Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

Symbiotic to release Mpesa/Zap PayBill API to Kenya Developers in May

by on Mar.27, 2010, under Coding, Google and Africa, PayPal and Africa, Symbiotic, Zunguka

Mpesa/Zap Gateway

One API to rule them all

Code-Named Gandalf

Symbiotic Developer Labs will soon chip in its 2 bytes in the coding social social responsibility. Safaricom/Zain has NOT released or shown any signs of being in willingness or position to release any developer tools to enable the 17 real coding geniuses in Kenya, the thousand of wannabes and the tens of thousands of VB programmers monetize ANY of their systems.

Understandably, they are here to make money on voice and data. They don’t care about your pesky little ideas. Unless they are called ‘Mpesa’ and not yet patented. Ahem!

Currently, the only way to automate Mpesa/Zap is to use a Modem with the Mpesa SIM card then do some satanic message parsing. No more!!

As the head of the coding department in SMC, I have taken this personally and, unless the finger of god or the eye of the nebula intervenes, we will be releasing a PUBLIC API for Mpesa/Zap paybill.

The API will be available for public download and SMC will just be the aggregator. All settlemennts will be real-time. Yes. real-time. No 48-hour waits. {I still can’t understand some of these things! Ati 48 hours!!}

What about those who cant code

Of course, we cant all be coders, can we? If you are one of the millions of people who cant code, or ‘Ulikuwaga mnoma sana kitambo sana maJava na maC++ but umesahau’, then we also have good news for you. You will be able to open an online shop running off the ZungukaPay gateway and you will be able to monetize your content, time and skills.

We have one mission in mind

To enable ANYONE be able to monetize their content and abilities. To enable that sculptor from Machakos to be able to sell his curios online DIRECTLY to the buyer and realize maximum profits. Not via a proxy, getting short-changed. To enable that guy in Stall 25 Imenti house be able to sell his pirated DVDs online and get real-time payment.

As a user, your money will always be floating around Mpesa/Zap/PayPal/GC/WP… So far, no bank is willing to work with us because we are too small a company, but I am sure someone sane will soon wake up and smell the digital coffee.

Errr… Back to code.

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  • ezra

    dude you are my hero, Been trying to do that for some time now and these cooporate entities ignore you coz you are not as big a company as they. KUODOs

  • alexmumo

    Very encouraging, to stop this stupid crap of before interlinking your site with zap/mpesa u should av a merchant account.

  • edwinabuga

    The prospect of what your planning has me mezaing mate yani walenje yangu imembao. I don't usually pray for people but you, my friend, will be in my prayers tonight!

  • http://twitter.com/smartemwa james mwai

    i think i fall in the wannabes category but i can't wait for this. kudos and keep up.

  • iddsalim

    Am flattered.

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  • Jude

    Idd where do i fall in? looking forward to the API. Keep us posted and keep up the good work by SMC!!

  • gmimano

    Interesting and good work. I would like to see how my API differs from this one. Mine is abit rough on the edges so am trying to fix the small remaining bugs. Keep up the good work.

  • http://www.muchirionmoney.wordpress.com/ Tyrus

    Am Curious. Is it possible to use RFID technology on Mobile phones so that you can pay for your fare using the phone and Mpesa? If so can the readers be installed on the vehicle and serve as a 'cash register' plus a vehicle tracking device? Am not a techie btw

  • iddsalim

    @tyrus – Clearly, you are not a techie. hehehee

    Unless you are going to Meru or Isiolo, the fare is always less than 100 bob. and Mpesa/Zap does not support transactions less than 100. If they could… RFI..what??? Mpesa is menu-driven, so it must be USER or CODE initiated.

    The rest, akina tracking device, are outside the scope of this post.

    Is this just a random/crazy idea, ama something you are considering building?

  • http://twitter.com/mkatembu Moses Katembu

    Been waiting for this yrs… Tired of message parsing

  • http://www.muchirionmoney.wordpress.com/ Tyrus

    Been toying with an idea similar to the Smartbus concept so its not random….thanks 4 the heads up

  • http://www.muchirionmoney.wordpress.com/ Tyrus

    Since Kenya's bulk 18 million mobile phone subscribers are on pre-paid plans the need for scratch cards is obvious…how come hakuna phone credit dispensers in high traffic areas like malls or in the streets…just a thought.

  • http://www.muchirionmoney.wordpress.com/ Tyrus

    Can someone please tell me how phone credit works.

  • iddsalim

    I know a guy who tried such a concept in UG, but failed miserably, possibly due to execution. I think the MSPs also have the 'if it works dont change it' mentality and the scratch printing firms are also OWNED by the MSP owners.

    That is why on Safaricom Promos for 50% airtime bonus, Mpesa topups are not considered because they plagiarize on Scratch-card printers revenue. As if Mpesa airtime is not from YOUR MONEY!

  • iddsalim

    simple digital value conversion:

    you buy a 100 bob scratch_card, u send the number to Mpesa via USSD or IVR, they receive and verify code validity and then get code value.. they make ua credit = CurrentCredo + value and your expiry = today + 90days…

    Simple…

  • http://www.muchirionmoney.wordpress.com/ Tyrus

    Cheers…in the interest of full disclosure is it possible to call for free…urban myths have it of some guys who input a couple of numbers before the no. they are calling..technically is this possible..

  • iddsalim

    Technically, it is. technically, it is possible even for a woman to drive.. ;)

  • Michael Jones

    Congrats on the venture funding.

    Does this mean your company is abandoning sembuse, tumasms, zunguka and all the other projects ?

  • iddsalim

    Mr Jones,

    Venture funding? That never happens in Africa. I am about to blog on that. I know about 13 people you would give 1/10000 of what Zuckerberg got as Angel funding for FB and they will make you a site 17 times better than FB and has an actual sensible and commensurate revenue model. But their ideas will never see the light of day.

    Such is the sadness in africa. We are still developing and improving Sembuse, TumaSMS, Zunguka and KeleleMobile.

    Still hoping for someone to have the foresight to fund these projects now, at their infancy, then reap rewards very soon and in a big way.

    But that might never happen. so we soldier on…

  • http://www.facebook.com/gisho Erastus Gichuhi

    @Tyrus, are you the guy am making an airtime buyer from Safaricom? anyway, for the last 2 months av bin doing it with messaging and its not funny. dunno if it could get any better but its totally a hustle (especially wen they change the the message format – which in return breaks the system).

    about RFID: well, you can also call it NFC (Near Field Communication) rumors has it that many fone manufacturers will start making NFC enabled devices as from this year (2010), so i really see your point getting home. the good thing is, a fone can be anything reader or as a tag. I really don't know y Nokia stopped manufacturing the 6212 model which had NFC capabilities (there are 2 other older models out there though)

    you can read more on NFC and RFID here http://www.nexperts.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/gisho Erastus Gichuhi

    talk of money, politics and men

  • http://www.facebook.com/gisho Erastus Gichuhi

    Technically, i will say NO. Socially, yes. there is this system that keeps subscriber profiles, actually someone in the telco can pull everything u have eva said or done in voice, sms and data. play safe man!

  • http://www.facebook.com/gisho Erastus Gichuhi

    ouch! you hurt my back with that

  • iddsalim

    I repeat. technically.. it is possible to configure the IN such that you dial 0722xxx – u get charged.. but if you dial 00000000000722xxx, you talk at zero shilling per minute. the IN systems can be set to Zero-rate calls from certain numbers, or using certain secret prefixes.

    So.. YES

  • iddsalim

    Nice input!

  • iddsalim

    Such is the sadness.

  • http://www.sokomarket.com Sokomarket

    This would be helpful; currently i have people who want to sell on my website http://www.sokomarket.com and they dont have paypal, google checkout or any credit cards. I'm overhauling my shopping cart to implement other methods of payment but Mpesa solution eludes me.

  • Azuka

    Congratulations on all your efforts. It is very admirable to see such exceptional promise.

    Venture funding can be interesting, and then, there is the politics of funding. There are many Africans who can easily fund your projects, but some of them are focused on the immediate payback, and do not seem to understand that a digital revolution is happening, and without participation, you will be left behind.

    I agree that there has to be a better method for online payment in Africa. We need a new model. We may not have the deep pockets, but the will cannot be stopped.

    I would be interested in exploring the possibilities.

    Much Luv.

  • Azuka

    I manage an Africa website that is building a positive space with Africa-centered ideas and knowledge. It has been going well, but occasionally we get hackers who deface our website because they don’t like the content and the tone of the website. Though I cannot fix all of them, I want to reach out to African developers and programmers in Africa and around the world who are interested in joining the development team.

    In addition, I would like to build a network of African developers, and to profile the best developers on the website. This will definitely be a great way to reach new clients.

    If anyone developers reading this want to be part of the network, let me know.

  • Martinolanya

    Realo cool stuff hata to us who cant afford colle fee but own the capabilities to touch the key board n make a chenge

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000448351447 Michael Inkoom

    my favourite line yet………Currently, the only way to automate Mpesa/Zap is to use a Modem with the Mpesa SIM card then do some satanic message parsing. No more!!…….I’m loving this blog already…gosh! Been doing a lot of research on how to get started with some “satanic message parsing”. From Ghana and it so sucks that developers can not get adventurous because of the so many limitations…

  • http://www.facebook.com/kengriffith Kenneth Griffith

    So how’s that API coming along?

  • http://africatech.wordpress.com/ Ada Lovelace

    Hey, your developer page on the moca.co.ke website is not working!! And neither are links on your home page – very disappointing and nonprofessional man!

  • Xxx

    What a lie

  • Xxx

    What a lie

  • kelonye mitchel

     would be great to see someone make a python wrapper for that … badly need it.

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  • http://twitter.com/mwangisk Mister Mwangi

    You, sir are an idiot. but a good one!
    “the 17 real coding geniuses in Kenya, the thousand of wannabes and the tens of thousands of VB programmers” — am one of the 17!

    and

    “Ulikuwaga mnoma sana kitambo sana maJava na maC++ but umesahau”

    that’s funny though

    I have a ecommerce store running off SMS parsing and though IT WORKS but am too afraid that safaricom will change the sms format without telling me and thus make my store a disaster.

    enough wiht the talking. Wapi hiyo API?

  • Anonymous

    Check the blog on Persistence - http://www.iddsalim.com/blog/2011/06/11/keyword-persistence-finally-uhuru-day/

  • Shaper

    Hi there – apologies for only commenting asking for help, but I’ve been looking for details of an M-PESA API on the web, and your name/website keeps coming up in relation to M-PESA. ;-)

    I’m a freelance web developer working in the UK, with a client in Kenya who wants to take payments for their e-commerce website through M-PESA.  I’ve looked everywhere for documentation on a public M-PESA API that I could interface with their e-commerce website, but all I can find are requests for an API and rumours that it will be/has been released at some point.

    I know it’s a long shot, but do you happen to know if there *is* such an API, and/or would you know of any technical documentation that’s been published about it?

    Many thanks in advance – there’s so little information out there that you’re almost my last resort!

  • Samkeym

    Dont keep us waiting

  • http://www.facebook.com/david.kagoma David Kagoma

    I’ve been searching for ZAP & Mpesa APIs sasa when I saw the title of this entry my heart jumped a bit, and when I read that it was published in March 2010, dah my heart jumped even more….lakini saaasa, where is the API aisee? Are the 17 guys stuck somewhere? share with the community and you could have other geniuses joining your wagon and push these APIs out

  • Tedoxie

    U GUYS..I HAVE A Mpesa API..and not just that something bigger thats going to chabge the market!!!watch this space in the next month..the co operates cant ignore brilliance..add me to the 17

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