Payment gateway for Tanzania that accepts every wallet
Boldrails is a licensed payment gateway provider for Tanzania. We accept M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, Halopesa, and cards through one integration, then settle in Tanzanian shillings to your bank account or wallet. We serve high-volume and high-risk businesses, with onboarding in 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
- M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money & Halopesa
- One integration for wallets and cards
- Settle in TZS to a bank or wallet
- Onboarding in 3 to 14 days
Last updated: July 2026
How to accept online payments in Tanzania
Tanzania is a mobile money-first market, so wallets come before cards. Around 63 million mobile money wallets were active at the end of 2024, per AFI and Bank of Tanzania reporting. Boldrails is a licensed principal here, not a broker: we acquire and settle payments ourselves, not through a third party. One integration connects M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, and Halopesa, plus cards and bank transfers over TIPS. You launch once, then go live.
- 1
Apply and share your business documents, including your TRA TIN and BRELA business registration certificate.
- 2
We complete KYC and KYB checks and review your business model and risk profile.
- 3
Integrate once with our API or hosted checkout, using sandbox keys and webhooks before you launch.
- 4
Go live to accept every major wallet plus Visa and Mastercard cards.
- 5
Settle your funds in Tanzanian shillings to a bank account or a mobile wallet.
Which payment methods can you accept in Tanzania?
You can accept M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, and Halopesa mobile money, plus Visa and Mastercard cards and bank transfers. Every method runs through one integration, so you add wallets and cards without separate contracts or extra code.
| Method | What it is | Settles to |
|---|---|---|
| M-Pesa | Vodacom Tanzania's mobile money wallet, one of the largest in the country. | Bank account or wallet |
| Tigo Pesa (Mixx by Yas) | Yas mobile money, formerly Tigo Pesa, one of the top wallets. | Bank account or wallet |
| Airtel Money | Airtel's mobile money wallet, widely used, including rural areas. | Bank account or wallet |
| Halopesa | Halotel's mobile money wallet, often missed by other gateways. | Bank account or wallet |
| Cards (Visa & Mastercard) | Local and international card payments, processed PCI DSS compliant. | Bank account |
| Bank transfer & TIPS | Bank transfers over TIPS, the Bank of Tanzania's real-time interoperable rail. | Bank account or wallet |
Selcom publishes a public REST and JSON API for its own network. Boldrails goes wider: we settle across every Tanzanian wallet under one licensed integration, with a sandbox and webhooks built in. Mobile money handles most consumer payments here, so card-first gateways are built for the wrong market. Lead with wallets, then add cards for travelers and businesses.
Fees in Tanzania depend on your volume, method mix, and risk profile. As market context, a published Tanzania payments guide puts processing in this range:
- Transaction commission: about 2.0% to 3.5% per transaction (market range)
- Setup fee: 0 or around USD 1,000, depending on the provider (market range)
- Boldrails confirms your exact rate at onboarding
How does settlement and payout work in Tanzania?
We settle your Tanzanian shilling balances to a bank account or a mobile wallet, whichever fits your treasury. Collections and bulk payouts run on the same integration, so you take money in and send money out without a second provider. TIPS moves funds between banks and wallets in near real time; it processed about 454 million transactions worth around USD 11.6 billion in 2024, per AFI and industry reporting.
You can pay suppliers, agents, or customers at scale from the same balance. Every transaction is reconciled and exportable, so your finance team keeps clean records for tax and audit.
- Settle to a bank account or a mobile wallet
- Collections and payouts on one API
- Bulk disbursement to wallets and banks
- Reconciliation and export for finance teams
- Onboarding in 3 to 14 days, depending on your case
Who Boldrails serves in Tanzania
We work with high-volume and high-risk operators, including businesses that other providers decline.
- e-commerce & retail
- forex and CFD brokers
- iGaming operators (licensed under the Gaming Board of Tanzania)
- tourism & hospitality
- SaaS & subscriptions
- cross-border and remittance senders
- marketplaces needing mass payouts
We assess each business on its merits and hold accounts to our compliance standards. High-risk acceptance is a capability we offer, subject to your documents and to local licensing where a vertical requires it.
How Boldrails compares in Tanzania
Here is an honest view of the Tanzanian market. Most providers quote fees only after you request access.
- Local specialists like Selcom, ClickPesa, Pesapal, DPO Pay, AzamPay, and DusuPay cover the core wallets and cards.
- Most split collections from payouts, so you run two separate setups.
- Most other gateways do not name Halopesa as a supported wallet.
- Few publish an honest fee and coverage table upfront.
- Few position openly for high-risk businesses.
| Capability | Boldrails | Selcom | DPO Pay | Pesapal | ClickPesa | AzamPay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-Pesa | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tigo Pesa | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Airtel Money | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Halopesa | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Cards (Visa / Mastercard) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank transfer / TIPS | Yes | Via rails | Via rails | Via rails | Via rails | Via rails |
| Collections + payouts, one API | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Yes |
| High-risk acceptance | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
Not listed means not publicly stated, not confirmed unavailable. Fees are quote-gated by most providers.
Boldrails covers all four wallets, including Halopesa, and combines collections with bulk payouts on one integration. We accept high-risk verticals and settle in Tanzanian shillings as a licensed principal. The Bank of Tanzania oversees payment providers under the National Payment Systems Act 2015: non-bank gateways operate on a payment service provider licence, and issuing e-money requires an electronic money issuer licence. That is the framework we operate within, and we hold the necessary licences required in the markets we serve. Card acceptance meets PCI DSS.
Start accepting payments in Tanzania
Tell us about your business and we'll set up collections, settlement, and payouts on one integration. Onboarding takes 3 to 14 days, depending on your case.
FAQ
Tanzania payments: common questions
Last updated: July 2026