Solemate Africa acts as the merchant of record for every buyer transaction. Buyers pay Hawkshe Solemate Africa Limited under its own M-Pesa short code; we hold the funds in trust; we pay sellers via Business-to-Business (B2B) transfer once the order is confirmed complete. This page explains the mechanics end-to-end.
How buyers pay
Payment is collected on Solemate Africa's own M-Pesa short code — not the seller's — so the seller never receives buyer credentials or direct customer payments. Supported methods:
- M-Pesa (STK Push / Lipa Na M-Pesa Online) — the primary method for Kenyan buyers. Prompted directly at checkout via Safaricom's Daraja API (C2B).
- Pay on delivery — M-Pesa at collection (no cash), where the seller offers it. Amount then reconciled into the same escrow flow.
- Card — offered for international buyers where enabled. Amounts collected in USD are converted to KES for seller settlement at the rate live at order confirmation.
Buyer payment credentials — M-Pesa PIN, card number, CVC — are never visible to the seller. Card details go directly from the buyer's browser to our payment service provider; M-Pesa credentials go directly to Safaricom.
What we hold, and for how long
Every collected payment is held in Solemate Africa's trust account until fulfilment is confirmed. Fulfilment is confirmed when:
- The buyer marks the order as received, or
- 2 calendar days pass after delivery has been recorded by the licensed courier partner, whichever comes first
Held funds during this window are ring-fenced from operating capital and reconciled daily.
What we pay sellers
Sellers are paid weekly, on Mondays, for all orders whose escrow window closed during the previous seven days. Payment is issued as a Business-to-Business (B2B) M-Pesa transfer to the seller's registered Till or Paybill number. Payout equals:
gross sale — Solemate Africa commission — payment-processing fees
Commission is set by each seller and disclosed publicly on their seller page and on the products they list, so buyers see the total they'll pay before checkout. Rates vary by seller.
Payment-processing fees are the actual costs charged by Safaricom (M-Pesa) or our payment service provider (card) for the specific payment method used on the order, passed through at cost.
Refunds
Where an order is cancelled, returned, or undelivered, we refund the customer directly via a Business-to-Customer (B2C) M-Pesa disbursement to the M-Pesa number that paid, or to the original card via our payment service provider where the buyer paid by card. Refund timing follows the Returns & Refunds policy.
What we withhold from seller payouts
We withhold from a seller's next payout, in this order:
- Refunds and returns issued to buyers during the payout period, which we have already disbursed via B2C
- Chargebacks initiated by buyers via their card issuer
- Amounts owed under our Dispute Resolution policy
- Any fraud-related clawbacks required by our banking or card partners
If a seller's owed amount exceeds their upcoming payout, the balance carries forward. If a seller ceases to trade and the carry-forward balance persists after 90 days, we may pursue the balance under Kenyan law.
Settlement statements
Each Monday, sellers receive an itemised statement listing every order paid out, the gross amount, commission, processing fees, any deductions, and the net B2B transfer amount. Statements are also retrievable in the seller dashboard for 24 months.
Payment failures
- Failed M-Pesa STK push: buyer is offered retry, alternative payment method, or cancellation. No funds move.
- Card declined: same — the order is not placed until a successful authorisation.
- Pay-on-delivery non-collection: the seller reports back through the platform, the order is closed, and no seller payout is due.
Currency
All settlements to Kenyan sellers are issued in Kenyan Shillings (KES) via B2B M-Pesa transfer, regardless of whether the buyer originally paid in USD via card. FX conversion uses the rate live at order confirmation and is itemised on the settlement statement.