A Till Number (Buy Goods) is built for a simple one-off payment at a point of sale, which is what most retail shops need. A Paybill is built for payments that reference an account, a bill, an invoice, a membership, and supports multiple sub-accounts under one business. Most shops should register a Till Number; a Paybill fits businesses billing customers for ongoing or invoiced amounts.
Two different payment models, not two versions of the same thing
It's easy to assume Till and Paybill are just different names for the same underlying service, but they're built for genuinely different payment situations. Understanding which one your business actually needs before you register saves you from setting up the wrong one and having to explain a confusing payment process to customers.
Till Number (Buy Goods): built for retail
A Till Number is designed around the simplest payment scenario: a customer buys something, pays once, and the transaction is complete. There's no account reference to enter: the customer just enters the till number, the amount, and their PIN. This is exactly the shape of a retail till transaction, which is why it's the standard choice for shops, restaurants, and most physical point-of-sale businesses.
Paybill: built for accounts and invoices
A Paybill adds an account number field to the payment, which lets a single Paybill serve many different customers or purposes under one business number: a landlord collecting rent per unit, a school collecting fees per student, a utility collecting per account. The account number is what tells the business which customer or invoice the payment belongs to.
| Till Number | Paybill | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Retail, single point-of-sale purchases | Invoiced or account-based payments |
| Account reference | Not required | Required: identifies the customer or purpose |
| Customer steps | Till number, amount, PIN | Paybill number, account number, amount, PIN |
| Typical business type | Shops, restaurants, service counters | Landlords, schools, subscription/membership businesses |
Can a business have both?
Yes. A business with more than one payment need, a retail counter and a separately invoiced service line, for example, can register both a Till and a Paybill and use each for the scenario it fits. There's no rule limiting a business to one or the other; the choice is about matching the payment type to how the money is actually being collected.
Fees and current rates
Safaricom's fee structures for Till and Paybill transactions can differ and change over time. This guide focuses on which type of number fits your business model: for the current fee schedule, check Safaricom's published rates directly before registering, since fees aren't something worth guessing at.
Connecting your Till or Paybill to your POS
Once registered, connecting your Till Number to a POS system like WebpinnPOS means payments confirm automatically via STK Push rather than requiring the cashier to manually check a phone for a confirmation SMS. For how that instant confirmation actually works, see: M-Pesa STK Push vs Paybill vs Till Number: Which Should Your Business Use?, which compares the customer-facing payment flows in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Whichever number you register, confirm payments automatically
Connect your Till or Paybill to WebpinnPOS for instant STK Push confirmation.
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