Banking for your platform, on a licensed bank
Open named accounts for the businesses you serve, collect into them, pay out on PesaLink and M-Pesa, and onboard with business KYC, all through one API run on Umba Microfinance Bank in Kenya.
Access needs Umba's approval. We review every request within 2 business days.
What the API offers
The building blocks to put accounts and payments inside your product, without becoming a bank.
Named accounts for your customers
Give each business you serve its own account number at a licensed Kenyan bank, held in their name and reconciled to your platform.
Collections
Receive bank transfers and mobile money into those accounts and see each credit matched to the right customer as it lands.
M-Pesa STK push collections
Prompt a customer's phone to pay into the named account. They enter their M-Pesa PIN and you see the payment as it lands.
Payouts on PesaLink and M-Pesa
Pay suppliers, staff and customers from your platform, instantly to any Kenyan bank over PesaLink or to any M-Pesa wallet.
Payouts to paybills and tills
Pay M-Pesa paybill and till numbers directly. Look up the business name first, so you know who you are paying.
Bulk payouts
Send up to 500 payouts in one batch, with one approval for the whole batch.
Business KYC
Onboard businesses with directors and beneficial owners verified, so accounts open on approval without paperwork going back and forth.
Signed webhooks
Get a signed notification for every credit, payout and onboarding decision, with retries and a delivery history you can inspect.
Built for regulated money
Idempotent requests, signed calls for money movement and a full audit trail, run on Umba’s banking licence and controls.
How going live works
From request to production in five steps. Every partner is reviewed by Umba, and production needs a signed agreement.
- 1
Request access
Verify your work email and tell us about your organisation and what you want to build.
- 2
Umba reviews
Our team reviews every request within 2 business days.
- 3
Build in the sandbox
Approved partners get a sandbox with sample data, API keys and an interactive reference in their dashboard.
- 4
Sign the agreement
When your integration is ready, request production access and we agree the commercial and compliance terms.
- 5
Go live
Umba enables production for your organisation and you start moving real money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Partner API questions, answered
Companies building financial products for businesses in Kenya: platforms, marketplaces, payroll and procurement tools, and other fintechs. Every partner is approved by Umba before getting access.
The API moves money on a regulated banking licence, so we get to know every partner first. There is no self-serve sign-up and no access of any kind before approval.
You get a sandbox with seeded sample data and a partner dashboard where you create API keys, explore the API reference, see your request log and test your webhooks.
A signed agreement with Umba. When your sandbox integration works, request production access from the dashboard and our team takes it from there.
Kenya. Accounts, collections and payouts run on Umba Microfinance Bank in Kenya.
Still have questions?
Contact SupportWe're Licensed. Regulated. Trusted
Umba Microfinance Bank is fully licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and our deposits are insured by the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC).
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