Kenyans buying Equitel airtime today usually choose between two options: walking to a physical kiosk agent, or paying directly through M-Pesa Paybill 4142145. Here is how the two compare.

Speed: A kiosk requires travel time and possibly queuing. Paybill 4142145 works from wherever you already are, any time of day.

Availability: Agents keep set hours and can run out of float. The paybill is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Accuracy: An agent could occasionally top up the wrong number by mistake. When you enter the Equitel number yourself on Paybill 4142145, you are in full control of accuracy.

Record keeping: Both methods generate an M-Pesa confirmation, but Paybill 4142145 keeps everything within your own M-Pesa statement for easy reference later.

Step 1: Open your M-Pesa menu and select Lipa na M-Pesa, then Pay Bill.

Step 2: Key in 4142145, TeelPay's official paybill for buying airtime for all networks including Equitel.

Step 3: Enter the Equitel number you want to top up as the account number.

Step 4: Type the amount you want to buy, then enter your M-Pesa PIN to confirm.

Step 5: You will get an M-Pesa confirmation SMS almost immediately, followed by a top-up alert from Equitel itself.

Because the payment runs through Safaricom's official Lipa na M-Pesa Paybill system, it carries the same security as every other M-Pesa transaction you make, complete with a confirmation SMS you can refer back to at any time.

TeelPay exists so that buying airtime for all networks in Kenya, Equitel included, does not require separate apps, agents or shortcodes. One paybill number, 4142145, covers Safaricom, Airtel, Faiba and Equitel, so you only ever need to remember one number no matter whose line you are topping up.

Kenya's airtime habits have shifted fast: Equitel lines today are used for far more than calls, they power mobile money, data bundles, USSD banking and countless small daily transactions. Keeping a line active is rarely optional, which is why having more than one reliable way to top up matters, especially one that does not depend on an agent's opening hours or available float.

Save Paybill 4142145 in your M-Pesa favourites, and the next time your Equitel line runs low on airtime, you will be back online in under a minute, no matter where you are or what time it is.