Safaricom has slashed M-Pesa business transaction fees by as much as 50 percent, rolling out changes across Pochi la Biashara, Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods, and Business Till accounts. The cuts, part of Safaricom’s broader PATA MORE campaign, aim to make everyday digital payments cheaper for small traders and the customers who pay them.
Safaricom says the revised charges align with the Central Bank of Kenya’s pricing principles of customer-centricity, transparency, fairness, competition, and affordability. “To make digital payments more affordable and support the growth of businesses across Kenya, Safaricom is introducing revised tariffs for Pochi la Biashara and Lipa na M-PESA Buy Goods,” the company said in its announcement.
Pochi la Biashara: Free Limit Doubles for 90 Days
The first phase runs as a 90-day promotion from August 1 to October 31, 2026, targeting everyday payments to micro-merchants using Pochi la Biashara. Payments up to Sh200 are now completely free, doubling the previous Sh100 threshold, while anything from Sh2,501 to Sh250,000 is capped at a flat Sh50, down from the earlier ceiling of Sh108.
The mid-tier savings are where most small traders will feel the difference. A customer paying Sh10,000 to a Pochi merchant now pays just Sh50 in fees, down from Sh90 previously. The full tiered structure runs from free at Sh1 to Sh200, up to Sh7 for Sh201 to Sh500, Sh13 for Sh501 to Sh1,000, Sh23 for Sh1,001 to Sh1,500, Sh33 for Sh1,501 to Sh2,500, and a flat Sh50 for everything from Sh2,501 up to Sh250,000.
Why the Sh200 Threshold Matters More Than It Looks
A Sh200 free limit might sound modest, but it comfortably covers the purchases millions of Kenyans make every single day, matatu fares, vegetables, groceries, and household essentials. Safaricom has pointed to a persistent behavioural gap despite Kenya’s high mobile money adoption: customers often receive money through M-Pesa but still withdraw cash before paying for small purchases, either because merchants do not accept digital payments or because customers assume cash is simpler for low-value transactions.
Removing the fee for exactly the kind of purchase that drives this cash withdrawal habit is a deliberate attempt to keep more transactions inside the M-Pesa ecosystem rather than leaking back into cash.
Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods: Free Threshold More Than Doubles
Effective August 7, 2026, merchants using Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods will collect payments up to Sh500 completely free, up from the previous Sh200 threshold. Collections between Sh201 and Sh500, which previously attracted a 0.55 percent fee, are now free entirely.
Collections between Sh501 and Sh36,363 continue to attract the standard 0.55 percent fee, while anything above that remains capped at a maximum of Sh200 per transaction. For established small businesses processing regular customer payments, that combination of a higher free threshold and an unchanged fee ceiling meaningfully reduces the cumulative cost of accepting digital payments.
Business Till Transfers Drop by Nearly Half
Also effective August 7, 2026, the cost for businesses to move money out of their Business Till accounts falls sharply, both to personal M-Pesa numbers and to PayBill accounts.
For Till to M-Pesa transfers, Sh101 to Sh500 drops to Sh4 from Sh7, Sh501 to Sh1,000 falls to Sh7 from Sh13, Sh10,001 to Sh15,000 drops to Sh45 from Sh90, and the top bracket from Sh45,000 to Sh250,000 is now capped at Sh54, down from Sh108. Till to PayBill transfers see similar cuts: Sh500 drops to Sh3 from Sh5, Sh1,000 falls to Sh5 from Sh10, Sh10,000 drops to Sh24 from Sh48, and the Sh45,000 to Sh250,000 bracket is also capped at Sh54, down from Sh108.
Part of a Bigger PATA MORE Push
The M-Pesa fee cuts sit alongside broader changes under Safaricom’s PATA MORE campaign, which also increased data bundle values. The Sh20 daily bundle now offers 250MB, up from 150MB, the Sh99 daily bundle jumped from 1GB to 1.5GB, and the Sh1,000 monthly bundle now delivers 21.5GB, more than double the previous 10GB allocation.
The campaign also introduces Scan and Tap to Pay functionality, aimed at making merchant payments faster and more convenient, a feature that complements the lower fees by removing friction from the actual payment process itself.
Related:M-PESA for Business — Paybill, Till Number & Payment Solutions | Business Listings Kenya
What This Means for Small Businesses
For Kenya’s vast informal and small business sector, where M-Pesa functions as the primary payment infrastructure, these cuts translate into real monthly savings. A trader processing dozens of small daily transactions through Pochi la Biashara or Buy Goods will see meaningfully lower cumulative fees over the 90-day promotional window and beyond, for the permanent Buy Goods and Business Till changes.
Whether Safaricom extends the Pochi la Biashara promotional rates beyond October 31, 2026 remains to be seen, but the permanent nature of the Buy Goods and Business Till reductions suggests the company is positioning these lower fees as a lasting competitive response to growing pressure from rivals like Airtel Money.