> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.centipidbilling.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Centipid Collections

> Collect through the Centipid platform and withdraw the balance to your own mobile money account.

# Collect payments through Centipid

`CENTIPID` is the managed collection path. Payments are collected by Centipid on
your behalf rather than into an account you hold with a provider, and the
balance is paid out to you through the **Withdrawals** flow on the Payments
page. You hold no provider credentials at all.

Listed in the country catalog for **Uganda (UG)**. Where it is enabled for an
ISP in Kenya, the form asks for a payout number instead of provider keys.

## Before you start

1. Confirm with support that Centipid Collections is enabled for your account —
   this is a commercial arrangement, not a self-service switch.
2. Decide which mobile money number receives your payouts.
3. **Link a MikroTik router and bring it online.** This gateway will not send a
   payment prompt otherwise.

<Warning>
  Centipid Collections, Paybill, Till, and Bank all require a linked MikroTik
  router that is currently online. If none is linked, checkout stops with
  *"Link a MikroTik router and bring it online before sending payment prompts."*
  and no prompt is sent. See [Routers](/network/routers).
</Warning>

## Configure the gateway

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings → Payments → Centipid Collection">
    Select it from the payment marketplace.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter a payment number (Kenya only)">
    **Payment number** (required in Kenya, maximum 10 characters, starts with
    `0`) is the number that receives payouts from Centipid. Outside Kenya the
    form asks for nothing — you enter the recipient at withdrawal time instead.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save and switch">
    In Kenya the payment number gates the switch. Elsewhere nothing does.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a controlled test payment">
    Pay a small amount from the captive portal, confirm the prompt arrives and
    the payment reaches the ledger, then confirm it appears under
    <b>Collections</b>.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Credentials

| Field          | Required   | Notes                                                                    |
| -------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Payment number | Kenya only | Maximum 10 characters, starts with `0`. The number Centipid pays out to. |

Outside Kenya there is no stored recipient: withdrawal details are entered each
time you withdraw, so a compromised login cannot quietly redirect a standing
payout destination.

## Callback URLs

None to register. In Uganda, collections run over the Iotec rail using the
platform's Iotec credentials, and results are posted to
`https://<your-host>/iotec/callback`.

## What the payer must provide

A mobile money number, which receives the payment prompt. In Kenya the payment
method is labelled **Mpesa** throughout the application; elsewhere it is
labelled **Mobile Money**.

## How a payment completes

<Steps>
  <Step title="Request">
    Centipid Billing raises the prompt using the platform's own provider
    credentials — the M-Pesa rail in Kenya, the Iotec rail in Uganda.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Authorization">
    The payer authorizes on their handset.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirmation">
    The provider result records the payment and applies the subscriber's package
    asynchronously. The money is held by Centipid, and appears under
    <b>Collections</b>.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Withdrawal">
    You request a withdrawal from the Payments page. It is OTP-protected, has a
    minimum amount, and dispatches money externally — see
    [Collections and withdrawals](/billing/collections-and-withdrawals).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Do not read the payment ledger as your withdrawable balance. Manual and
  offline payments, and unsettled transactions, do not fund the wallet. Use the
  available balance shown in the withdrawal flow.
</Warning>

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom                                                                        | What it means                                                                           | What to do                                                                                                                        |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| *"Link a MikroTik router and bring it online before sending payment prompts."* | No linked MikroTik is online. No prompt was sent.                                       | Link a router and bring it online — see [Routers](/network/routers).                                                              |
| *"Unable to process payment. Please try again later."*                         | The prompt could not be raised on the platform's provider credentials.                  | Retry. If it persists, raise it with support — these credentials are not yours to correct.                                        |
| Uganda: payment shows as pending long after the payer confirms                 | The collection reached the provider but its terminal status has not been read back yet. | Wait for the status sweep to settle it, then raise the transaction reference with support. Do not record a second manual payment. |
| Collections balance is lower than the payment total                            | Manual, offline, or unsettled payments do not fund the wallet.                          | Compare against the collections view, not the payments total.                                                                     |

For every gateway's fields in one place, see the
[credential reference](/billing/payment-gateways/credentials-reference).