M-Pesa STK push, pay links or paybill: which way should customers pay you?

An M-Pesa STK push is a payment prompt. A pay link is the page where a customer can choose a connected payment method. A paybill lets the customer initiate payment from M-Pesa using your business number and an account reference. These are related options, not three completely separate payment systems.

This piece compares the main ways customers pay - an M-Pesa prompt, a pay link, a card, and the paybill or till from the M-Pesa menu - by the three things that actually matter to a business: who starts the payment, how it reconciles, and who carries the cost.

The three questions that decide everything

Before comparing methods, it helps to know what you're comparing them on:

1. Who starts the payment? If you start it - by sending a prompt or a link - you control the amount and the reference. If the customer starts it from the M-Pesa menu, they type both.
2. How does it reconcile? Does the payment arrive already attached to the right bill, or does someone have to work out what it was for?
3. Who carries the cost? Every rail has a cost. The question is whether you absorb it, pass it on, or build it into your price.

The M-Pesa prompt (STK push)

An STK push is the prompt that pops up on the customer's phone asking for their M-Pesa PIN. The amount and the business are already filled in. The customer types one thing: their PIN.

Why it's good:

• Less retyping. The prompt carries the payment details. Customers should still check the business and amount before authorizing it.
• Connected billing records. A confirmed payment through BillGrid's pay page can update the associated customer records without a separate statement entry.
• Convenient confirmation. The customer can authorize on their phone. Network delays, declined requests and timeouts can still occur; check the final payment status.

Where it falls short: the prompt has to be started from somewhere - usually a pay page the customer opens. A customer who never opens the link never gets the prompt. And some customers simply prefer to pay from the M-Pesa menu, the way they always have.

Pay links: the prompt and the card on one page

A pay link is a web page for one bill, or for a fixed or open amount. You send it by SMS, WhatsApp or email. The customer taps it and chooses from the payment methods connected for that page, such as an M-Pesa prompt or card.

In BillGrid there are two kinds:

• The pay link on every invoice. It shows the invoice, the balance, and the ways to pay. Confirmed payments update the billing record. Review the balance and any credit, especially when the customer has more than one service.
• Standalone payment links. For deposits, walk-in sales or anything without an invoice - a fixed amount, a few preset options, or any amount the payer chooses. Share them as a link, a QR code or a WhatsApp message.

The quiet advantage. A pay link turns "please send to paybill 123456, account INV-202610-0031" - which a customer has to read, remember and retype - into one tap. Reducing retyping can make payment easier, but it does not guarantee payment or remove the need to review exceptions.

Paybill and till: from the M-Pesa menu

To pay a paybill from the M-Pesa menu: open M-Pesa, Lipa na M-Pesa, enter the business number, the account number, the amount and the PIN. Tills work the same way through Buy Goods, without an account number.

Why you should keep it:

• It may already suit your customers. Keep a direct-payment option where customers prefer it.
• It works without a link. A customer can pay from a number printed on a bill, a sticker on the gate, or memory.
• The money goes straight to you. It lands in your own paybill or till. BillGrid takes no cut of money paid into your own paybill.

Check direct receipts. In BillGrid's statement-based workflow, review direct paybill or till payments through a statement import. A paybill reference helps identify the account. A Buy Goods till payment does not have that account field, so verify the payer and purpose rather than assuming the right bill is obvious.

This is a description of the workflow here, not a claim that M-Pesa payments universally require manual imports. M-Pesa also supports business transaction notifications in suitably configured payment setups.

Two habits make the paybill far less painful:

• Use the invoice or account number as the account reference, printed on every bill, so customers copy it instead of inventing something.
• Reconcile weekly from the statement, not from SMS alerts. Our guide to reconciling M-Pesa paybill payments walks through the routine.

Card payments

Card payments can be useful for clients who prefer them, including some corporate and overseas customers. Availability, supported cards, currency and transaction limits depend on the connected provider.

The simplest place for card is on the same pay page as M-Pesa, so the customer chooses at the moment of paying rather than asking you for "another way". A confirmed card payment through the invoice pay page updates the billing record. Check pending payments, refunds or disputes separately.

Who pays the card fee?

Card processing has a fee, and by default it's yours. If you'd rather the payer carried it, BillGrid can pass the Paystack fee to the customer: they see the amount, the processing fee and the total before they pay. Check the provider and card-network terms and applicable rules before enabling a surcharge. Disclose any permitted fee before the payer authorizes the total.

Bank transfers, cheques and cash

Some clients require bank transfer or cheque under their procurement process. That's fine. Print your bank details on the invoice, ask for the invoice number as the reference, and reconcile from the bank statement the same way you do the paybill. Cash and cheques are recorded by hand against the invoice, with the reference, so the books stay honest.

Comparing them side by side

Why the answer is "more than one"

Offer the methods your customers can use and your team can reconcile. Clear instructions on the same bill reduce the need for a separate conversation about payment.

A payment setup to consider:

1. A pay link on every bill, sent by SMS or WhatsApp - M-Pesa prompt and card where those methods are connected.
2. Your paybill or till printed on the bill. For paybill, include the invoice or account reference; a Buy Goods till has no account-number field.
3. Bank details for the clients who need them.
4. A weekly statement import to bring in everything paid outside the link.

That mix offers a choice while keeping a clear routine for reviewing confirmations, external receipts and exceptions.

The short of it

• A pay page can prefill payment details; always check the final confirmation.
• For direct payments, make the paybill reference easy to copy and review the receipt against the customer record.
• Offer card when connected, and disclose any permitted processing fee in advance.
• Offer more than one way, on the same bill, and reconcile the rest weekly.

The goal isn't the "best" payment method. It's a bill that's easy to pay, and a payment that's easy to place.