About TandPay
Rwanda's first digital trust layer
for social commerce.
We built TandPay so Rwandans can buy and sell on WhatsApp, TikTok, and Instagram without getting scammed — and so sellers can finally get paid without fear of fake screenshots, reversals, or frozen accounts.
The problem we're solving
Thousands of Rwandan small sellers run real businesses on WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Every transaction happens on trust between strangers — and that trust gets violated every day.
What sellers face
- Fake payment proof. Fraudulent buyers send doctored MTN MoMo screenshots. Busy sellers see what looks like a valid payment, ship the goods, then discover no money ever arrived.
- Payment reversals. After receiving goods, some buyers contact MTN and claim the P2P transfer was "accidental." MTN reverses the payment. The seller's MoMo account can be frozen for investigation — no goods, no money, no ability to trade.
- No way to build trust. A seller with 200 happy customers has no way to prove that track record to customer 201. No public reputation. No verified history.
- Chaotic operations. Orders scattered across WhatsApp, TikTok DMs, phone calls, SMS, Instagram. No central record. No analytics. No way to grow.
What buyers face
- Pay and get blocked. Buyer sends money to a seller's personal MoMo. Seller disappears. No intermediary, no recourse, no refund.
- Receive fake goods. Paid for a genuine product, got a counterfeit. Money already gone, no protection.
- Zero consumer protection. No dispute resolution, no delivery verification, no regulatory oversight. In peer-to-peer social commerce, the buyer bears 100% of the risk.
What we built
TandPay is not a new marketplace. Sellers keep using the channels their customers already know — WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram. We just make the payment step safe.
Seller creates a payment link
Through our WhatsApp bot (Kinyarwanda or English) or the web dashboard. Under 30 seconds. Attach a photo from the phone.
Seller shares the link
Via WhatsApp, TikTok DM, Instagram, or any channel they already use. One link can be shared with multiple buyers.
Buyer pays via MTN MoMo or Airtel Money
The payment goes to Pawapay, a licensed Payment Service Provider — never to TandPay, and never to the seller's personal MoMo. Fake screenshots become impossible (the system verifies directly with MTN / Airtel). P2P reversal becomes impossible (it's a merchant collection, not a personal transfer).
A 4-digit delivery code is generated
Locked to the buyer's phone number. Only the buyer who paid can use it. Not even the seller can confirm delivery on the buyer's behalf.
Seller delivers with the code
Printed on the receipt, written on the package, or given to the delivery person. It works exactly like signing for a DHL package — the code is the buyer's digital signature confirming "I received this."
Buyer enters the code · funds are released
The moment the buyer enters the code on their own phone, Pawapay releases the payment to the seller. Both parties get SMS confirmation. The same trust mechanism every Rwandan already uses at a MoMo agent — the buyer's active, verified approval is the trigger. Zero room for fraud.
If the buyer never receives the goods, they do nothing — funds are automatically refunded after the safety timeout. If the buyer receives the wrong item, they open a dispute instead of confirming, and TandPay reviews.
How we eliminate the five most common social-commerce scams
| Scam | How TandPay stops it |
|---|---|
| Buyer sends a fake MoMo screenshot | Impossible. Payment verified directly with MTN / Airtel through Pawapay. No screenshots involved. |
| Buyer reverses the payment after receiving goods | Impossible. Merchant collection via a licensed PSP, not a P2P transfer. Cannot be reversed. |
| Seller takes payment and disappears | Protected. Funds held by Pawapay until the buyer actively confirms. No confirmation → automatic refund. |
| Seller ships fake or wrong goods | Protected. Buyer opens a dispute instead of confirming. TandPay reviews and can refund. |
| Someone intercepts the code and tries to confirm | Impossible. Confirmation is locked to the buyer's phone number. No other phone can confirm. |
TandPay also supports verified returns: a return code works like the delivery code in reverse, so a buyer only refunds after the seller physically receives the returned goods.
The technology behind it
Designed, built, and deployed independently. Real-money validated on Pawapay production. Load-tested under stress with zero errors.
Payments
Pawapay — licensed Payment Service Provider. MTN MoMo + Airtel Money cross-network collection and disbursement. TandPay operates as a sub-merchant under Pawapay's PSP license and never holds customer funds.
Backend
Supabase (PostgreSQL) — 100+ migrations, 32 edge functions, 26 tables, atomic SQL-based rate limiting. Load-tested at 204 concurrent virtual users and 165 requests/second with zero errors.
Clients
Next.js + Expo — web seller dashboard, buyer payment flow, and React Native mobile app. All three share the same battle-tested backend.
Kinyarwanda WhatsApp bot
Bilingual in Kinyarwanda and English. Sellers who have never used a web application — and who do not speak English — can create payment links, track sales, and manage orders through familiar WhatsApp messages.
Identity verification
AWS Rekognition + Textract — optional seller KYC using national ID photo and selfie face-matching. Configurable auto-approve, manual review, and auto-reject thresholds.
SMS
Pindo — OTPs, payment confirmations, delivery notifications. Registered TandPay sender ID.
Fraud monitoring
Five automated AML / CFT rules — velocity limits, volume spikes, repeated interactions, failed-attempt patterns, dispute abuse. Accounts with repeated violations are automatically frozen.
Backups & audit trail
AWS S3, 7-year retention — daily encrypted backups with SHA-256 integrity checks and Glacier cold-storage lifecycle. Every payment event immutably logged with actor, timestamp, and full context.
Why this matters
For buyers
Protection against the scams that stop Rwandans from buying from unknown online sellers today.
For sellers
Guaranteed payment after delivery. No reversals, no fake screenshots, no frozen MoMo accounts. Plus a public trust profile that actually attracts new customers.
For the economy
Every TandPay transaction moves social commerce from informal to formal — traceable, verified, taxable. Financial inclusion, tax visibility, and consumer confidence moving in the same direction.
For the financial ecosystem
A reputation layer for small sellers. A verified transaction history that could eventually serve as a proxy for creditworthiness, unlocking future access to seller financing and micro-lending.
The team
Irene BAHATI
Founder · product, engineering, operations
Designed, built, and deployed TandPay independently: the web platform, the mobile app, the bilingual WhatsApp bot, the Pawapay integration, the AML / CFT monitoring, the regulatory pathway. Complete technical ownership and the capacity to maintain, support, and iterate the service without dependency on external resources.
Partners & infrastructure
Pawapay
Licensed PSP. Collects, holds, and disburses all customer funds. KYB approved April 9, 2026.
Pindo
SMS provider. TandPay sender ID registered and active in Rwanda.
Amazon Web Services
AWS Activate Founders grant. Cloud infrastructure, encrypted backups, identity verification (Rekognition + Textract).
Supabase
Database, authentication, and edge functions for the entire platform.
Vercel
Global content delivery network hosting the web application.
Cloudinary
Product image storage and delivery-optimised content.
Regulatory status
- tandpay LTD — incorporated 2 February 2026 · TIN 155683751
- Rwanda Revenue Authority — registered · three active tax types · EBM Online approved
- Pawapay KYB — approved 9 April 2026 · production live
- Pindo sender ID — registered and active
- NCSA Data Controller — registration submitted 1 March 2026 · in review
- BNR Regulatory Sandbox — pre-assessment submitted April 2026
- Meta Business Verification — submitted for WhatsApp Business API integration
Let's talk.
Press, investors, partners, regulators, or just curious — we'd love to hear from you.