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What is an M-Pesa Paybill?

By · Published · Category: Glossary

An M-Pesa Paybill is a business shortcode issued by Safaricom that lets a business or landlord collect payments. The payer chooses "Pay Bill", enters the Paybill (business) number, then an account number — for rent this is usually the tenant’s unit or reference — and the amount.

How a Paybill works for rent

Because the payer types an account number with every payment, a Paybill makes rent easy to attribute: each tenant is given a unique reference, so you can see exactly who paid, how much, and when. That is what makes automatic reconciliation possible.

Paybill vs Till

A Till (Buy Goods) number is built for quick point-of-sale purchases and has no account field, so payments are harder to match to a specific tenant. For rent, a Paybill is usually the better fit — see Paybill vs Till number.

How to get a Paybill

You apply through Safaricom for a business (M-Pesa) shortcode. Once active, tenants can pay directly to it, and a platform like Pangoni can read each payment’s account reference and post it to the right tenant automatically.

Frequently asked

On M-Pesa the tenant selects Pay Bill, enters your Paybill (business) number, then the account number you gave them (usually their unit or tenant reference), the rent amount, and their PIN.

The account number identifies who the payment is for. Assigning each tenant a unique reference lets rent be matched to the correct tenant automatically, instead of being reconciled by hand.

Usually yes. A Paybill captures an account number with each payment so rent is attributable and reconcilable; a Till has no account field, which makes matching payments to tenants harder.