MPesa Till Number: A Comprehensive Guide On How to Get One in 2023

In today’s article, I will be showing you how you could get a Mpesa till number for your business today. If you are a business owner in Kenya, I am sure that you have noted the number of customers who ask if they could send money via mpesa to purchase goods.

If you don’t have one, then you are missing out because Mobile money payments have grown tremendously since the COVID-19 period. With the introduction of products like Fuliza and Hustler fund, most people have access to credit, which in the case of Mpesa Fuliza, can’t be withdrawn, and therefore customers can only pay using it.

Don’t confuse a Till Number with an M-Pesa Paybill Number

If you have never heard of M-pesa till number, I will briefly tell you what it is. Now, don’t confuse it with the Paybill number because they are different. A till number, in my opinion, is an easier way of paying because it only required the till number for payment.

A paybill number, on the other hand, has a business number, and an account number, and can be confusing to a person not conversant with it. It will also waste a lot of time, especially if most of your clients are paying through it. Imagine that you have a supermarket with 50 customers in the queue, using a till number would be faster than using a paybill number.

How to Get an M-Pesa Till Number

Eligibility requirements for merchants

To get a mpesa till number, you require the following things;

1. Your original ID card
2. A good internet connection
3. A smartphone, computer or laptop.

The above is for applying for a till number online, instead of going to the nearest Safaricom outlet near you for registration. If you want to go there physically, you will need to carry your original Identity card, and you will be given a Mpesa Till registration form to fill out.

Application process and necessary documents

If you want to register for a mpesa till number, get the above documents and follow these simple steps to get one;

1. Head on over to Lipa na Mpesa Application portal, by clicking here. You could also type the URL “https://m-pesaforbusiness.co.ke/” to go there(without the brackets).
2. Click on “Apply now” to be redirected to the application section.
3. You now need to choose the type of Safaricom lipa na Mpesa service you want to register for, For now, we want Mpesa Business Till, so choose the first option, which is M-Pesa Business Till(Buy Goods Till). So scroll down and click on “Apply now”.
4. Choose between an individual account or a sole proprietor. For individual account types, you will only need an ID card, which for the sole proprietor buys goods till you will also need to upload your business license. For this article, we will choose the individual buy goods account type.
5. On the pop-up, scroll down and click on apply now.
6. Enter the required details, such as your name, as per your National Identity card, phone number, ID number, and email address, then enter your business details and finally, your account details, where you enter the phone number that will be receiving payments.
7. Click on Continue to proceed to the next step of the mpesa till the number application process.
8. In the next step, choose which type of identity card you want to use for registration of the buy goods till number. You can either use your National ID card, your driver’s license, your passport or military or alien id.
9. Upload the front side of your identification document and then the back side respectively. You can either take photos and upload them, or take real-time photos and upload them directly.
10. Click continue to move to the final step.
11. In the final step, review the details you provided. If any of the details are wrong, go back and change them, or the process will fail. You will also receive a One Time Pin to the phone number you want to register to Mpesa buy goods till number. Enter this code.
12. Enter the code and click on verify, then click submit to complete the process.
13. Safaricom will review your application and you will receive a notification to tell you if the process was successful.
14. The message you will receive will include;
    1. Your Store number.
    2. Your Till number, that customers will use to pay.
    3. Your store id.
    4. And your account PIN. You need to change this PIN as soon as possible.

Store these details somewhere safe because you will need them for future transactions on your Mpesa till Number account. You will also be provided will a download file of your Buy Goods Number sticker that will have your Til number.

Among the details sent to you, there will be a number that will be used to receive notifications when someone pays for goods using your Mpesa Till number. You need to do a sim swap later on by visiting your nearest Safaricom shop. if you don’t know what a sim swap is, it is like moving the number into a new line.

You can use glue to stick it somewhere visible for your customers or, you can visit your nearest Safaricom Shop to receive a free sticker.

How To Use Your Newly Created Mpesa Buy Goods Merchant Account

After creating your new till number, there are a few things you might need to set up and familiarise yourself with, such as changing the PIN and withdrawing cash among other things.

How To Change Mpesa Till Account PIN/ Activate Till Number

After Safaricom has successfully reviewed your Buy Good Till number application, they will send you a message that has your store number, the store ID and your Mpesa Buy Goods merchant account PIN. You are required to change this PIN to something that is both memorable and only you can know.

Changing your PIN will also activate your till number. To change your Buy Goods Account PIN, do the following simple steps;

1. Open your phone’s dialer application.
2. Dial *234*2*Store number# to access your account. You will find your store number in the account details that were sent to you via SMS.
3. Go to Account Services by replying with the number 5.
4. Select Change PIN by replying with the number 1
5. Enter your Merchant account operator ID. Your operator ID is usually your initials, for example, if your name is “John Doe”, your operator ID will usually be “JD”. This operator id is among the details sent to you by sms.
6. Enter your old PIN, which is the PIN sent via SMS.
7. Enter your new PIN. Make sure you memorise or write it somewhere safe.
8. Done, your new PIN has been successfully set. Your till number is now active if you had not activated it.

How To Check Payment For Your Mpesa Till Number

To check for payment when a customer has paid you for your services using the Till number, the first option is either to check for SMS notification, check the Mpesa business app, or use the USSD to check and see if the balance has increased. I would advice you to use the SMS notification method because it is instant.

In case you need to check your overall Buy Goods merchant account balance, use either one of the methods below;

How to Check Mpesa Till Number Account Balance Using USSD

1. Using your phone dialer, dial *234*2*Store Id#.
2. Select Account Services, which is option 5.
3. select option number 2, which in this case, is the “Check Balance” option.
4. Enter your operator ID
5. Enter your Business Till Operator PIN.
6. You will receive a prompt with the full balance in your Merchant account.

How To Check mpesa Till Number Account balance using Mpesa Business App.

1. First of all, download the Mpesa Business app from your play store. You can also click here to go there directly.
2. When you have installed it, open it and select Sign in.
3. Agree to the terms and conditions by clicking the terms and conditions checkbox.
4. Enter your number and the PIN we made in the previous part of this article(How to change Mpesa Buy goods account password section).
5. You will see your overall balance on the Mpesa business app dashboard. You can click on the eye icon to show or hide your account balance.
6. Simple as that.

How To Withdraw Cash From Mpesa Till Number Account

To withdraw money from your buy goods account to your Mpesa till number account;

1. Dial *234*2*Store Number# from your designated phone number( the number you used to register your mpesa till number)
2. Select withdraw funds, which is option one
3. Select either to withdraw to your number, an agent or your bank. In this instance, I will choose “to my number, which is option one.
4. Enter amount.
5. Operator ID then finally enter your pin number.
6. You will receive a notification showing you the amount you have withdrawn from your mpesa till number and that the transaction was successful.