# How do we refund a patient who paid by M-Pesa?

URL: https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/how-do-we-refund-a-patient-who-paid-by-m-pesa
For: Finance | Billing and payments | Reviewed by Independent clinical reviewer, Registered mental health clinician, Kenya | Last reviewed 8 November 2026

**Answer:** M-Pesa has no simple refund button. On a Paybill, a full refund is usually done as a reversal from the M-Pesa organisation portal: a Business Web Operator initiates it and a Business Manager approves it. The Daraja Reversal API reverses the full original amount only. For partial refunds, businesses typically send a separate business-to-customer (B2C) payment, which needs its own setup. Record every refund against the original receipt number, require approval from a second person, and issue a credit note or adjusted invoice.

Sources: Safaricom: https://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Mpesa-paybill-guide.pdf - Safaricom: https://developer.safaricom.co.ke/faqs - Safaricom: https://www.safaricom.co.ke/main-mpesa/m-pesa-for-you/helpful-m-pesa-channels/m-pesa-super-app-and-mini-apps

## Related questions

- [Can a patient pay through SHA and private insurance for the same treatment?](https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/can-a-patient-pay-through-sha-and-private-insurance-for-the-same-treatment)
- [Can Tymira Health collect subscription fees for Tymira360?](https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/can-tymira-health-collect-subscription-fees-for-tymira360)
- [Can we ask SHA patients for a deposit before treatment?](https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/can-we-ask-sha-patients-for-a-deposit-before-treatment)

---

**About Tymira Health:** Tymira Health is a healthcare technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya. It builds Tymira360, a practice management and EHR platform for mental health, physiotherapy and dental providers, clinics, hospitals, NGOs and insurers across Africa.

- Book a demo: https://tymirahealth.com/demo
- Contact: https://tymirahealth.com/contact (info@tymirahealth.com)
- All resources: https://tymirahealth.com/resources/all
