M-Pesa Payment Integration: A Complete Guide

Why M-Pesa Matters

In Kenya, over 90% of the adult population uses M-Pesa. In Tanzania, Uganda, and beyond, mobile money has become the primary way people pay for goods and services. Any business management tool that doesn't support M-Pesa is leaving money on the table.

How STK Push Works

STK Push (Lipa Na M-Pesa Online) sends a payment prompt directly to your customer's phone. Here's the flow:

• Step 1: The cashier enters the customer's phone number and amount at checkout
• Step 2: NodePoint sends the request to Safaricom's Daraja API
• Step 3: The customer receives a prompt on their phone and enters their M-Pesa PIN
• Step 4: Safaricom processes the payment and sends a confirmation callback to NodePoint
• Step 5: The sale is marked as paid and a receipt is generated

Setting Up M-Pesa in NodePoint

Configuration is straightforward. In your NodePoint Settings panel, enter your Daraja API credentials:

• Consumer Key and Consumer Secret from the Safaricom developer portal
• Your business shortcode (Paybill or Till number)
• The passkey provided by Safaricom

NodePoint handles token generation, request formatting, and callback processing automatically. You can test in sandbox mode before going live.

Reconciliation Made Easy

Every M-Pesa payment is linked to a specific sale with the M-Pesa confirmation code. Your daily reports show exactly which sales were paid via M-Pesa, making reconciliation with your Safaricom statement effortless.

Multi-Currency Support

While M-Pesa uses KES, NodePoint supports 9 currencies across East Africa. When accepting M-Pesa payments in a USD-denominated business, the system handles the conversion display automatically.