BLOG · M-PESA · KENYA · GUIDES

Payment gateway Kenya guides for merchants and developers

Practical guides on accepting M-Pesa online in Kenya, written for business owners, e-commerce teams and developers. Each article covers one question, so you can go straight to the one you need.

This is the Payment Gateway Kenya blog. It collects our guides on taking M-Pesa payments online, connecting through an API or a hosted payment page, and choosing between the options available to Kenyan businesses.

M-Pesa for merchants:

how pay-ins, payouts and merchant settlement differ

Safaricom Daraja explainers for developers and business owners

Platform guides for Shopify and WooCommerce stores

Comparisons of payment methods and gateway options in Kenya

What you will find here

Most Kenyan businesses selling online want one thing first: a reliable way for customers to pay with M-Pesa. Our guides explain the steps in plain language, from the difference between PayBill, Till and M-PESA Express to what happens after a customer approves a payment.

We write for two readers. Merchants get the operational view: which flow does what and what to ask before going live. Developers get the technical view: requests, status updates and how an M-Pesa payment gateway fits into an existing checkout.

All guides

Featured guide

Best payment gateway in Kenya

A checklist for comparing payment gateways in Kenya, covering the questions to ask about methods, connection routes, settlement and support.

Read the gateway checklist

How to accept M-Pesa on your website

A step-by-step overview of adding M-Pesa to a website checkout, using either an API (H2H) connection or a Hosted Payment Page.

Read the website guide

M-Pesa API in Kenya

A developer-focused explainer on how an M-Pesa API integration works, including payment requests and postbacks that send transaction status to your system.

Read the API explainer

Daraja vs a payment gateway

Compares building directly on Safaricom Daraja with connecting through a payment gateway, so you can weigh the work involved on each route.

Read the comparison

Safaricom Daraja for merchants

A plain-language guide to Daraja for business owners, explaining M-PESA Express (Lipa na M-PESA Online), PayBill and Till as separate transaction types.

Read the Daraja guide

M-Pesa for Business vs a gateway

Looks at when standard M-Pesa business tools are enough and when an online checkout calls for a payment gateway instead.

Read the guide

Shopify M-Pesa setup in Kenya

Explains the options for Shopify stores selling in Kenya, noting that Kenya was not on Shopify's official Shopify Payments country list when checked on 5 November 2026.

Read the Shopify guide

WooCommerce M-Pesa in Kenya

Covers what to consider when adding M-Pesa to a WooCommerce store and which questions to settle before you go live.

Read the WooCommerce guide

Stripe alternatives for Kenya

For businesses that started by searching for Stripe, this guide sets out other ways to accept payments from customers in Kenya.

Read about alternatives

Payment methods in Kenya

An overview of how customers in Kenya pay online and what each method means for a merchant's checkout.

Read the methods overview

2D payments in Kenya

Explains what 2D card payments are and why Payment Gateway Kenya supports 3D-only card flows and does not offer 2D or non-3DS processing.

Read the 2D explainer

Start here: a suggested reading path

If you are new to online payments in Kenya, read the guides in this order. Each step builds on the one before.

1. Understand how customers pay
Begin with payment methods in Kenya to see where M-Pesa fits in an online checkout.
2. Decide whether you need a gateway
Read M-Pesa for Business vs a gateway and then how to choose a payment gateway in Kenya.
3. Learn the Daraja basics
The Daraja guide for merchants explains M-PESA Express, PayBill and Till. Follow it with Daraja vs a payment gateway.
4. Plan your integration
Read how to accept M-Pesa on your website. Developers should continue with the M-Pesa API explainer.
5. Check your platform
If you run a store, finish with the Shopify guide or the WooCommerce guide.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions merchants and developers ask most often before reading further.

Who are these guides written for?

They are written for Kenyan merchants, e-commerce owners and developers. Merchant-focused articles cover operational choices, while developer-focused articles explain requests, status updates and integration routes.

Which payment methods does Payment Gateway Kenya support in Kenya?

In Kenya, Payment Gateway Kenya supports M-Pesa only. The gateway handles M-Pesa pay-ins, plus payouts where confirmed for the account. For questions about anything else, ask our team.

What is the difference between Daraja and a payment gateway?

Safaricom Daraja is the interface for M-Pesa transaction types such as M-PESA Express (Lipa na M-PESA Online), PayBill and Till. A gateway gives you a connection route, by API or Hosted Payment Page, into one place for your payment flows. Our comparison guide covers this in detail.

Is STK Push the same as M-PESA Express?

'STK Push' is the market term for the prompt-style payment request, as referred to in Safaricom documentation. Safaricom's name for the request a business starts is M-PESA Express (Lipa na M-PESA Online). PayBill and Till are separate transaction types.

When are merchant settlements sent?

Merchant settlements are sent on the same day (T+0). This describes when settlement is sent, not when funds are credited to your account.

Can I use Shopify Payments in Kenya?

Kenya was not on Shopify's official Shopify Payments country list when checked on 5 November 2026. Our Shopify guide explains what this means for stores selling in Kenya.

How much does Payment Gateway Kenya cost?

Pricing is custom. Talk to our sales team for a quote based on your business. Existing merchants can add supported payment methods at no extra connection fee, as the number of enabled methods does not change the connection price.

What is your transaction success rate?

Our overall transaction success rate is 85%, measured as successful transactions divided by all transactions. This is a product-wide figure and is not a guarantee.

Ready to accept M-Pesa online?

Payment Gateway Kenya is a payment gateway for M-Pesa pay-ins, plus payouts where confirmed for your account. You can connect through our API (H2H) or a Hosted Payment Page, which are two ways into the same gateway.

Pricing is custom, so talk to our sales team about your business. You can also read more about M-Pesa payments with Payment Gateway Kenya or return to the Payment Gateway Kenya home page.

Talk to sales See M-Pesa payments Back to Payment Gateway Kenya home