If you've ever paid for something online in Kenya, you've almost certainly used STK Push — even if you didn't know that's what it was called.
What STK Push Actually Is
STK Push (SIM Toolkit Push) is a feature that lets a website or app trigger an M-Pesa payment prompt directly on your phone — you enter your phone number at checkout, and within seconds a prompt appears on your device asking you to enter your M-Pesa PIN to authorise the payment.
Why It's So Effective
It removes the need to manually navigate to M-Pesa, enter a paybill or till number, and type in a reference — the entire process is triggered automatically from the website, cutting checkout friction dramatically compared to manual payment.
How Businesses Get This Set Up
STK Push is enabled through Safaricom's Daraja API — see our full Daraja API explainer — either integrated directly or through a hosting/e-commerce platform that already has it built in.
Is It Secure?
Yes — the customer's M-Pesa PIN is entered directly through Safaricom's own secure prompt on their phone, never through the website itself. The business never sees or handles the PIN at any point.
What Happens After Payment
Once the customer confirms, Safaricom sends a confirmation back to the business's system (a callback), which then marks the order or invoice as paid automatically — no manual reconciliation needed if set up correctly.
Get This on Your Site
Every store built through our online shop design service and every invoice on our own client area use exactly this STK Push flow.