Wallets · On request
Airtel Money
Airtel Money is the mobile money service of Airtel Africa: money sits on a wallet tied to the phone number, and many payers in Kenya and Tanzania use it alongside or instead of M-Pesa. An online payment is an STK push, a prompt on the phone that the payer confirms with the Airtel Money PIN; confirmation is instant, there are no chargebacks, and payouts go to a phone number.
Key facts
- Currencies
- KES, TZS
- Operations
- Pay-in · Payout · Refund
- Settlement
- instant
- Chargebacks
- not possible
How a payment goes through
- 1The checkout opens the wallet app or shows its button
- 2The payer confirms in the app with a PIN or biometrics
- 3The wallet confirms the payment to the provider within seconds
- 4Webhook to the merchant; a refund goes back the same way
How a payment goes through
- The checkout asks for the payer’s Airtel Money number and sends the STK push through the provider.
- The payer confirms the amount on the phone with the Airtel Money PIN.
- Airtel Money debits the wallet; the provider confirms instantly, and an unanswered prompt expires.
- Tranzify writes the result and calls the merchant’s webhook.
Airtel Money against M-Pesa and cards
In Kenya and Tanzania the payer pays from the SIM they hold, so a checkout lists Airtel Money next to M-Pesa: the flows are the same, a prompt on the phone and a PIN, and both work on a basic phone without an app or a card.
| Airtel Money | M-Pesa | Cards | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Airtel Africa | Safaricom in Kenya, Vodacom in Tanzania | Visa, Mastercard |
| Payer needs | an Airtel SIM with a wallet | a Safaricom or Vodacom SIM with a wallet | a card |
| Confirmation | instant, with the PIN | instant, with the PIN | seconds, 3-D Secure |
| Chargebacks | none | none | scheme rules |
| Payouts | yes, to a phone number | yes, to a phone number | limited |
Who uses it
E-commerce, delivery and digital goods, where a checkout for Kenya or Tanzania has to take every mobile money network; iGaming and fintech for deposits and instant payouts to the phone. A client (a payment company) enables Flutterwave for Airtel Money under its own contract; the integration is enabled on request. Refunds go back to the wallet through the same provider; recurring charges are not part of the method.
How to connect
- 1Onboard with Tranzify and get your network, keys and back office.
- 2Enter your account with the provider in the terminal settings — Tranzify already speaks its API.
- 3Add routing rules: countries, currencies, amounts, BIN ranges, priorities and weights.
- 4Go live. Every payment, callback and retry is in the journal for five years.
Providers offering this method
On request — Request this integration
Industries
Terms
Frequently asked questions
What is an STK push?+
Are there chargebacks?+
Who is the licensed party in Kenya and Tanzania?+
Related methods
See the platform on your own flows
Thirty minutes with an engineer, not a sales deck: your providers, your routing rules, your merchants' checkout.
- ✓ Not a financial institution
- ✓ Money never passes through us
- ✓ Built to PCI DSS requirements