This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Safaricom has announced a new Lipa Na M-PESA Business smartphone app for its over 170,000 merchants, marking a significant step in empowering small and medium businesses across the country.
Named 'M-PESA for Business', the app allows business owners to access real-time statements, export statements, and track their business performance on the go. The app also enables business owners to withdraw funds from Lipa Na M-PESA to their M-PESA accounts, bank accounts, or at an agent.
According to Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom, the M-PESA for Business smartphone App is a solution tailored to meet the needs of small and medium businesses. 'At Safaricom, we are taking a focus on the needs of small and medium businesses to provide them with suitable technology solutions to help them grow. The M-PESA for Business smartphone App is one such solution. It empowers more than 170,000 businesses across the country to send money and make payments and provides them with simple and detailed reports from the convenience of the mobile phone,' he said.
The app offers additional management features, including an overview of different tills for business owners with multiple outlets and till usage management. It also provides rich, detailed reports, including money-in and money-out charts, store overview, and frequently used Lipa Na M-PESA Tills and PayBills.
The 'M-PESA for Business' App is immediately available from the Android Google Play store and will be available on the IOS App store in coming days. It complements the 234# menu, which has been providing Lipa Na M-PESA merchants with the ability to manage their till and make transactions.
Businesses can now apply online for a Lipa Na M-PESA Till at m-pesaforbusiness.co.ke, and the 'M-PESA for Business' app will be immediately available to these businesses once their application is processed and a Till Number allocated.
