How to accept mobile money payments in Kenya and Ghana

How M-PESA and MTN MoMo payments work, why they matter for selling in Kenya and Ghana, and how to accept them without a local business.

If you sell to customers in Kenya or Ghana, many of them will want to pay with mobile money rather than a card. In Kenya that usually means M-PESA. In Ghana it means MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash or AirtelTigo Money. Offer only cards, and a large share of those customers can't pay you at all.

Mobile money is the main way people pay across much of the region. More than $2 trillion moved through mobile money wallets worldwide in 2025, and $1.4 trillion of it was in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the GSMA's latest State of the Industry report. This guide explains how mobile money payments work in Kenya and Ghana, what to know before you accept them, and how to collect them without opening a business in either country.

Key takeaways

• In Kenya, M-PESA dominates. In Ghana, MTN MoMo is the largest network, alongside Telecel Cash and AirtelTigo Money.
• A customer pays from their phone by approving a prompt with their PIN. There's no card number to type and no bank account needed.
• Mobile money works for one-time payments. Subscriptions that renew automatically still need a card.

How popular is mobile money in Kenya and Ghana?

Kenya is where mobile money took off. Safaricom launched M-PESA in 2007, and it now reports 43.69 million active M-PESA users across its markets, according to its 2026 results. Kenyans use it for everything from groceries to rent, school fees and online subscriptions. Airtel Money and T-Kash also operate in Kenya.

Ghana has one of the most active mobile money markets in Africa. Transactions reached a record GH¢518.4 billion in December 2025, across 26.7 million active accounts, according to the Bank of Ghana. MTN MoMo is the largest network, followed by Telecel Cash (formerly Vodafone Cash) and AirtelTigo Money. Paying became cheaper in 2025, when Ghana repealed the E-Levy, the 1% tax on electronic transfers.

How does a mobile money payment work?

For an online purchase, a mobile money payment usually looks like this:

1. The customer chooses mobile money at checkout and enters their phone number.
2. Their phone shows a payment prompt from their network with the amount and the business's name.
3. They approve it with their mobile money PIN. The money moves from their wallet straight away.
4. The business is told the payment succeeded, and the customer gets a confirmation SMS from their network.

Because the customer approves every payment on their own phone, there's no card number to steal and nothing for the business to store. It also means a payment can't be taken without the customer present, which is why mobile money doesn't suit automatic renewals.

Why should you accept mobile money?

• Reach customers without cards. Many people who pay for things every day with mobile money don't have a card that works online, or don't want to use one.
• Fewer abandoned checkouts. Customers pay with the method they use every day, in their own currency, from the phone already in their hand.
• Fewer disputes. The customer approves each payment with their own PIN, and there's no card chargeback scheme. Disputes go through the network's own process.
• Price in local currency. A price in KES or GHS feels like a local purchase. A price in dollars makes people stop and work out what it really costs.

What should you know before you accept mobile money?

• It's for one-time payments. Every payment needs the customer to approve it, so you can't charge a mobile money wallet automatically each month. For subscriptions, offer a card.
• Customers have limits. Each network sets limits on how much a customer can hold and send. Very large payments may need to be split or paid another way.
• Amounts need to be in local currency. A wallet holds KES or GHS, so the price has to be shown and charged in that currency, even if you think in dollars.
• Collecting locally usually means a local setup. Taking M-PESA directly means applying for a Paybill or Till number, which is designed for businesses in Kenya. Ghana's networks have their own merchant programmes. If you're based elsewhere, a payment provider that's already connected is the practical route.

How can you accept mobile money if your business isn't in Kenya or Ghana?

Use a payment provider that connects to the networks and settles to you in a currency you can hold. Look for three things:

• Coverage. Check the networks and currencies each provider supports, not just the countries.
• Settlement. Find out which currency you'll be paid in, who carries the exchange-rate risk, and how long the money takes to arrive.
• One checkout. If you also sell to customers who pay by card or bank transfer, one checkout that shows each customer the right methods saves you maintaining separate integrations.

How Bachs helps you accept mobile money

A Bachs checkout accepts mobile money in nine currencies, including M-PESA in Kenya and MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash and AirtelTigo Money in Ghana. The currencies are KES (Kenya), GHS (Ghana), TZS (Tanzania), UGX (Uganda), RWF (Rwanda), MWK (Malawi), ZMW (Zambia), XAF and XOF. The checkout shows mobile money to customers paying in those currencies, and cards or bank transfer to everyone else, from one integration.

• Price in the customer's currency. Set an exact price in KES or GHS, or let adaptive pricing convert your USD price at the live rate.
• Settle in USD or NGN. You don't need a Kenyan or Ghanaian entity or a balance in shillings or cedis. Bachs converts each payment into your settlement currency when it settles. See fees for conversion and when funds become available.
• Pay out to mobile money too. If you have your own wallet in Ghana, Kenya or Tanzania, you can send payouts to it from your USD balance. See supported payout routes.

Mobile money on Bachs works for one-time payments and payment links. For subscriptions, offer a USD card alongside it. See payment method support for every network and currency, and how to accept payments across Africa for how pricing, conversion and settlement fit together.