Overseas founders often ask about a money remittance licence, and the current and draft law treat it very differently. The National Payment System Regulations, 2014 contain no remittance-specific category. The draft National Payment System Bill, 2026 would create a named money remittance service provider licence, set its capital and impose detailed cross-border information duties. This article explains what is proposed, what it would cost and how to prepare.
What the Regulations say today
We reviewed the Regulations for remittance-specific rules and found none: the term money remittance does not appear in them, and there is no separate remittance capital tier or cross-border rule. Remittance activity today is therefore assessed under the general payment service provider definition in the National Payment System Act and CBK’s authorisation process, a point worth confirming with CBK for your exact model. Our notes on e-money issuers and electronic retail PSPs and the CBK application documents describe that process.
The Bill’s remittance licence
The Bill defines money remittance as the acceptance of monies for the purpose of transmitting them to persons resident in Kenya or another country. A money remittance service provider is a payment service provider licensed under the Act to engage in it. The First Schedule lists it as one of six payment service provider categories, and the Third Schedule sets minimum capital at KES 30 million. For comparison, a payment initiation or account information provider needs KES 5 million, a merchant acquirer or e-wallet provider KES 50 million and an e-money issuer KES 250 million. Clause 4(1) also brings within the Bill anyone who operates a system that facilitates cross-border payments or money remittance services.
Information that must travel with every payment
Part X of the Bill, headed transparency and traceability of payments, is the most operationally demanding part for a remitter:
- Clause 48 requires every payment to carry complete and accurate information identifying the originator and beneficiary: names and account numbers or unique transaction references. A provider must not execute a payment where this information is incomplete or unavailable, except where CBK prescribes otherwise.
- Clause 49 covers cross-border payments. The Cabinet Secretary is to prescribe a threshold above which more originator detail must accompany the payment, such as address, national identification number, customer identification number or date and place of birth. A receiving provider must ensure the payment contains enough beneficiary information.
- Clauses 50 and 51 require intermediary and beneficiary providers to identify payments lacking the required information and to apply risk-based procedures to execute, reject, suspend or seek more information.
- Clause 52 requires records to be retrievable without delay by CBK, the Financial Reporting Centre, law enforcement and other competent authorities, and systems capable of tracing a payment through the chain.
In practice, a remittance business needs a data model that captures originator and beneficiary detail at the front end, carries it through every partner in the chain and can reproduce it on demand. Partners that strip fields will become a compliance risk for you.
A drafting point to watch
Clause 49(1) refers to information “required under section 47(2) and (3)”, and clauses 50 and 51 refer to “sections 47 and 48”. In the published draft, the transparency duties sit in clause 48, and clause 47 is only the interpretation clause for the Part. This looks like a numbering slip. It does not change the substance, but a final Act should fix it, so cite clauses carefully until it does.
AML consequences
Clause 19 requires every person subject to the Bill to comply with the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, and it sets a penalty of up to KES 20 million for a legal person that violates POCAMLA in relation to a licensed activity. For a remitter, AML is the licence, because the customers, corridors and cash flows are exactly the ones supervisors watch most closely. A weak programme can cost more than the capital requirement. Read our guide to PSP AML, FRC and data protection duties.
Foreign-owned remitters and timing
An overseas remitter will need a Kenyan applicant, home regulator comfort and an approvals plan, which we cover in our note on a foreign-owned payments company. The Bill is a draft, and comments closed on 9 October 2026. If enacted, it would repeal the Act (clause 78) and require anyone providing payment services to comply within one year of commencement (clause 79). An applicant waiting on a pending file should read our note on a pending PSP application.
Preparing now
- Map each corridor and partner, and record what originator and beneficiary data each partner carries today.
- Design the customer onboarding flow to capture the identification fields clause 49 may require, so the threshold figure does not force a rebuild.
- Model KES 30 million of capital alongside the cost of safeguarding customer funds.
- Check agent and partner contracts for rights to audit data handling and to trace a payment on request.
How We Can Help
We map remittance corridors against the licence categories, plan the Kenyan entity and capital, and review partner and agent agreements for the information flow the Bill requires. See also our Bill overview and speak to our financial services team at Clay & Associates Advocates.
Sources: The National Payment System Bill, 2026, clauses 2, 4, 19, 48 to 52, 78 and 79 and the First and Third Schedules (CBK); National Payment System Regulations, 2014 (CBK).
Frequently asked questions
What capital would a money remittance licence need under the Bill?
KES 30 million minimum capital under the Third Schedule.
Do the current Regulations have a remittance licence?
We found no remittance-specific category, capital tier or cross-border rule in the 2014 Regulations. Confirm your model with CBK.
What information must accompany a cross-border payment?
At minimum the originator’s name and account or reference number and the beneficiary’s name and account or reference number. Above a threshold to be prescribed, more originator identification is required (clause 49).
Can a provider execute a payment with missing information?
Not unless CBK prescribes an exception (clause 48(5)).
Need advice on your own matter?
Tell us what you are dealing with. You will know what it involves and what it costs before you commit.
This article is general information on Kenyan law as at its publication date, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an advocate and client relationship.
