Every guest pays in their own way. Some tap M-Pesa, some hand over a card, some still pay cash. The question for a hotel or B&B is not which one to allow, it is how to accept all of them cleanly, without creating three separate piles of admin. This guide compares M-Pesa, card and cash on the things that actually matter, cost, speed and reconciliation, and shows how to bring them together in one place.
The three ways guests pay
M-Pesa and mobile money
For most Kenyan guests, M-Pesa is the default. It is fast, familiar and works from any phone. For your business it is convenient too, as long as you take it through a proper business setup and not a personal number. The one weakness is reconciliation. A plain Till statement is a long list of payments and phone numbers, with no link to the booking, so someone has to match each payment to a guest by hand.
- Cost: low, around 2 percent through InzuHub and Network.
- Speed: instant.
- Watch out for: manual reconciliation if it is not connected to your bookings.
Card payments
Cards matter for corporate guests, travellers and international visitors who do not use M-Pesa. You can take cards online when a guest books, and in person with a card terminal, also called a PDQ machine. Cards are trusted and work for guests from anywhere.
- Cost: higher than M-Pesa, around 3.5 percent through InzuHub and Network.
- Speed: fast, settles to you on a regular cycle.
- Watch out for: running a card machine from a different provider than your other payments, which splits your reporting.
Cash
Cash still has a place, especially for walk-ins and small extras. It costs nothing to process and is simple. But it carries real handling risks: theft, error, the effort of banking it, and the temptation for it to slip past the books. Cash is fine in moderation, but a property that runs mostly on cash struggles to reconcile, to stay compliant, and to grow.
- Cost: no processing fee, but real handling and security costs.
- Speed: immediate.
- Watch out for: leakage, banking effort and weak record keeping.
Side by side
| M-Pesa | Card | Cash | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest preference | Highest in Kenya | Corporate and international | Declining |
| Processing cost | Low (around 2%) | Higher (around 3.5%) | None, but handling costs |
| Speed | Instant | Fast | Immediate |
| Record keeping | Strong if connected | Strong | Weak |
| Main risk | Manual matching | Split reporting | Leakage and theft |
The real problem is not which one, it is the mess of running them separately
Most properties end up with M-Pesa on a Till, a card machine from one provider, and cash in a drawer. Three sources of truth, three reconciliations, and a front desk that spends the end of every day matching things by hand. That is where time and money quietly leak.
The answer is not to drop any method. Guests want all three. The answer is to bring them into one system, so that whichever way a guest pays, the payment lands against their booking automatically and shows in one report.
One place for every payment
This is how InzuHub handles it. M-Pesa, online cards and front-desk card terminals all come through one partner, Network, and reconcile to the right booking for you. Cash payments are recorded against the booking in the same dashboard. So instead of three piles of admin, you get a single, accurate picture of who paid, how, and what is still owed. You can see how this connects on our integrations page, and for a deeper look at reconciliation read our guide on reducing booking errors with automatic reconciliation.
What we recommend
- Accept all three. Turning away a payment method costs you bookings.
- Lead with M-Pesa. It is what most guests want, and it is cheap and instant.
- Offer cards online and at the desk for guests who prefer them.
- Keep cash to a minimum and always record it against the booking.
- Run them through one system so reconciliation is automatic and your books are always right.
Summary
- M-Pesa is the default, cheap and instant, but needs connecting to bookings to avoid manual matching.
- Cards serve corporate and international guests, at a slightly higher cost.
- Cash is simple but carries handling and record-keeping risks.
- The win is not choosing one, it is accepting all three in a single system that reconciles for you.
Frequently asked questions
Should my hotel still accept cash? Yes, in moderation, but always record it against the booking and keep it a small share of payments for cleaner books.
Which is cheaper, M-Pesa or card? M-Pesa is cheaper, around 2 percent, versus around 3.5 percent for card through InzuHub and Network.
Can I take all three in one system? Yes. InzuHub records M-Pesa, card and cash against the right booking, with M-Pesa and cards settling through one partner.
How do I stop spending hours reconciling payments? Connect payments to your bookings so each one is matched automatically. See our reconciliation guide.
Want every payment in one place? InzuHub takes M-Pesa, card and cash against the right booking, with one clear report. Start your free trial or see pricing.