Industries / Financial Services
Financial Services
Kenya's financial services sector operates within one of the most regulated environments in the economy. CBK, IRA, CMA, RBA, and SASRA each impose distinct requirements on supervised entities.
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Overview
Kenya's financial services sector operates within one of the most regulated environments in the economy. CBK, IRA, CMA, RBA, and SASRA each impose distinct requirements on supervised entities.
We advise financial institutions, insurers, investment firms, and fintechs on regulatory compliance, licensing, transactional advisory, dispute resolution, and product structuring.
What we do
12 service lines. Select one to see what it covers.
Financial ServicesBanking and Payment Service Provider Licensing
We guide banks, mobile money operators, and payment service providers through licensing with the Central Bank of Kenya under the National Payment System Act, 2011, and advise on how the definition of "payment service provider" has expanded to capture new digital and crypto-adjacent models. This keeps a payments business licensed correctly the first time, not after a regulator flags a gap.
Financial ServicesCapital Markets Licensing
We advise stockbrokers, investment banks, fund managers, and other intermediaries on licensing under the Capital Markets Act, Cap 485A, through the Capital Markets Authority, including under the framework's most significant overhaul in two decades. This gives a capital markets business a licence built for the current rules, not the ones commentary still describes.
Financial ServicesInsurance Regulatory Compliance
We advise insurers, reinsurers, and intermediaries on licensing, solvency, and conduct requirements under the Insurance Act, Cap 487, administered by the Insurance Regulatory Authority. This covers everything from initial licensing to the reinsurance cession changes under the Insurance (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, so a compliance programme keeps pace with the rules that actually apply.
Financial ServicesVirtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Licensing
We take exchanges, wallet providers, and stablecoin issuers through licensing under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 and its 2026 Regulations, including the custody, advertising, and AML obligations that come with each licence category. This puts a digital asset business on the right side of Kenya's new licensing deadlines rather than exposed to them.
Financial ServicesAnti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Compliance
We build AML and sanctions compliance programmes under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, including suspicious transaction reporting to the Financial Reporting Centre and screening against United Nations and domestic designated-person lists. This gives a regulated business a compliance programme that satisfies both its own regulator and Kenya's international AML obligations.
Financial ServicesDigital Credit Provider Licensing
We advise digital lenders on licensing with the Central Bank of Kenya during the ongoing transition in this regime, and on the separate, active enforcement layer targeting debt-shaming and predatory collection practices. This lets a lender build a compliant product rather than discover the conduct rules only once a regulator has acted.
Financial ServicesSACCO Regulation
We advise deposit-taking and non-deposit-taking SACCOs on licensing and ongoing compliance with the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority. This gives a savings and credit cooperative the regulatory footing it needs to keep mobilising member capital lawfully as it grows.
Financial ServicesChange of Control and M&A in Regulated Financial Institutions
We guide acquirers and sellers through the change-of-control approvals that sit on top of ordinary share transfer mechanics whenever a bank, insurer, or licensed fintech changes hands. This keeps a transaction on schedule instead of stalling at the regulator once the commercial deal is signed.
Financial ServicesForeign Exchange and Cross-Border Payments
We advise businesses and investors on Central Bank of Kenya foreign exchange rules governing the holding, transfer, and conversion of foreign currency, and on the tax and reporting obligations that attach to repatriating profits abroad. This keeps cross-border transactions compliant from the first transfer, not just at year-end reporting.
Financial ServicesPension and Retirement Benefits Compliance
We advise employers and scheme administrators on compliance with the Retirement Benefits Act, No. 3 of 1997, and the standards set by the Retirement Benefits Authority. This keeps an employer's pension obligations in order, protecting both the business and the members whose benefits it holds.
Financial ServicesFintech Regulatory Sandbox Applications
We guide fintech innovators through applications to the CBK and CMA regulatory sandboxes, which allow a new financial product to be tested under relaxed regulatory conditions for a defined period. This gives an untested product a lawful route to market feedback before committing to a full licence application.
Financial ServicesTax Structuring for Financial Services Businesses
We advise on the tax treatment of digital assets, cross-border dividends, and withholding tax under Kenya's Income Tax Act and its double taxation agreements, including the shifting digital asset tax regime crypto businesses in particular have had to track. This keeps a financial services business's tax position accurate as the underlying law keeps changing.
Most matters cross two or three of these.
Describe the situation in your own words. We will tell you what it actually involves, which services it touches, and what it will cost, before you commit to anything.
Why clients instruct us for financial services
Four commitments specific to this practice.
Licensing pathways mapped end to end
CBK, CMA and insurance regulatory routes, with filings and timelines set out before you start.
AML and KYC frameworks that pass inspection
Built against Financial Reporting Centre expectations and FATF standards.
Product structuring with the regulator in mind
We advise on what will be approved, not only on what is lawful.
Disputes handled by the same firm
Regulatory advisory and contested matters under one roof.
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Tell us what you are working on. You will get a clear view of what the matter involves and what it costs before you commit to anything.
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- &Scope, approach and fee confirmed in writing before work begins
- &Our full fee schedule is published online
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