What a Paybill number is and who needs it
A Paybill number lets customers pay you by selecting Lipa na M-Pesa, then Pay Bill, entering your Paybill number, an account number and the amount. The account number is the key feature: it identifies which customer or invoice the payment belongs to, so you can reconcile collections automatically.
Paybill suits account-based and recurring billing: landlords collecting rent by unit, schools collecting fees by admission number, SACCOs, utilities, subscriptions and businesses sending invoices. If you must know who paid for what, Paybill is built for that.
It is different from a till (Buy Goods), which is for over-the-counter payments of a stated amount with no account reference. Choose Paybill when the account number matters; choose a till for counter sales.
The choice between a paybill and a till number is about how you need payments to arrive rather than about prestige. A paybill takes an account number alongside the payment, which is what makes it suitable where you need to know which customer or invoice a payment belongs to. A till number does not, which is fine at a counter and unhelpful for accounts.
That distinction should drive the decision. Businesses billing customers on account, or collecting recurring payments, want the account reference. A shop settling face to face generally does not, and the simpler option is the better one.
Want to see it running in your own business first?
Sign UpHow to apply for a Paybill, step by step
Paybill is a merchant product, so registration is more formal than Pochi.
- 1
Step 1: Prepare your documents
Have your business registration, KRA PIN, owner ID and contact details ready. Paybill generally expects a registered business.
- 2
Step 2: Apply through Safaricom
Apply via the M-PESA Business portal (or with help at a Safaricom shop), selecting the Pay Bill product.
- 3
Step 3: Submit and verify
Provide your business and owner details. Safaricom verifies them as part of merchant onboarding.
- 4
Step 4: Receive your Paybill number
Once approved, you get your Paybill number and access to the M-PESA Business portal to manage it.
- 5
Step 5: Define your account numbers
Decide what the account number means for your customers (unit, admission, invoice or customer reference) and communicate it so payments are tagged correctly.
- 6
Step 6: Set settlement and operators
Configure settlement to your bank and add operators. Test a payment with an account number to confirm reconciliation works.
- 7
Decide whether you need an account reference
This is the real difference. Billing on account needs it; a counter sale usually does not.
- 8
Confirm current requirements with Safaricom
Documentation and process are set by Safaricom and change. Check directly rather than working from a list in an article.
Paybill setup mistakes
No clear account-number scheme
If customers enter random or wrong account numbers, reconciliation breaks. Define and communicate a clear account reference (unit, admission, invoice).
Choosing Paybill for simple counter sales
Counter customers do not want to enter account numbers. For over-the-counter stated amounts, a till is faster and better.
Ignoring tariffs
Paybill has merchant tariffs that Safaricom revises. Check the current tariff for your collection volumes.
Manual reconciliation
Even with account numbers, matching hundreds of payments by hand is slow. Use software that reconciles Paybill collections automatically.
Forgetting eTIMS
Collecting via Paybill does not issue eTIMS invoices. You still must issue compliant invoices for taxable sales.
A school automates fee collection
A school in Nairobi collected fees in chaos: parents paid to various numbers and matching payments to pupils took the bursar days each term.
They registered a Paybill and set each pupil's admission number as the account number. Parents now Pay Bill with the admission number, and every payment tags itself to the right pupil.
Reconciliation that once took days became near-instant, and the school added software so receipts and records, including any eTIMS-relevant invoicing, were handled cleanly. If you want payments to land in your own system rather than be read off a statement, the M-Pesa API guide explains what that integration involves.
When M-Pesa payments are not matched to sales, a missing payment, a staff shortfall or a double charge can slip past you until the money is already gone.
Veira reconciles M-Pesa Till and Paybill against every sale, so a mismatch surfaces the same day instead of at month end.
How Veira reconciles Paybill collections
Veira connects your Paybill to your records, matching each account-tagged payment to the right customer or invoice and issuing compliant eTIMS invoices where required. Account-based collections reconcile automatically instead of by hand.
So your Paybill does more than collect: it feeds clean, reconciled records and compliant invoices, from KES 2,999 a month.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get an M-Pesa Paybill number?
What do I need to register a Paybill?
What is the account number for in Paybill?
Is Paybill better than a till?
Does Paybill cost money to use?
Do I still need eTIMS with Paybill?
A Paybill number turns account-based collection from chaos into automatic reconciliation, ideal for rent, fees and invoices. Veira ties those collections to clean records and automatic eTIMS invoices, from KES 2,999 a month. See how Veira reconciles your M-Pesa and book a free demo.
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