Using SMPLY PAY

Registration & login

1. Register with your email and a password (at least 8 characters) on the registration page. Self-service registration can be closed by SMPLY PAY; when it is, that page says so and accounts are created by invitation instead (see below).
2. Verify your email — we send a verification link to the address you registered with. You can't log in until you click it.
3. Log in with your email and password, then enter a one-time code we email you — every login requires this second step, even after your password is correct. This is deliberate: a stolen password alone still can't get into your account.

Forgot your password?

On the login page choose Forgot password? and enter your email address. We email you a link to choose a new password. It works once and expires after 60 minutes, and only the most recent link you asked for works. Setting a new password signs you out on every device, and we email you to confirm the change. For your privacy, the page says the same thing whether or not the email has an account.

If you were invited

If an SMPLY PAY administrator (or a business you use that integrates with SMPLY PAY) created your account, you'll get an email with a one-time link. Open it, choose your password, then log in with your email address as above. The link works once and expires; if it has expired, ask whoever invited you to send a new one.

If you don't receive a verification or login code email, check your spam folder before trying again — resending a link/code always works, and repeatedly retrying doesn't lock you out (though it is rate-limited to stop abuse if it happens far too many times in a row).

Your dashboard

After you log in you land on your Dashboard, the home page of your account. It covers every wallet you own and every wallet someone has shared with you:

• Total balance in Kenyan shillings, with any stablecoin balances listed underneath.
• Wallets and transactions — how many wallets you have (owned and shared) and how many transactions they have recorded.
• In progress — escrows not yet released or refunded, and withdrawals still being processed.
• Activity — money in and money out for each of the last 30 days. Hover over (or tab to) a day for its figures, switch currency, or choose Show as table.
• Latest transactions — the ten most recent, across all your wallets. Select one to open its wallet.

The menu at the top of every page takes you to Dashboard, Wallets, Escrows and Developer. The dashboard refreshes itself every 30 seconds while it is open.

Account activity & security

The Activity page lists everything that happened on your account and the IP address it came from: sign-ins, failed sign-in attempts using your email, sign-outs, withdrawals, conversions, transfers, escrows, API key and webhook changes, and wallet access changes. A second tab lists requests made with your API keys and changes made while you were signed in.

If you see a sign-in or an IP address you don't recognise, reset your password straight away (Log in → Forgot password?), which signs out every session, and contact SMPLY PAY. Request records are kept for 90 days.

Creating & sharing wallets

A wallet can hold a balance in Kenyan shillings (KES) and any combination of five crypto networks — Ethereum, Polygon, Celo, Optimism, and Solana — all at once, tracked separately. You can create more than one wallet if you want to keep balances separate (personal vs. a side project, say).

Sharing access with others

You can add another registered user to your wallet at one of two access levels:

• View — can see the wallet's balances and transaction history, and can deposit into it, but cannot withdraw, convert, or remove members.
• Manage — everything View can do, plus withdrawing, converting, and adding/removing other members. The wallet's creator always has Manage access and can't be removed.

Add a member from the wallet's own page by their email address — they need an existing, verified SMPLY PAY account.

Depositing

KES via M-Pesa

Two ways to add Kenyan shillings:

• STK push — enter your phone number and amount on the wallet page; you'll get an M-Pesa prompt on your phone to enter your PIN and confirm.
• Paybill — every wallet has its own unique account number under one fixed business Paybill number, shown on the wallet page. Pay in directly from your M-Pesa menu at any time, no app needed.

Both credit your wallet automatically, usually within moments of M-Pesa confirming the payment.

Crypto (USDT and USDC)

Each wallet has its own address on every supported network, shown on the wallet page. Send USDT or USDC to the address for the network you're using — a deposit credits your wallet automatically once it reaches enough network confirmations (this varies by network, roughly from a couple of minutes on faster networks to somewhat longer on Ethereum and Polygon specifically, since they wait for more confirmations to guard against the transaction being reversed).

Only send USDT or USDC. Native coins (ETH, POL, CELO, OP, SOL) sent to your address are not detected or credited automatically. Make sure the network you send on matches the network of the address you copied.

Withdrawing & fees

Requesting a withdrawal is a two-step process:

1. Choose an amount and a destination (an M-Pesa phone number/Paybill, or a crypto address on the relevant network) and submit the request.
2. Enter the one-time code emailed to you to confirm it. Nothing moves until you confirm — a withdrawal request alone doesn't debit your wallet.

Fees

Withdrawal and conversion fees scale with the amount (a tiered structure, similar in spirit to a progressive tax bracket) rather than a flat percentage or fixed charge — and you always see the exact fee as part of your withdrawal request, before you confirm anything. There is no fee just to hold a wallet or receive a deposit. See the public site's own Pricing page for the full model, or your withdrawal/conversion screen for the exact current numbers.

Converting

You can convert between any currency your wallet holds and KES, in either direction. When you request a conversion, you get a quote — the exact rate you'll get — locked for a short window (currently 90 seconds) before it expires. Confirm within that window and you get exactly the rate you were quoted, not whatever the market rate happens to be by the time the conversion actually processes. If the window expires, just request a fresh quote.

Escrow

Escrow holds funds until both sides of a transaction are ready — useful any time you're paying someone you don't fully trust yet (or being paid by someone who wants the same assurance).

The three roles

• Depositor — funds the escrow from their own wallet, and names who the receiver is (and, optionally, a neutral manager).
• Receiver — the intended recipient of the funds once released.
• Manager (optional) — a neutral third party who can step in and resolve things if the depositor and receiver disagree. If you don't name one, the platform itself plays this role.

Confirmation & release

Once funded, both the depositor and receiver confirm their side — in either order. Confirming doesn't move the funds by itself: once both confirmations are in, a Release funds button becomes available (to either party, or the manager), and someone still needs to click it. This is a deliberate, real extra step verified directly against the running platform, not an oversight — a small commission (set by the depositor when creating the escrow) goes to whoever manages it once released; the rest goes to the receiver.

Partial refunds

Before either side has confirmed, the receiver (or the manager) can hand part of the escrowed amount back to the depositor — for example when a seller can only supply part of an order. The refunded part returns to the depositor's wallet straight away, the escrow continues with the smaller amount, and the commission is worked out on that smaller amount. Once anyone has confirmed, the amount can no longer change; a full refund goes through a dispute instead. Marketplaces connected to SMPLY PAY use this when a seller edits an order.

Disputes

If either side disagrees, either can raise a dispute instead of confirming. The escrow's manager (or the platform, if none was named) then resolves it one of two ways: releasing the funds to the receiver, or refunding them back to the depositor.

Automatic settlement

On a wallet's page, Automatic settlement lets you send a share of every deposit somewhere else automatically — for example 10% to a tax wallet, 20% to a supplier's paybill and 30% to a partner's till, keeping the remaining 40%.

• Each rule has a title, an optional description, a percentage and a destination: another SMPLY PAY wallet, an M-Pesa phone number, a Paybill or a Buy Goods till. Rules on a wallet can add up to at most 100%; the rest stays in the wallet.
• It applies to deposits by M-Pesa (STK prompt or paybill) and crypto deposits, from the moment the rule is active. Money moved between wallets does not trigger it.
• Fees: shares sent to another wallet are free. Shares sent to M-Pesa are paid out like a withdrawal, so the withdrawal fee is taken from that share. M-Pesa pays whole shillings; a share under 10 KES (or one the fee would use up) stays in the wallet.
• Crypto can be settled to another SMPLY PAY wallet. Sending crypto automatically to an external address is not available.
• Creating a rule sends you a one-time code; the rule only starts once you enter it. You can pause, resume or delete a rule at any time.
• The wallet's owners and managers are notified of every settlement. The settlement report shows each settlement (amount, fee, M-Pesa reference, status), totals per rule, filters by rule, status and date, and a CSV download.

If a settlement can't be completed (for example the balance was already spent, or M-Pesa refused the payment), it is marked failed in the report and the money stays in, or is returned to, the wallet.

QuickBooks & Zoho Books

On a wallet's page, Accounting lets you connect that wallet to QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books, or both. Choose Connect, sign in to your accounting system and approve access — SMPLY PAY never sees your accounting password, and the access it receives is stored encrypted. You can disconnect at any time.

• From then on, the wallet's M-Pesa deposits, completed withdrawals, SMPLY PAY fees, automatic settlements, escrow payments and transfers between wallets are recorded in your books automatically. Each type can be switched off.
• The wallet appears in your books as a bank account. SMPLY PAY creates a few clearly named accounts the first time it needs them (for example “SMPLY PAY Fees”), or you can choose your own existing accounts.
• Only Kenyan shilling transactions are posted, and your books' home currency must be KES. A withdrawal is posted once it has completed; a failed one isn't posted at all.
• The Recent activity list shows what was posted, what is waiting and anything that failed, with a Retry button. If the connection expires or is revoked, the wallet page asks you to reconnect, and nothing is lost meanwhile.

FAQ