KCB and Airtel Money partner to let Airtel users pay Lipa na KCB tills

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KCB Bank Kenya and Airtel Money Kenya have signed an interoperability partnership that lets Airtel Money customers pay KCB merchants directly through the Lipa na KCB service, with the money settling into the merchant’s bank account. The deal, announced at KCB’s headquarters in Nairobi on 25 September 2024, brings Airtel Money into a merchant payments channel that until now was dominated by Safaricom’s M-Pesa.

Lipa na KCB lets a business receive payments from several platforms through a single till number and have the funds settled into its KCB account. Business Daily reported that the new arrangement mirrors the one M-Pesa already has with the bank, meaning a KCB merchant no longer has to ask an Airtel customer to move money to M-Pesa first.

What the bank and the telco said

KCB Bank Kenya Managing Director Annastacia Kimtai said the partnership is part of the bank’s plan to build an efficient payments ecosystem that accelerates financial inclusion through a model centred on low-value, high-volume transactions.

“Reaching critical mass will require mobile money ecosystems to become more dynamic and productive and such a move will enable us to scale our offering while giving customers the freedom to empower themselves,” Kimtai said, as quoted by KBC and Business Daily.

Airtel Money Managing Director Anne Kinuthia-Otieno linked the deal to the evolution of mobile money interoperability in Kenya. “This collaboration underscores Airtel Money’s ongoing commitment to improving customer experience and promoting financial inclusion through innovative partnerships. With the integration of Lipa na KCB into Airtel Money’s ecosystem, customers now have greater flexibility and convenience in paying for goods and services,” she said.

Airtel said customers paying KCB paybills will enjoy lower transaction charges than current market rates, though it did not publish the tariff at launch.

How Airtel Money customers pay a KCB merchant

According to the steps shared by the two companies and published by TechTrends Kenya, an Airtel Money customer pays a Lipa na KCB merchant through the KCB paybill, using the merchant’s number as the account:

• On USSD: dial *334#, choose Paybill and Till Payment, select Paybill, then Airtel paybill (including bank paybills). Enter paybill number 522533, enter the account number displayed at the merchant’s outlet, enter the amount and confirm with your Airtel Money PIN.
• On the My Airtel app: open Paybill, choose Airtel Paybill, enter 522533, enter the account number displayed at the outlet, enter the amount and confirm with your PIN.

Always check the merchant name on the confirmation screen before entering your PIN. For a broader comparison of the two wallets, see our M-Pesa vs Airtel Money guide, and for moving money across networks, how to send money between M-Pesa, Airtel Money and T-Kash.

Why it matters for interoperability

Both companies framed the deal as part of the Central Bank of Kenya’s National Payments Strategy 2022 to 2025, which pushes for full interoperability across the payments industry so that customers and merchants are not locked into one provider. Kenya already allows person-to-person transfers between Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom mobile money wallets, but merchant payments have lagged because most tills and paybills were built around M-Pesa.

For merchants, the practical benefit is fewer lost sales. A shop with a Lipa na KCB till can now accept Airtel Money directly instead of turning away customers or asking them to transfer money to another network, which adds cost and delay. For Airtel, which is growing its mobile money base on the back of network expansion, plugging into a large bank’s merchant network gives its users more places to spend their balances.

KCB said its non-branch channels are central to its performance. For the year ended 31 December 2023, 99 percent of the bank’s transactions went through non-branch channels, and the value of transactions on digital channels rose 31 percent year on year to KSh 6.4 trillion, according to figures cited by Business Daily and TechTrends Kenya.

What merchants should do

• Display the KCB paybill (522533) and your account or till number clearly at the counter so Airtel Money customers know how to pay.
• Check your KCB statement or app to confirm that Airtel Money payments are settling into your account as expected.
• Ask KCB about the merchant charges that apply to Airtel Money collections, since these can differ from M-Pesa collections.

Business owners comparing collection options can read our guide on Pochi, Till or Paybill, and KCB customers can find paybill, app and card answers in our KCB help hub.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay a KCB till with Airtel Money?

Yes. Since the September 2024 partnership, Airtel Money customers can pay Lipa na KCB merchants through paybill 522533, using the account number shown at the outlet.

What is the KCB paybill for Airtel Money payments?

The steps published at launch use paybill 522533, with the merchant’s displayed number as the account number.

Is it cheaper to pay KCB merchants through Airtel Money?

Airtel said payments to KCB paybills would cost less than current market rates, but it did not publish the exact charges at launch. Check the charge shown before you confirm.

Who announced the KCB and Airtel Money deal?

KCB Bank Kenya MD Annastacia Kimtai and Airtel Money MD Anne Kinuthia-Otieno announced it at KCB’s Nairobi headquarters on 25 September 2024.