M-Pesa STK Push (Kenya)

This sends an M-Pesa prompt to the customer's phone. They enter their PIN and the funds arrive in your KES wallet.

cURL

curl -X POST https://api.intasend.com/api/v1/payment/mpesa-stk-push/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INTASEND_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"amount": 100, "phone_number": "254712345678", "api_ref": "order-123"}'

Python

resp = requests.post(
    "https://api.intasend.com/api/v1/payment/mpesa-stk-push/",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {SECRET_KEY}"},
    json={"amount": 100, "phone_number": "254712345678", "api_ref": "order-123"},
)
invoice_id = resp.json()["invoice"]["invoice_id"]

Node.js

const res = await fetch('https://api.intasend.com/api/v1/payment/mpesa-stk-push/', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: `Bearer ${SECRET_KEY}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({amount: 100, phone_number: '254712345678', api_ref: 'order-123'}),
});
const {invoice} = await res.json();

Request

Field	Required	Description
amount	Yes	Amount in KES. It is rounded up to a whole shilling.
phone_number	Yes	2547XXXXXXXX, 2541XXXXXXXX, 07XXXXXXXX or 01XXXXXXXX. Digits only.
api_ref	No	Your reference, for example an order ID. It is returned on the invoice and in webhooks.
wallet_id	No	KES wallet to credit. Defaults to your settlement wallet.
mobile_tarrif	No	BUSINESS-PAYS or CUSTOMER-PAYS.

Response

{
  "id": "5b9d…",
  "invoice": {"invoice_id": "ABC123", "state": "PENDING", "provider": "M-PESA", "value": 100, "account": "254712345678", "api_ref": "order-123"},
  "customer": {"customer_id": "…", "phone_number": "254712345678"},
  "created_at": "…"
}

Then track the payment with payment status or the collection_event webhook.

Common failures

failed_code	Meaning	What to do
1032	The customer cancelled the prompt	Ask them to try again
1037	The phone couldn't be reached (off, no network, or an old SIM)	The customer may get paybill instructions to pay manually
1	Insufficient M-Pesa balance
2001	Wrong PIN