Safaricom and Pesapal launch Scan‑to‑Pay and Tap‑to‑Pay on Kenyan POS terminals

Safaricom and payments firm Pesapal have introduced QR‑code and NFC checkout options, expanding M‑PESA to over 60,000 merchants with a goal of half‑a‑million outlets within a year.

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Safaricom Plc and payments platform Pesapal have begun offering Kenyan consumers two digital checkout methods – Dynamic Scan‑to‑Pay and Tap‑to‑Pay – that work on Pesapal point‑of‑sale (POS) devices.

With Scan‑to‑Pay, shoppers point their phone camera at a QR code displayed on a Pesapal terminal; the merchant’s details and amount are auto‑filled, allowing the customer to confirm before authorising the payment.

Tap‑to‑Pay uses NFC‑enabled smartphones, letting users tap their device on the POS, review the transaction details and complete the payment in seconds.

Safaricom’s Group Chief Technology Officer James Maitai said the partnership is intended to keep M‑PESA aligned with evolving shopping habits, while Pesapal founder Agosta Liko highlighted the services as a major step forward for checkout efficiency.

The rollout builds on Safaricom’s AI‑driven “AI Pay” feature in its My OneApp, which can scan printed or handwritten receipts to auto‑populate Till or PayBill details, reducing manual entry for users.

Safaricom reports that Scan‑to‑Pay is already live at more than 60,000 merchant locations and aims to extend the service to 500,000 outlets within the next twelve months, coinciding with the expansion of Pesapal’s POS network.

M‑PESA, which serves 41 million customers and generated over 182.7 billion shillings in revenue in fiscal 2026, is positioning these tools to deepen its role in Kenya’s payments ecosystem.

Pesapal operates across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia, providing payment and business‑management infrastructure to merchants ranging from small shops to larger enterprises.