Food counters, merchandise stands and pop-up vendors need a payment process staff and attendees understand. Tawi can support their product sales using customer QR identification, paired NFC cards or bands and M-Pesa prompts. Treat vendor payments and event admission as separate jobs.
Build a catalogue for each business using the Merchant tools. Keep food, drink and merchandise names clear, with variants where needed. Decide who owns each shop and who reconciles its sales; do not assume this setup automatically pools independent vendors’ takings or distributes event-wide settlements.
Configure products, prices and any stock quantities before the event.
Give counter staff the correct payment permissions.
Agree how each vendor will review receipts and handle customer payment questions.
02
Explain what a band tap actually does
A paired Tawi NFC band or card identifies a customer for the wallet request; it is not a ticket or an automatic debit. The customer still authorises the payment through the supported approval or PIN flow. Attendees can also show their Tawi Pay identity QR. Where appropriate, staff can use an M-Pesa prompt instead of a wallet request.
03
Test the field conditions, not only the office
Check coverage at every selling location, including where queues will form. Browser NFC needs compatible Android Chrome hardware, while QR scanning needs a usable camera and light. The Merchant payment-request flows described here require internet. Include a practical contingency for lost connectivity rather than promising offline acceptance.
04
Close the event with records you can trace
Review confirmed sales and retain the relevant wallet receipts or M-Pesa references. A pending prompt is not proof of payment. This payment workflow does not claim ticket issuance, admission scanning, crowd management or an event-wide offline spending limit; check those requirements separately.
Getting started
Three steps to your first sale
Prepare each vendor
Configure the business, catalogue and authorised staff. Agree responsibility for sales records and payout setup.
Run an on-site rehearsal
Test QR, any paired NFC media and M-Pesa with the actual devices and connection at each stall. Explain customer approval to staff.
Confirm every handover
Give goods to the customer only after the payment flow confirms the sale, then reconcile each business’s records after the event.
Not in the payment workflow described here. A paired band identifies a wallet customer. Admission and ticket validation need their own confirmed setup.
Can attendees use QR instead of NFC?
Yes. The Merchant wallet flow can scan a current customer identity QR from Tawi Pay. This is useful when a staff phone does not support browser NFC.
Do event stalls work offline?
Do not assume so. The Merchant wallet-request and M-Pesa-prompt flows need a connection. Test the event site and plan for network interruptions before relying on the workflow.