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Kenyan Shilling (KES) Payouts

This guide explains how to integrate Mavapay’s payout functionality for sending money to Kenyan recipients through various M-Pesa payment modes.

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Overview

The KES payout process involves the following steps:
  1. Choose the appropriate M-Pesa payment mode
  2. Create a quote with the required beneficiary details
  3. Pay the generated lightning invoice
  4. Receive webhook notifications for payment status
Note: All KES payments are processed through M-Pesa, Kenya’s leading mobile money service.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:
  1. Created a Mavapay account
  2. Obtained your API key
  3. Set up your webhook endpoint
  4. Verified your business account

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Authentication

All API requests must include your API key in the header: 
X-API-KEY: your_api_key_here
Important Notes:
  • All amounts are in cents (1 KES = 100 cents)
  • The minimum amount for KES payouts is $2
  • Phone numbers must be in international format (e.g., +254…)
  • Account numbers for paybill payments can be text (usually business name or identifier)
  • All payments are processed through M-Pesa’s payment infrastructure

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Payment Modes

All KES payments are processed through M-Pesa using one of the following modes:

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1. Pay to Phone Number (M-Pesa Mobile Money)

Send money directly to a recipient’s M-Pesa account: 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1/quote \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-KEY: your_api_key_here' \
  --data '{
  "amount": 500000,
  "sourceCurrency": "BTCSAT",
  "targetCurrency": "KESCENT",
  "paymentMethod": "LIGHTNING",
  "paymentCurrency": "KESCENT",
  "autopayout": true,
  "beneficiary": {
    "identifierType": "paytophone",
    "identifiers": {
      "phoneNumber": "+254796980788"
    }
  }
}'

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2. Pay to Bill (M-Pesa Paybill)

Pay to a business using their M-Pesa paybill number: 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1/quote \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-KEY: your_api_key_here' \
  --data '{
  "amount": 500000,
  "sourceCurrency": "BTCSAT",
  "targetCurrency": "KESCENT",
  "paymentMethod": "LIGHTNING",
  "paymentCurrency": "KESCENT",
  "autopayout": true,
  "beneficiary": {
    "identifierType": "paytobill",
    "identifiers": {
      "paybillNumber": "4141031",
      "accountNumber": "business_name"
    }
  }
}'

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3. Pay to Account/Till (M-Pesa Till)

Pay to a business M-Pesa till number: 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1/quote \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-KEY: your_api_key_here' \
  --data '{
  "amount": 500000,
  "sourceCurrency": "BTCSAT",
  "targetCurrency": "KESCENT",
  "paymentMethod": "LIGHTNING",
  "paymentCurrency": "KESCENT",
  "autopayout": true,
  "beneficiary": {
    "identifierType": "paytotill",
    "identifiers": {
      "accountNumber": "till_number"
    }
  }
}'

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Understanding the Quote Response

Sample response: 
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "id": "d1614a76-9c7f-4111-98a7-43199f307e5b",
    "exchangeRate": 4874805.75,
    "usdToTargetCurrencyRate": 145.977,
    "sourceCurrency": "BTCSAT",
    "targetCurrency": "KESCENT",
    "transactionFeesInSourceCurrency": 13.23,
    "transactionFeesInTargetCurrency": "3750.00",
    "amountInSourceCurrency": 1499,
    "amountInTargetCurrency": "50000.00",
    "paymentMethod": "LIGHTNING",
    "expiry": "2021-07-01T12:00:00Z",
    "isValid": true,
    "invoice": "lntbs36020n1pnehfzcpp...",
    "hash": "189727ef2e0f35921af7858b96e27cbad960b0ec2bb2a4ab73b6a231f9ce8727",
    "totalAmountInSourceCurrency": 1499,
    "customerInternalFee": 0
  }
}
Key fields:
  • usdToTargetCurrencyRate: Price of 1 USD in KES
  • exchangeRate: Price of 1 BTC in KES
  • amountInSourceCurrency: Total amount in SATS to be paid (including fees)
  • amountInTargetCurrency: Total amount in cents to be sent to recipient
  • transactionFeesInSourceCurrency: Fees in SATS
  • transactionFeesInTargetCurrency: Fees in cents
  • expiry: Invoice validity (5 minutes)

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Webhook Events

You’ll receive two webhook events:
  1. payment.received - When the lightning payment is received
  2. payment.sent - When the money is sent to the recipient

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payment.received Event

{
  "event": "payment.received",
  "data": {
    "id": "tx_123456789",
    "amount": 500000,
    "currency": "KES",
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "metadata": {
      "hash": "189727ef2e0f35921af7858b96e27cbad960b0ec2bb2a4ab73b6a231f9ce8727",
      "reference": "MP123456789"
    }
  }
}

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payment.sent Event

{
  "event": "payment.sent",
  "data": {
    "id": "tx_123456789",
    "amount": 500000,
    "currency": "KES",
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "metadata": {
      "identifierType": "paytophone",
      "phoneNumber": "+254796980788",
      "reference": "MP123456789"
    }
  }
}

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Checking Transaction Status

You can query transactions using the payment hash, orderId, or transaction ID: 
# Using hash
curl --location 'https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1/transaction?hash=08f7198fd7dd73c087b4754a20d6f63f5b87bb8fcdc10e4d5cacd27650fce2ba' \
--header 'x-api-key: your_api_key_here'

# Using transaction ID
curl --location 'https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1/transaction?id=7bac35f1-2efc-448b-8a71-0d071da43315' \
--header 'x-api-key: your_api_key_here'

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Getting Price Rates

To get current KES rates: 
curl --location 'https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1/price?currency=KES'
Sample response: 
{
    "status": "ok",
    "data": {
        "currency": "KES",
        "timestamp": 1738258609,
        "btcPriceInUnitCurrency": 4874805.75,
        "unitPricePerSat": {
            "amount": 0.04874805,
            "currencyUnit": "KESSAT"
        },
        "unitPricePerUsd": {
            "amount": 145.977,
            "currencyUnit": "KESUSD"
        }
    }
}

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Testing

Use our staging environment for testing: 
https://staging.api.mavapay.co/api/v1
Test details:
  • Phone Number: +254790000000
  • Paybill Number: 4141031
  • Account Number: test_account
  • Till Number: 000000
Note: All test environment invoices are signet invoices.

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Support

If you need help with integration: