mpesa-mcp: The First African Fintech MCP Server You Can Install Right Now
Six weeks after its initial release, mpesa-mcp has landed on Anthropic's official MCP registry. This is the first African fintech entry in the registry that Claude Code uses to discover MCP servers. If you're building applications for East Africa or need payment/SMS integrations, this server gives Claude direct access to M-Pesa Daraja and Africa's Talking APIs.
What It Does
mpesa-mcp provides tools for:
- M-Pesa STK Push: Initiate mobile payment prompts to Kenyan phone numbers
- Transaction status checks: Query payment completion
- Africa's Talking SMS: Send SMS messages through Africa's Talking gateway
- Phone number normalization: Automatically converts between Kenyan phone formats (0712345678 ↔ 254712345678 ↔ +254712345678)
This server bridges the gap between AI agents and the financial infrastructure used by millions in East Africa.
Setup & Installation
Installation is straightforward via the official registry:
# Install using uvx (recommended)
uvx mpesa-mcp
# Or install via pip
pip install mpesa-mcp
Once installed, configure it in your Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mpesa-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mpesa-mcp"],
"env": {
"DARAJASANDBOX_CONSUMER_KEY": "your_key_here",
"DARAJASANDBOX_CONSUMER_SECRET": "your_secret_here",
"AFRICASTALKING_USERNAME": "sandbox",
"AFRICASTALKING_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
Key Features for Claude Code Users
1. Phone Number Normalization (The Hidden Time-Saver)
The server automatically handles all three Kenyan phone number formats. This solves the most common Daraja integration bug where developers struggle with format mismatches. When you ask Claude to "send a payment request to 0712345678," the server transparently converts it to the format Daraja expects.
2. Sandbox-First Design
The server works with M-Pesa's Daraja sandbox, meaning you can test payment flows without real money. Get your sandbox credentials from Safaricom Developer Portal, and you're ready to prototype.
3. Production-Ready Structure
The maintainer learned from listing friction and now ships with:
- ASCII-only
glama.json(no unicode characters that break validation) - Proper Dockerfile for MCP server inspection
- Version alignment across all configuration files
- GitHub releases for every version
When To Use It
Use mpesa-mcp when:
- Building East African market applications with Claude Code
- Prototyping payment integrations without writing boilerplate API code
- Testing SMS notification flows for African phone numbers
- Creating civic tools that need to interact with M-Pesa infrastructure
The Developer's Lessons (What You Should Know)
The maintainer discovered several friction points in the MCP ecosystem:
The Glama validation is strict: A single unicode em-dash in
glama.jsoncaused silent rejection. Your MCP servers need ASCII-only configuration files.The clone-to-view ratio matters: Developers evaluating MCP servers clone repositories (~9:1 ratio for mpesa-mcp), not just browse. They check CI/CD and issue history to assess maintenance quality.
Documentation placement is critical: The phone number normalization feature was buried in the README but should have been front-and-center. When building your own MCP servers, lead with the feature that solves the most common pain point.
What's Coming Next
The maintainer plans:
- WapiMaji SMS pipeline: Drought alerts to Kenyan farmers via Africa's Talking (requires registered shortcode)
- daraja-mock v2: Local test server with web UI for non-developers to inspect STK Push flows
- Broader civic tools: Parliamentary accountability, crop prices, and remittance transparency tools
Try It Today
If you're working on East African projects or want to explore fintech integrations with Claude Code, install mpesa-mcp now. The sandbox setup takes about 30 minutes, and you'll have a working payment/SMS integration that Claude can control directly.
# Quick evaluation
uvx mpesa-mcp --help
Check the repository for complete documentation: github.com/gabrielmahia/mpesa-mcp
