For anyone driving or being driven around Nairobi, access to the Nairobi Expressway, the 27-kilometre elevated road that cuts across the city from Mlolongo to Westlands and vice-versa, is important. It could be the difference between getting to a meeting on the other side of the city when you’re from the other side, on time and late. It could be what stands between you getting to your flight on time or missing it altogether.
As such, it is important to have access to, almost instantaneously, the various ways in which one can top up their onboard unit (OBU), the small card-size device installed on a vehicle’s windscreen to allow automatic payment at any of the Expressway’s entry and exit points. Of course there’s an option to pay cash manually or pay via mobile money (M-Pesa) at the same points but, that has its own fair share of disadvantages that we won’t get to.
If you’re a registered Nairobi Expressway ETC (electronic toll collection) user, these are the various ways you can top up your account when you’re running low on toll points:
1. Expressway app
This is the latest means of topping up ETC points, having come into use just last month (December 2023). Simply download the app from the Play Store, sign in (or sign up if you’d never set up your Expressway account) and you’re good to go immediately.
2. Expressway portal
Just like the app, this is also very straightforward. The logins that are used here are the same ones that you use to access the app so, if you’ve already registered to use the app, just log in using the same credentials. Since the portal has existed longer than the app, most users who even registered to use the Expressway using the portal should be able to use those details to log in again and do various things including topping up their account.
3. Expressway shortcode
As we will see below, there are a number of shortcodes that one can use to top up their Nairobi Expressway ETC. One of the easiest ones to use is the *819# shortcode which belongs to Moja Expressway, the company that runs the Nairobi Expressway. It is what you’ll be prompted by text to use when your Expressway points are running low. Dial *819# on your phone and follow the prompts. Assuming you’re using the same phone number that’s registered with your ETC, the process should be very straightforward.
4. Stanbic Bank shortcode
Dial *208# on your phone, select “Pay for Nairobi Express Way” and follow the prompts and you’re good to go shortly. Here’s a step-by-step guide. One need not be a Stanbic Bank customer to use this shortcode. It’s open for use by everyone.
The last time I was at the Moja Expressway offices on Mombasa Road, this is the payment option they were recommending. Of course, that was a while back and, as you can see above, the Expressway now has its own in-house options but it’s good to know that they once trusted and recommended this shortcode.
5. Stanbic Bank app
I am not familiar with this bank’s app since I am not a customer there but for those who are, there should be an option to pay for the Expressway toll points from there – using the bill payments option.
6. NCBA app
For NCBA customers, they can use the NCBA Now application to top up their Nairobi Expressway ETC. When logged in, they need to navigate to the Bill Payments section of the app (found from the ‘More’ tab on the app’s home page – additionally one can just customize the home page to have this there) and select Expressway Payment and then filling in the details appropriately. Here’s a step-by-step from NCBA.
7. Standard Chartered Bank app
This has been one of the options that were available from early on in 2022 when the Expressway opened to users and it works like a charm. I’ve personally used it severally and, it just works. One needs to be a StanChart customer and with access to the SC Mobile Kenya application. Log in to the app, go to the Payments menu, select One Time Bill Payment and, in the Biller Type option, select Toll Road. Select the Biller Name as Nairobi Expressway and fill in the rest of the details as requested. That’s it.
8. Little app
Since the end of 2022, Little, the super app from Kenyan tech company Craft Silicon, has allowed its users to top up their ETC and MTC (manual toll collection) accounts.
For a while, it was an easy-to-recommend way of topping up one’s Expressway ETC account. I am writing “for a while” because the options are not there as at the time of publishing this and we are not sure if they will be back. They have been there previously and worked.
If they come back, you can be sure to look them up. Since Little is mostly known for its ride-hailing service of the same name, for its users, especially the cab drivers, being able to top up their ETC accounts while on the go from the same app they use to manage their clients should be very convenient.
Remember that if none of these on-phone/online options work for you then you can always pop up at the Moja Expressway offices for a manual top-up.
