Africa · Mobile money

M-Pesa Payout Integration

Kenya's default money rail, wired directly into WePesa escrow. Lock a KES quote, upload your card, and hear the M-Pesa confirmation SMS before you close the tab.

You want gift-card value as Kenyan shillings on your Safaricom line — not in a bank account you'd have to withdraw from, and not tomorrow. This page documents exactly how that payout runs, how fast it settles, and what caps apply.

Sell a card to M-Pesa All payout rails

At a glance

What this rail delivers.

Median settle

45s

Countries

KE + TZ

Daily ceiling

KES 250k

Success rate

99.6%

How it works

From gift card to settled payout.

01
Lock the KES quote
Live mid-market USD/KES plus the card's rate. Locked for 10 minutes — an FX move during upload can't reduce your payout.
02
Name-check the number
We resolve the registered M-Pesa name for the number you entered and show you the first name to confirm. A single wrong digit can't send your money to a stranger.
03
Escrow verifies, B2C fires
The card is validated with the issuer, then a Daraja B2C payment is queued. Confirmation SMS from Safaricom lands as soon as it clears.

Coverage

Providers, banks, and wallets we settle to.

Provider	Market	Destination type	Typical settle
Safaricom M-Pesa	Kenya	07xx / 01xx wallet	30–90s
M-Pesa Paybill	Kenya	Paybill + account no.	1–3 min
Vodacom M-Pesa	Tanzania	Wallet number	1–4 min
Airtel Money	Kenya	Wallet number	1–5 min
Bank (Equity, KCB, Co-op)	Kenya	Account via PesaLink	5–20 min

Limits & fees

Exactly what lands in your account.

Tier	Per transaction	Per day	Rail fee
New seller (no ID)	KES 20,000	KES 40,000	Absorbed
ID verified	KES 150,000	KES 250,000	Absorbed
Hub / pro trader	KES 250,000	By agreement	Absorbed
Above wallet cap	Split automatically	PesaLink to bank	Absorbed

Rail fees are absorbed by WePesa unless a row says otherwise. The quote you lock is the amount that settles.

Reliability

How we keep the rail up when the network isn't.

Daraja outages are queued, not failed

Safaricom's API has maintenance windows, usually late night. Payouts submitted during one are held at the locked rate and released the moment the rail answers — typically within 20 minutes.

Wallet-full handling

M-Pesa wallets have a balance ceiling. If your wallet can't receive the full amount we split the payout, or route the remainder over PesaLink to your bank, automatically.

Reversal path

If a payout somehow lands on the wrong number, we file the Safaricom reversal on your behalf and cover the fee. It's rare — the name-check catches almost every typo first.

Round-the-clock

M-Pesa doesn't keep banking hours and neither do we. Saturday 23:00 payouts settle just as fast as Tuesday midday.

For builders

Trigger payouts programmatically.

POST /v1/payouts — M-Pesa

json

{
  "rail": "mpesa",
  "destination": { "msisdn": "254712345678" },
  "source_card": { "brand": "amazon_us", "face_value_usd": 100 },
  "quote_id": "qt_31fa9c",
  "webhook_url": "https://yourapp.com/hooks/wepesa"
}

// 201 Created
{
  "id": "po_7Qm2",
  "status": "queued",
  "rail": "mpesa",
  "amount_kes": 12180,
  "beneficiary_name": "JOHN M.",
  "eta_seconds": 60
}

API access is available to verified Hub accounts. Sandbox keys are issued same day.

FAQ

What sellers ask about this rail.

Do I need to be the registered owner of the M-Pesa number?+

For payouts above KES 20,000, yes — the name-check must match your WePesa profile. Below that you can pay out to a family member's line if the name is visible to you on the confirm screen.

Are M-Pesa transaction charges deducted from my payout?+

No. WePesa pays the B2C charge. The KES figure you lock is the KES figure that appears in your wallet.

Can I receive to a Paybill or till number?+

Yes — useful if you're settling a business float. Enter the Paybill plus account reference and we'll route it there instead of a wallet.

What about Tanzania?+

Vodacom M-Pesa Tanzania is live with TZS quotes. Speeds are slightly slower (1–4 min) and daily caps follow BoT tiers.

Is this legal in Kenya?+

Yes. Reselling unused gift cards is legal, and the KES leg runs through licensed payment service providers regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.

Sell a card to M-Pesa.

Lock a quote, upload the card, watch the payout land. Escrow protected end to end.

Sell a card to M-Pesa Compare all rails

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