How to collect rent with M-Pesa in Kenya
Updated 21 October 2026
Short answer
Use an M-Pesa paybill in your own name and give every tenant their own account number to type when paying, usually their unit number. That way each payment can be traced to one tenant, receipted, and taken off what they owe. A till number cannot carry an account number, so it is harder to match.
Paybill or till for rent?
A paybill (Lipa na M-Pesa, Pay Bill) asks the payer for a business number and an account number. The account number is what tells you which tenant paid. A till (Buy Goods) only shows the payer's name and part of their phone number, which is not enough when tenants pay from a relative's phone.
For rent, use a paybill registered to you or your company. The money settles straight to your account, and nobody else holds it.
Give each tenant one account number
The simplest scheme is the unit number: A1, A2, B12. When a unit is let again, give the new tenant a new number (A1X2, for example) so a former tenant's late payment never lands on the new tenant's account.
Print the paybill number and the tenant's account number on every invoice, reminder and receipt, so tenants never have to ask.
Record and receipt every payment
- Match the payment to the tenant using the account number they typed.
- Apply it to their oldest unpaid rent first, and keep any extra as credit for next month.
- Send a numbered receipt with the M-Pesa code, the amount and the balance left.
- Keep payments you cannot match in one list and assign them yourself. Never guess.
Do it automatically
Safaricom can notify a rent system each time someone pays your paybill (the Daraja C2B service, approved per paybill through Safaricom's "Go Live" process). The system then matches and receipts payments within seconds. RumiaRent works this way: tenants keep paying your own paybill, and RumiaRent only reads the payment notices. It never holds the money.
Once a month, compare your M-Pesa statement with what was recorded. This catches the rare payment whose notice did not arrive.
Questions
What if a tenant types the wrong account number?
Look at the name, amount and date and assign it by hand. Good rent software also tries close matches, such as "rent A3" or "AO3" for A03, and remembers the reference for next time.
Can tenants pay rent with M-Pesa to a bank account?
Yes, through the bank's own paybill using your bank account number as the account. In that case the tenant's reference often does not reach you, so matching is harder than with your own paybill.
Sources
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