Kenya’s largest mobile service provider – Safaricom which owns MPESA mobile money transfer service has unveiled Pochi la Biashara, an MPESA feature that allows small businesses to separate their personal MPESA wallets from those operated by their businesses. The new feature will allow small traders that include boda boda operators, small kiosk owners and those selling second hand clothes to have separate accounts for business and for personal use.
Pochi la Biashara brings new capabilities for small traders that were previously not possible such as letting customers make payments to the business owner’s business-specific MPESA account rather than using the same account for personal use. The only way businesses were able to have a dedicated MPESA account was through using a separate Lipa na MPESA line. According to Safaricom, this separation will come in handy for businesses which can now make more informed decisions.
How to pay using Pochi la Biashara
Pochi la Biashara is now among available MPESA menus that appear when a customer dial *334#;
- Dial *334#
- Then select Lipa na MPESA
- Followed by Pochi la Biashara
- Enter the business owner’s MPESA number
- Then key in the amount to pay
How to activate Pochi la Biashara for your business on your phone
- On your phone, dial *334#
- Then select Pochi la Biashara
- Choose “Join”
- Complete the transaction
The amount paid to your Pochi la Biashara won’t be subjected to Fuliza deduction in case you have an outstanding balance and you can request statements just as you would on a normal MPESA account. Something once noting, your MPESA PIN will remain to be the main authentication form while using this service.