Remittance Collector app

Installing it

Six steps, about five minutes. You will see two warnings along the way — steps 2 and 3 explain both.

1. 1 Download it on the right phone.
   Tap Download for Android above, on the phone that will hold the line your drivers pay to. Chrome may say this kind of file can harm your device — tap Download anyway.
2. 2 Allow the install.
   Open the downloaded file. Android will say installing from this source isn't allowed yet — tap Settings, turn on Allow from this source, then go back and tap Install.
3. 3 Get past Play Protect.
   Google may show a second warning saying the app is unsafe or unrecognised. This is the one that looks alarming. Tap More details, then Install anyway. It appears because the app is not on the Play Store, not because anything is wrong with it — see the note below.
4. 4 Grant the SMS permission.
   Open the app and allow it to read SMS when asked. This is the whole point of the app — without it, no M-Pesa confirmations are seen.
5. 5 Pair the phone.
   On the Phone Lines page of your dashboard, scan that line's QR code (or paste its webhook URL).
6. 6 Let it keep running.
   In the app's Settings screen, allow background running, and set the phone's battery settings for this app to Unrestricted (sometimes called Don't optimise). Android will otherwise close it while the screen is off, and messages will be missed.
7. 7 Optional — engine hours.
   If this phone also runs a GPS-tracker app such as Protrack or iTrack, turn on the driver-activity relay in Settings to record engine hours alongside the payments. If that setting will not switch on, see A setting is greyed out below.

Why Android warns you

Android shows those warnings for any app installed from outside the Play Store, whatever it is. It is not a judgement about this app — the phone simply has no way to recognise it.

This app cannot be on the Play Store. Google only allows an app to read your SMS if it is your phone's main messaging app, which this is not. Reading M-Pesa confirmations is the entire purpose here, so direct installation is the only route. If you would rather someone did this with you, call and we will do it together in a few minutes.

If something does not work

A setting is greyed out and says it is restricted

On Android 13 and newer, some permissions are blocked for apps installed outside the Play Store until you allow them by hand. Go to Settings → Apps → Remittance Collector, tap the ⋮ menu at the top right, and choose Allow restricted settings. Then set the permission again.

Payments stop appearing after a while

The phone has most likely put the app to sleep. Check step 6 — battery setting Unrestricted, and background running allowed in the app's own Settings.

The install was blocked outright

Some phones hide the option behind Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps. Find your browser in that list and allow it, then open the downloaded file again.

Updating to a newer version

Download the new file from this page and install it over the old one. Do not uninstall first — that would clear the pairing and you would have to scan the QR code again.