Lipa kwa Simu / merchant pay charges in Tanzania 2026
Paying a Tanzanian merchant directly from your wallet — Lipa kwa M-Pesa, Lipa Kwa Simu on Mixx by Yas, Lipa kwa Airtel — is usually FREE for the customer, with the merchant paying a small acceptance fee. Here's the per-wallet flow, the free-below thresholds, and how to scan a till QR code.
The merchant-pay menu on each wallet
- M-Pesa (Vodacom) — Lipa kwa M-Pesa. USSD:
*150*00#→ Lipa → Pay Merchant. App: M-Pesa Tanzania → Lipa → QR scan or till number. - Mixx by Yas (formerly Tigo Pesa) — Lipa Kwa Simu. USSD:
*150*01#→ Lipa Kwa Simu. App: Mixx Super App → Lipa → QR scan. - Airtel Money — Lipa kwa Airtel. USSD:
*150*60#→ Pay Merchant. App: Airtel Money → Pay → QR or till number.
Why merchant pay is cheaper than the withdraw-then-cash chain
On a TSh 30,000 grocery run: if you withdraw TSh 30,000 at an agent first and pay cash, you pay the M-Pesa cash-out fee (around TSh 1,450 in that band) plus excise + VAT on it = TSh ~1,880 of friction. If you pay the supermarket's till directly via Lipa kwa M-Pesa, the customer-facing cost is zero. Over a month of household spending the cumulative saving on cashless merchant pay is the difference between mobile money being a money-store and a money-pipe.
All values verified June 2026. Operator tariffs cross-checked against Vodacom Tanzania, Yas / Mixx by Yas, Airtel Tanzania and Halotel published sources; review cadence is quarterly.