Similar to Safaricom M-PESA Till numbers which have made the payment of goods and services simple, Equity Bank has rolled out a centralized digital payment solution for merchants, dubbed One Equity Till Number.

The platform, a first in the Kenyan market, however, differs from what M-PESA offers in that it has an interoperability feature that enables merchants to receive payments from multiple payment channels or mobile wallets through a single Till Number.

Specifically, merchants will receive payments from customers using M-PESA, Airtel Money, PesaLink, Equitel, and Equity Mobile via a single Equity Till Number without having to subscribe for multiple Pay bill/Till numbers from different mobile payment service providers.

The development will make it easy and convenient for merchants to collect all their payments directly into their bank account without having to do several transfers from mobile wallets to bank accounts since there is no limit to the amount of money a merchant can receive.

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Whatsmore, the merchant can access the money instantly at no charge.

Similarly, the centralized collection account will in turn improve their credit score enabling merchants to access business loans from the bank.

Besides supporting micro, small and medium enterprises around the country to conduct their business conveniently, the One Equity Till Number is also billed to simplify traders' operational needs from a payment standpoint.

Further, merchants or businesses will enjoy great benefits from the service as it provides instant onboarding and ease of reconciliation, which will, in turn, offer freedom and convenience to customers who will now have a simple and instant payment solution irrespective of the mobile payment channel used.

The service will also include QR code payments for customers wishing to scan-to-pay from their payment channels including Equity Mobile App, M-VISA, Masterpass QR, and UnionPay.

One Equity Till Number innovation is part of the regional lender's digitization initiatives that have seen its mobile and internet banking channels process 86.8 percent of all transactions as of the nine-month period ended September 2021.

At the moment, 98 percent of all the bank's transactions take place outside the branch, solidifying the Group’s position as a digital financial service provider.

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