io.github.gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp
MCP server for M-Pesa mobile-money integration in Kenya
Open source Open in the app JSON README (API)
About
MCP server for M-Pesa mobile-money integration in Kenya
Details
- Kind
- MCP servers
- Topic
- No topic detected
- Publisher
- gabrielmahia
- Origin
- official
- Category
- ferramentas
- Transport
- local
- Version
- 0.2.4
- Stars
- 4
- Forks
- 1
- Last push
- 2026-08-31T11:52:42Z
- Repository state
- ativo
- Language
- Python
- License
- MIT
- Added
- 2026-08-29 03:02:48
- Updated
- 2026-08-29 03:02:48
- Origin id
io.github.gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp
README
# mpesa-mcp
<!-- mcp-name: io.github.gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp -->
> MCP server for East African fintech APIs — M-Pesa (Safaricom Daraja) and Africa's Talking
Give your AI agent the ability to trigger M-Pesa payments, check transaction status, send SMS, and top up airtime across 20+ African telecom networks.
[](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp/actions)
[](https://pypi.org/project/mpesa-mcp/)
[](LICENSE)
[](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp)
[](https://smithery.ai/server/@gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp)
[](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp)
[](https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/Cybersecurity/CSI_MCP_SECURITY.pdf)
[](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp)
## Tested With
```
claude-sonnet-5 (recommended — call get_model_hint() for guidance)
claude-opus-4-8 (for highest-accuracy compliance reasoning)
```
Claude Sonnet 5 (released June 30, 2026) finishes multi-step M-PESA workflows
without stopping short and self-corrects tool-call errors without prompting.
Terminal-Bench score 80.4% vs Sonnet 4.6's 67.0% — the benchmark most
analogous to payment agent work.
## Why this exists
M-Pesa processes more transactions per day than PayPal does in Africa. Africa's Talking
reaches users in 20+ countries on basic phones via SMS and USSD. Neither has an MCP server.
This means every AI agent built today — Claude, GPT, Gemini, or any MCP-compatible runtime —
cannot trigger an M-Pesa payment or send a Kiswahili SMS without custom integration work.
`mpesa-mcp` closes that gap in one `pip install`.
## Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| `mpesa_stk_push` | Trigger STK Push payment prompt on customer's M-Pesa phone |
| `mpesa_stk_query` | Check status of an STK Push request |
| `mpesa_transaction_status` | Query any M-Pesa transaction by receipt number |
| `sms_send` | Send SMS to 1–1,000 recipients across African networks |
| `airtime_send` | Send airtime top-up to any subscriber (KES, NGN, GHS, UGX, etc.) |
## Coverage
- **M-Pesa:** Kenya (Safaricom Daraja v3) — STK Push, C2B, transaction status
- **SMS/Airtime:** Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, and 15+ more via Africa's Talking
## Glama (hosted MCP)
mpesa-mcp is available as a hosted MCP server on [Glama](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp):
[](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp)
[](https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp)
## Security — NSA MCP Guidance Compliant
`mpesa-mcp` was updated in response to **NSA CSI U/OO/6030316-26 (May 2026)** — the NSA Artificial Intelligence Security Center's Cybersecurity Information Sheet on Model Context Protocol security.
The implementation below documents compliance against the NSA's MCP security framework, control by control.
| NSA Control | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Parameter validation | KE phone regex `^254[17]\d{8}$` + amount bounds [1–150,000 KES] |
| Audit logging | Structured log per tool call; phone numbers SHA-256 hashed |
| Token lifecycle | OAuth token cached with expiry; auto-refreshed |
| Error containment | Structured error dicts; no raw exception propagation |
| HTTPS enforcement | All Daraja API calls HTTPS-only |
| No hardcoded secrets | All credentials via environment variables |
See [SECURITY.md](./SECURITY.md) for the full compliance table.
> **Reference:** [NSA CSI_MCP_SECURITY.pdf](https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/Cybersecurity/CSI_MCP_SECURITY.pdf) — May 2026, UNCLASSIFIED
## Install
```bash
pip install mpesa-mcp
```
Or run directly with `uvx`:
```bash
uvx mpesa-mcp
```
## Configuration
Set these environment variables before starting the server:
```bash
# M-Pesa (Safaricom Daraja)
MPESA_CONSUMER_KEY=your_consumer_key
MPESA_CONSUMER_SECRET=your_consumer_secret
MPESA_SHORTCODE=174379 # sandbox test shortcode
MPESA_PASSKEY=your_passkey
MPESA_CALLBACK_URL=https://yourdomain.com/mpesa/callback
MPESA_SANDBOX=true # set false for production
# Africa's Talking
AT_USERNAME=sandbox # your AT username (sandbox for testing)
AT_API_KEY=your_at_api_key
```
### Sandbox credentials
**M-Pesa sandbox:** https://developer.safaricom.co.ke — create a free app to get test credentials.
- Test shortcode: `174379`
- Test passkey: `bfb279f9aa9bdbcf158e97dd71a467cd2e0c893059b10f78e6b72ada1ed2c919`
**Africa's Talking sandbox:** https://account.africastalking.com — use `username=sandbox`, any API key.
## Usage with Claude Desktop
Add to `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"mpesa": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mpesa-mcp"],
"env": {
"MPESA_CONSUMER_KEY": "your_key",
"MPESA_CONSUMER_SECRET": "your_secret",
"MPESA_SHORTCODE": "174379",
"MPESA_PASSKEY": "your_passkey",
"MPESA_CALLBACK_URL": "https://yourdomain.com/mpesa/callback",
"MPESA_SANDBOX": "true",
"AT_USERNAME": "sandbox",
"AT_API_KEY": "your_at_key"
}
}
}
}
```
## Usage with Claude Code
```bash
claude mcp add mpesa -- uvx mpesa-mcp
```
Set env vars in your shell before running `claude`.
## Example prompts
Once connected, you can ask your AI agent:
> "Send KES 500 STK Push to +254712345678 for order #1234"
> "Check if the payment QKL8ABC123 has been received"
> "Send an SMS to these 50 farmers with today's maize price: [list]"
> "Top up KES 50 airtime for our field agents: [list of numbers]"
## Real-world scenarios
**Field agent payment dispatch**
> "Send KES 300 STK Push to each of these 12 field agents for today's data collection: [list]"
The agent triggers 12 sequential STK pushes, tracks each `checkout_request_id`, and
polls for confirmation — without any code from you.
**Farmer alert + airtime**
> "SMS these 200 Garissa farmers that the river is rising. Then top up KES 20 airtime each so they can call in reports."
One prompt → 200 SMS messages and 200 airtime top-ups across Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom.
**Payment reconciliation**
> "Check whether receipt OKL8M3B2HF was a successful payment and how much it was for"
Useful for support agents using Claude to verify M-Pesa transactions in real time.
## Tool annotations
All tools declare [MCP tool annotations](https://spec.modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-03-26/server/tools/#tool-annotations) so clients can gate calls appropriately:
| Tool | readOnly | destructive | idempotent |
|------|----------|-------------|------------|
| `mpesa_stk_push` | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| `mpesa_stk_query` | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| `mpesa_transaction_status` | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| `sms_send` | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| `airtime_send` | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
Claude Desktop and other MCP clients will request confirmation before triggering payment, SMS, or airtime operations.
## Server discovery
Capabilities are advertised via [`.well-known/mcp.json`](.well-known/mcp.json) — the emerging MCP Server Cards standard. Registries and browsers can index this server's tools without connecting to it.
```bash
# Check capabilities
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp/main/.well-known/mcp.json
```
## Testing and accuracy
The MCP ecosystem benchmark (CData, 2026) found most MCP servers accurate 60–75% of the time on complex queries — particularly silent failures on write operations and partial parameter application.
mpesa-mcp is tested against all three Kenyan phone number formats, boundary amount values, and missing optional fields:
```bash
pytest tests/ -v # run full suite
pytest tests/test_phone_formats.py # format normalization
pytest tests/test_boundary_amounts.py # min/max amount edge cases
```
Write operations (STK push, SMS, airtime) have explicit validation before any API call is made.
## Ecosystem context — Mojaloop + MCP
**Mojaloop** (funded by the Gates Foundation) handles payment *interoperability* — connecting banks, mobile money wallets, and merchants across DFSPs in East Africa and beyond.
**mpesa-mcp** handles the *AI agent tooling layer* — enabling AI coding assistants to trigger and query M-Pesa payments programmatically.
These are complementary:
- Mojaloop: the interoperability rails between financial providers
- mpesa-mcp: the MCP interface layer that connects AI agents to those rails
See the [Mojaloop documentation contribution](https://github.com/mojaloop/documentation/issues/553) for more on this pattern.
## MCP vs A2A — two different protocols
mpesa-mcp implements **MCP** (Model Context Protocol) — how an AI agent talks to tools.
There is a complementary protocol, **A2A** (Agent-to-Agent), which handles how agents
talk to *each other*. They solve different problems and work together:
- **MCP**: Your AI agent → mpesa-mcp → Daraja API / Africa's Talking
- **A2A**: Orchestrator agent ↔ payment sub-agent ↔ notification sub-agent
For most integrations you only need MCP. A2A becomes relevant when you're building
multi-agent systems where a payment workflow coordinates with other specialized agents.
---
## Development
```bash
git clone https://github.com/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp
cd mpesa-mcp
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v
```
## Security
Do not commit API keys. Use environment variables or a secrets manager.
Report vulnerabilities to: contact@aikungfu.dev
## Research Context
**MCP ecosystem benchmark** (CData, 2026): Most MCP servers achieve 60-75% accuracy on complex queries. mpesa-mcp includes explicit validation and bounds checking to exceed this baseline.
**Swahili AI accuracy** (arXiv:2509.04516, 2025): AI models produce 4× more errors in Swahili than English. mpesa-mcp's Swahili-native tool descriptions are designed to minimize this gap for Swahili-speaking users by eliminating the translation step in tool selection.
**MCP security research** (arXiv:2603.18063, arXiv:2603.21642, 2026): Prompt injection via tool descriptions is the primary MCP attack vector. mpesa-mcp mitigates this through static, versioned tool descriptions and strict input validation.
**Related infrastructure:**
- [wapimaji-mcp](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/wapimaji-mcp) — Kenya water/drought MCP
- [civic-agent-kit](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/civic-agent-kit) — Kenya civic data MCP
- [swahili-health-mcp](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/swahili-health-mcp) — Kenya DHIS2 health data MCP
- [kenya-legal-rag](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/kenya-legal-rag) — Kenya legal corpus MCP
- Full portfolio: [gabrielmahia.github.io](https://gabrielmahia.github.io)
## License
[MIT](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) — © 2026 Gabriel Mahia
## Stay updated
Get notified of new releases and East African API developments:
**[Subscribe to updates →](https://buttondown.com/gabrielmahia)**
Or watch this repo on GitHub for release notifications.
## Sibling packages
| Package | Install | Description |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| [wapimaji-mcp](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/wapimaji-mcp) | `pip install wapimaji-mcp` | Kenya drought intelligence MCP server |
| [civic-agent-kit](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/civic-agent-kit) | `pip install civic-agent-kit` | East African civic AI SDK |
## Related packages
All MIT · All part of the East African civic AI stack
| Package | Install | Description |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| [wapimaji-mcp](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/wapimaji-mcp) | `pip install wapimaji-mcp` | Kenya drought intelligence MCP server |
| [kenya-health-mcp](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/kenya-health-mcp) | `pip install kenya-health-mcp` | Kenya health data MCP — NHIF, facilities, maternal, rights |
| [civic-agent-kit](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/civic-agent-kit) | `pip install civic-agent-kit` | East African civic AI SDK |
Full portfolio: [gabrielmahia.github.io](https://gabrielmahia.github.io)
## Part of the East Africa Coordination Stack
This MCP server is one of 32 tools in the Kenya coordination infrastructure.
Connect it to [`africa-coord-bus`](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/africa-coord-bus) —
the coordination event bus that routes signals between domains automatically.
```bash
pip install africa-coord-bus
```
All 32 servers: [pypi.org/user/gmahia](https://pypi.org/user/gmahia/)
Live demo: [coord-cascade-demo](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/coord-cascade-demo)
## IP & Collaboration
MIT licensed. Feedback via GitHub Issues only — pull requests are not accepted. Demo data is labeled DEMO and is not suitable for operational decisions. Full policy: [docs/architecture/IP_POLICY.md](docs/architecture/IP_POLICY.md). Security reports: see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).
<!-- interconnect:v1 -->
## Part of the East Africa coordination stack
- **Install & run:** `pip install reli-cli && reli list` — 33 MCP servers on the [official MCP Registry](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io) under `io.github.gabrielmahia`
- **Evaluate any model on Swahili agent tasks:** [kipimo](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/kipimo) · [dataset](https://huggingface.co/datasets/gmahia/kipimo) · [leaderboard](https://huggingface.co/spaces/gmahia/kipimo-leaderboard)
- **Coordinate across servers:** [africa-coord-bus](https://pypi.org/project/africa-coord-bus/) — offline-first event bus with a built-in Kenya routing table
- **Datasets:** [huggingface.co/gmahia](https://huggingface.co/gmahia) · **Docs hub:** [nairobi-stack](https://github.com/gabrielmahia/nairobi-stack)
Model-agnostic by design: closed APIs, open-weight models, and small distilled models are all first-class citizens.
<!-- /interconnect:v1 -->