@Stephen Here are some steps you can use to get payments via m-pesa. 

Step 1 is to get yourself a till number that will be used for payments, you can get one directly from Safaricom or via Kopo Kopo. Your customers will pay for your app via that till no.

Step 2 is to setup your till monitoring app on the till phone no. that you were provided with. When a customer pays an sms will be sent to that no. confirming the payment. You will use this to verify the payments are legit.

Step 3 is to setup a web host that will be used as the payment processor and verification system. The web host will need something to uniquely identify your users in your app so pick something unique like e-mail or phone no.

Step 4 is optional but will make payment processing easier is to add a feature in your app to monitor smses sent from M-PESA. Your app can remain locked until you detect an sms from m-pesa for your till no., only then will it unlock.


In short when a user pays your till say 12345 for the value of your app, say 100/-. They will receive an sms on their phone with your company name in it. This alone should be enough for your app to unlock but you can go a step further and verify with the server. When the user paid, another sms was sent to the till phone no. with the exact same transaction code. The app on the till phone would have sent that transaction to your web host and so it would sit in a table waiting to be linked to a customer. So your app you will send that transaction code up to the web host and it would verify if the payment sms is legit.

The reason to store a unique client identifier is for when users get new phones or re-install he app, they should not have to pay again for it. All you would do is verify that they are who they claim to be.


Hope it's clear.









Regards,
John K.

On 10 January 2016 at 18:34, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:

Opening a bank account for students is free in almost all banks. Almost all banks give a debit card that can be used for online purchases. Mpesa is a good alternative, but banking was demystified to encompass anybody

On Jan 10, 2016 12:49 PM, "Francis Mwangi Chege via skunkworks" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:

@Stephen,

 

Has been grappling with the same question, and my finding shows that google prohibits using third-party payment systems for android app distributed through google play store. From their Google Play Developer Program Policies https://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html, they state

Paid and Free Apps

In-store purchases: Developers charging for apps and downloads from Google Play must use Google Play’s payment system.

In-app purchases:

  • Developers offering products within a game downloaded from Google Play or providing access to game content must use Google Play In-app Billing as the method of payment.
  • Developers offering products within another category of app downloaded from Google Play must use Google Play In-app Billing as the method of payment, except:
    • where payment is solely for physical products; or
    • where payment is for digital content that may be consumed outside of the app itself (e.g., buying songs that can be played on other music players).

As you can see above, there is some exception. You also don’t have to comply with above if you are distributing your app through an alternative channel other than google play store… You may opt to distribute your app through Safaricom appstore etc…


Am also trying to implement a payment system for an app using the new Safaricom API and/or Paybill….


On 10 January 2016 at 10:44, Stephen Ndungu via skunkworks <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
That's Great News Tusker21!

Do you have an example of a not-free local App I can try to purchase ?

I want to see how the process works so we can apply it !

BR/
Stephen N.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 10, 2016, at 10:23 AM, Tusker 21 <tusker212@gmail.com> wrote:

@ Stephen  It is possible. Safaricom Mledger is a good example. Before it was adopted by Safaricom and made a free app on the store, it was available for purchase through mpesa.

On 10 Jan 2016 10:11, "Stephen Ndungu via skunkworks" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Morning/Afternoon/Evening Skunkers;

Is it possible yet to pay for Android Apps via Mpesa yet? Pesapal via Mpesa?

I realize that a lot of local&regional sales for Apps and Online purchases (Amazon, eBay etc) have been lost because plastic money is so cumbersome and if Students are your target market; the Developer or Online seller loses many potential customers, even if the Marketing is well done.

Fact: No one is willing to bend over backwards to line up in a Bank to apply for a card that will be allowed to purchase online; just to buy one App. What about maintenance fees ?
Plastic card is just not for us, Google.

Samsung App Store tried to adopt Mpesa payments in 2013; don't know how far they got. But what if an App Developer wants to reach and sell to many Android users?

Who should drive this? Is it Safaricom ?

What about the new Safaricom API? Can one use that to enable a small payment function inside their Android App -- if Google does not play ball ??

Sent from my iPhone
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--
Regards

Francis Mwangi Chege
Java Software Developer
Safari SoftSolutions Ltd.
+254 - 721 663 208

"It is amazing how much you can ascertain by just finding out."

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