What an M-Pesa till number means for your shop
An M-Pesa till number, also called a Buy Goods number, is a five or six digit code tied to your business on Safaricom’s Lipa na M-Pesa service. A customer opens M-Pesa, chooses Buy Goods and Services, types your till, enters the amount and their PIN, and the money lands in your business account. Your registered business name shows on their phone before they confirm, so a customer at your counter can see they are paying the right shop.
The till sits under the Lipa na M-Pesa umbrella alongside Paybill. The difference is what each is built for. A till is built for face-to-face selling, where the customer is standing in front of you buying goods or a meal. There is no account number to type, so the queue moves fast. That speed is why dukas, kiosks, salons, butcheries and restaurants reach for a till first.
A till also keeps business money separate from your personal M-Pesa. Instead of customers sending cash to your Safaricom line, payments flow into a business till you can give staff access to, reconcile at the end of the day and settle to your bank. For any shop taking more than a handful of payments, that separation is the difference between knowing your numbers and guessing them.
How an M-Pesa till number works, step by step
Here is what happens from the moment a customer decides to pay your till.
- 1
The customer chooses Buy Goods
On the M-Pesa app or menu the customer selects Lipa na M-Pesa, then Buy Goods and Services. On USSD they dial *334# and pick the same option.
- 2
They enter your till and the amount
The customer types your till number and the amount. Your business name appears on screen so they can confirm they are paying the right business before going further.
- 3
They authorise with their PIN
The customer enters their M-Pesa PIN. Safaricom checks the balance and moves the money instantly. Both of you get an SMS confirmation carrying a transaction code.
- 4
The money reaches your business
Funds settle to your till. Depending on your setup the money can be moved to a linked bank account or withdrawn through your head office number.
- 5
You record and reconcile
Match the M-Pesa code on the customer SMS to the sale. A POS that captures the till payment against each receipt turns end-of-day reconciliation into a quick check rather than a hunt through messages.
Mistakes shops make with till numbers
Using a personal number instead of a till
Asking customers to send money to your own Safaricom line mixes business and personal cash, blocks staff access and leaves you with no clean record. A till fixes all three at once.
Displaying the wrong number
Customers sometimes pay an old number or a paybill when they meant the till. Print your current till clearly at the counter and on the receipt so there is no doubt.
Ignoring the cost of settlement
Receiving on Buy Goods is free to the customer, but moving or withdrawing the money carries a tiered charge. Build it into your pricing rather than meeting it as a surprise at month end.
Skipping daily reconciliation
Tills make it easy to assume the money is all there. Staff can key the wrong amount or a payment can fail. Matching payments to sales every evening catches errors while they are still fixable.
A butchery in Kasarani
A butchery in Kasarani used to take M-Pesa on the owner’s personal line. By Friday evening the line had hundreds of messages, some from customers, some from family, and no clean way to tell the day’s takings from a cousin repaying a loan.
The owner registered a Buy Goods till and put the number on a printed card at the scale. Customers now pay the till, the business name confirms the shop, and the money stays separate from personal cash. Two attendants serve without ever touching the owner’s phone.
At close the owner matches the till total to the sales recorded on the POS. The takings are clear, theft is harder to hide, and when the butchery applied for stock financing the clean M-Pesa record was exactly the proof the lender wanted to see.
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 works with your till
Veira links your M-Pesa till to the point of sale so every Buy Goods payment is captured against the receipt it belongs to. The attendant rings up the meat, the customer pays the till, and the sale, the payment and the eTIMS tax invoice are recorded together.
That connection removes the evening guessing. Veira shows the day’s till takings next to the sales it recorded, flags any sale that was not paid, and keeps the figures KRA expects lined up with the money Safaricom moved.
It runs on a phone and a free terminal, keeps working when the network drops, and gives each attendant their own login, so a busy counter stays fast without losing a single payment.
Frequently asked questions
What is an M-Pesa till number?
Is a till number the same as a Buy Goods number?
How much does it cost to receive money on a till?
Can I use my personal M-Pesa number as a till?
What is the difference between a till and a paybill?
Do I still need an eTIMS receipt if the customer paid the till?
Can more than one person use the till?
How do I get an M-Pesa till number?
An M-Pesa till number is the simplest way for a Kenyan shop to take payments cleanly, keep business money separate and build a record that lenders and KRA respect. Read how to get one next, or book a free demo and let Veira link your till to every receipt and eTIMS invoice automatically.