please contact us prior to purchasing if you have any questions.
- Accept payments – fast, contactless, and in style
- Security baked right in Every payment you accept is end-end encrypted, and your data is kept safe according to the most stringent industry standards. Poynt is fully PCI DSS and PCI PTS certified.
- Accessories galore Poynt smart terminals play nice with all your favorite accessories including wired and wireless printers, cash drawers, and barcode scanners, so you can focus on selling.
- Accept payments in minutes.
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