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Payments & M-Pesa 💳

Aurora handles all payments securely through Paystack. All amounts are in Kenyan Shillings (KES). M-Pesa is the most popular way to pay.

Paying with M-Pesa

When you reach checkout, select M-Pesa. Aurora will send an STK push — this is a payment prompt that appears directly on your phone screen, no app-switching needed.

You'll see a pop-up asking you to enter your M-Pesa PIN. Enter your 4-digit PIN and tap OK. That's it — the payment processes in seconds and your booking is updated automatically.

💡 Tip: Make sure the phone number shown at checkout is the same number registered with Safaricom for M-Pesa. It must be in +254 format (not starting with 0).

What to expect after paying

Once M-Pesa confirms the payment you'll get:

  • ✓An M-Pesa SMS from Safaricom with the transaction ID
  • ✓An Aurora push notification confirming the booking is now Pending
  • ✓A receipt email to your registered email address

The whole process takes under 30 seconds. Don't close the app while it's processing.

Paying with Airtel Money

Select Airtel Money at checkout and enter your +254 Airtel number. You'll receive an Airtel Money prompt on your phone to approve with your PIN — same flow as M-Pesa.

What if my payment didn't go through?

If the STK push never appeared on your phone, the most likely reasons are:

  • →The phone number in your profile is different from your M-Pesa line
  • →Your M-Pesa balance was too low
  • →You tapped Cancel on the prompt instead of entering your PIN
  • →You're on a poor network — move to an area with better signal and retry

You can retry payment from the appointment screen (it will still be in Draft status). If you were charged but the booking wasn't confirmed, note your M-Pesa transaction ID and contact Aurora support — we'll sort it out.

Refunds

Refunds go back to your original payment method. For M-Pesa this usually takes 3–5 business days via Paystack. You'll get a notification when the refund is on its way.

Refunds are triggered automatically when a provider cancels or when your booking expires. For cancellations you initiate, see the Bookings guide for the refund policy.

Viewing your payment history

Go to Profile → Payment History to see all your transactions. Tap any entry to download a PDF receipt. Receipts are also emailed automatically after each successful payment.