M-Pesa is how Kenya pays — but choosing between Till and Paybill locks you into a workflow for years. Pick wrong and you'll fight reconciliation nightmares, miss online sales, or bleed fees unnecessarily. Here's the real difference, with numbers.
Till — walk-in
Customer pays to your store number in person — no account number needed. Money lands in your M-Pesa float instantly. Best for shops, salons, eateries, counters, market stalls.
- → No account field = faster checkout (3 seconds vs 10)
- → Staff sees payment instantly on their phone
- → Works with STK Push (you initiate from your phone)
- → No auto-matching — you reconcile manually or by amount
- → Lower fees for in-person transactions
Paybill — tracked
Customer enters your business number + an account reference (invoice #, phone, name). That field auto-matches payments to orders — gold for online stores, invoices, subscriptions, retainer clients.
- → Account field = automatic reconciliation
- → Needed for website checkout via Daraja API
- → C2B callback sends payment data to your system in real-time
- → Supports business-to-business bulk payments
- → Slightly higher fees but saves hours of admin
Decision tree
- Payment happens face-to-face with no need to track who paid? → Till
- Payment happens online or via invoice and you need to know WHO paid? → Paybill
- Both? → Run both: Till at counter, Paybill on website/API. Most of our Master stores wire both — they complement each other.
Fee math (do before choosing)
Safaricom fees change regularly — don't trust a blog screenshot from 2024. Use live math with our calculator, which pulls current published bands:
| Example sale | Fee range* | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| KES 500 | ~ 7–12 | 488–493 |
| KES 1,000 | ~ 10–20 | 980–990 |
| KES 2,500 | ~ 25–40 | 2,460–2,475 |
| KES 5,000 | ~ 45–65 | 4,935–4,955 |
| KES 10,000 | ~ 80–110 | 9,890–9,920 |
*Calculator uses Safaricom's published 2026 bands. Till fees are typically lower for in-person; Paybill fees are higher but save reconciliation time. Always confirm before pricing products.
How each wires to a website
- → Till via STK Push works on a website — you initiate from your phone after order. But there's no account reference for auto-matching orders, so you reconcile manually.
- → Paybill via Daraja C2B gives you account ref = order ID. Payment arrives, your system auto-matches it to the order, marks it paid, and sends confirmation. Fully automated.
- → Both: our Master stores wire Till (counter) + Paybill (website) via separate Daraja connections. Customer chooses at checkout.
Where Orbit fits
We connect either/both to your store with STK + callback, test on Till & Paybill, and hand over credentials in your name. Ask free on WhatsApp →