Safaricom Plc has made huge cuts on its Pochi La Biashara where Customer payments to merchants will be free up to KSh 200 for 90 days from 1 August 2026, with lower charges above that threshold.
Safaricom has also revised its Lipa na M-PESA proposition where customers who Buy Goods will see where free collections increase from KSh 200 to KSh 500 from 7 August; amounts above KSh 500 remain charged at 0.55%, capped at KSh 200.
M-PESA Business till transfers have also been revised with charges for moving funds from a till to an M-PESA account or Paybill will fall by up to 50% from 7th August 2026.
Pochi La Biashara, which was launched by Safaricom six years ago, allows business owners such as food vendors, small kiosk owners, boda-boda operators, second-hand clothes dealers among others to receive and separate business funds from personal funds on their M-PESA line.
Pochi la Biashara is available to Safaricom customers who are already registered to M-PESA on their SIM card.
Benefits of Pochi la Biashara
This Safaricom platform has a simple sign-up process where no paperwork is involved. Business owners will be able to separate their business funds and personal funds allowing them to use business transactions to plan financially.
Customers can withdraw funds from an agent directly from a Pochi la Biashara account without moving the funds to M-PESA account.
Pochi customers can use Lipa Na Pochi option to pay to business account Paybill or Buy Goods using funds in their Pochi account.
Payment once received cannot be reversed without the approval of the business owner.
Business owners can now sell airtime from the funds collected in their Pochi wallet and earn a 5% commission on the value sold; Access to Mini statements showing the latest top transactions. Key features of Pochi la Biashara are on its menu and include features to send money, sell Airtime; and make payments to other businesses.
A customer can also withdraw Cash (at an Agent directly from Pochi account); and move money from Pochi account to M-PESA and vice versa
Standard M-Pesa charges apply on transactions with normal M-PESA limits of Sh250,000 per transaction and Sh500,000 per day applying. Customers can opt into Pochi la Biashara using M-PESA registered line,
Lipa na M-Pesa
It is a cashless payment service that allows customers to make payments for goods and services securely and conveniently from any customer or any other business across the country.
Launched in 2012, the service particularly caters to businesses by providing higher transaction tools and account limits, more secure payments, and easy integration with business systems and other financial services.
To open an account, Safaricom has put in place Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for individuals, sole proprietors, limited liability companies, employment agencies, foreign companies, and real estate businesses.
The rush by businesses in taking up the service has been to meet the growing uptake of Lipa Na M-PESA amongst Kenyans, with customers using the service increasing by 1 million since January 2020 to more than 6 million.
Customers use the Pay Bill or Buy Goods and Services options in the M-Pesa menu to make payments with these payments going directly to the merchant’s M-Pesa account.
Key features
Once you tap Lipa na M-Pesa on your device, you will find the following three options on the menu. One is a Pay bill which is used for payments to businesses, such as utility bills, school fees, or government services; Buy goods and services which is used for everyday purchases at shops, supermarkets, and restaurants. Pochi la Biashara, is a service for small businesses to receive payments without mixing business and personal funds.
One of the greatest benefits of using this service is convenience, in that you do not need to carry cash as payments since it can be made anytime from your phone.
There is also reduced risk of theft and fraud.
You, however, need not share your secret pin number with a third party. Other benefits that you can be guaranteed by using it are instant transactions as payments are reflected immediately and also helps in ensuring good record keeping as transaction messages act as proof of payment.
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