Pochi La Biashara helps you separate personal finances from business’s

by Enock Bett · Published November 27, 2020 · Updated November 27, 2020

One of the things that a young small business entrepreneur should know is that personal finances and your business’s don’t mix at all, and if one doesn’t draw a clear line between the two, chances are that the business would fail terribly. Keeping them separate helps you reduce problems such as transferring money from the business to your loved ones and makes it easier for you to manage your finances and grow your business.

Safaricom while marking its 20th anniversary, launched Pochi La Biashara – an innovative product that will allow the separation of business and personal wallets on M-PESA for MSMEs and enable SMEs to run their businesses digitally through enhanced connectivity and financing propositions. Small business owners such as food vendors, small kiosk owners, boda-boda operators, and second-hand clothes dealers now have a way to receive and separate business funds from personal funds on their M-PESA line.

Signing up for Pochi La Biashara is a simple process that requires no paperwork. Customers that purchase products and services from you will be able to conveniently make payments directly to your ‘Pochi’. The payment once done cannot be reversed without the approval of the business owner. Business owners can also sell airtime and earn a 5% commission on the value sold. Safaricom designed it in a way to protect the privacy of customer and business owner information as the platform doesn’t display mobile numbers on M-PESA messages sent for payments to Pochi la Biashara accounts.

Here is a list of steps to take to own and operate a Pochi La Biashara account:

Using your M-PESA line, dial M-PESA USSD *334# select Pochi La Biashara to opt-in.
Accept the terms & conditions and select your business category and you will receive an SMS confirmation that you have been opted in successfully.
After opting in, you will be able to see the menu in the account.
Customers making payments will also need to dial *334# from their M-PESA line then select Lipa Na M-PESA; then select Pochi La Biashara, and enter the mobile number to make payment.
Normal sending money transaction charges apply when a customer is making payments but the business owner receiving the payment does not incur any charges.
Daily transactional limit of Ksh. 300,000 umbrella limit for both the personal and business accounts apply.
To access funds, business owners withdraw from an agent by dialing *334#, then select Pochi la Biashara, withdraw funds from agent, enter agent number, amount, and PIN to complete their transactions which is charged just as the same as normal agency withdrawals.
To move funds from Business to Personal Account, one will dial *334#, select Pochi la Biashara, select the option to withdraw funds from Business to Personal Account, enter amount and complete the transaction using your M-PESA PIN.