Payment Gateways in Kenya: Every Option Available to Your Business (2026)

Most payment gateway guides in Kenya cover the same two or three names.

The reality is there are over a dozen active options in 2026.

Local payment gateways, bank-backed APIs, pan-African platforms, and even stablecoin solutions.

This guide covers all of them. No rankings, no agenda,

just what each one does, what it costs where fees are public, and who it makes sense for.

Quick Takeaway

• Every serious gateway supports M-Pesa — differences are in fees, settlement speed, and additional payment methods

• Bank-backed options suit businesses already in those banking ecosystems

• Pan-African options suit businesses selling across borders

• Direct Daraja API suits high-volume businesses wanting no middleman fees

• New in 2026: stablecoin gateways are now a real option for cross-border payments

Category 1: Direct M-Pesa Integration

Safaricom Daraja API

Safaricom's own developer platform for integrating M-Pesa directly.

No middleman, no percentage fee on top of standard M-Pesa rates.

Launched Daraja 3.0 in November 2025, now cloud-native with improved reliability, faster onboarding, and new security APIs.

• Fee: No gateway fee, standard Safaricom transaction rates apply

• Supports: STK Push, C2B, B2C, B2B

• Settlement: Instant to your Paybill

• Setup time: 3–5 weeks

• Technical complexity: High

• Best for: High-volume businesses (KSh 500K+/month), full control, fraud-sensitive transactions

• Official site: developer.safaricom.co.ke

For a full integration walkthrough see How to Integrate M-Pesa on Your Website.

Category 2: Local Kenyan Gateways

Pesapal

One of the oldest and most widely used gateways in Kenya.

Local company with strong merchant footprint across East Africa.

Supports online, POS, and in-app payments.

• Fee: 3.5% per transaction

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, bank transfers

• Settlement: 72 hours

• Setup time: ~1 week

• Plugins: WooCommerce, custom API

• Best for: SMEs wanting a stable all-in-one local solution, hospitality businesses, event ticketing

• Official site: pesapal.com

IntaSend

Kenyan-built gateway with strong developer documentation.

Particularly strong on disbursements, bulk payouts to mobile wallets and bank accounts across East Africa.

• Fee: 3% M-Pesa, 3.8% cards

• Supports: M-Pesa, Visa, Mastercard, bank transfers

• Best for: Businesses with frequent bulk payouts, API-first developers, businesses scaling regionally

• Official site: intasend.com

iPay Africa

Kenya-focused gateway founded in 2010.

Known for wide e-commerce platform plugin support across multiple CMS options.

• Fee: 2.5% flat per transaction

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Visa, Mastercard, bank transfers

• Plugins: WooCommerce, Moodle, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Magento, WHMCS, Drupal

• Best for: E-commerce businesses, online learning platforms, businesses needing wide CMS plugin support

• Official site: ipayafrica.com

KopoKopo

Kenyan payment provider focused on Lipa Na M-Pesa collections.

Also offers cash advance and bulk payment services.

• Supports: M-Pesa Paybill and Till number

• Best for: Retail businesses already using KopoKopo merchant tools, businesses wanting Lipa Na M-Pesa with built-in reconciliation

• Official site: kopokopo.com

Mpayer

Kenyan gateway by Zege Technologies.

Supports M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and cash payments alongside analytics and CRM tools.

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, cash transfers

• Best for: Microfinance organisations, schools, client-centric businesses needing payments and CRM in one place

• Official site: mpayer.co.ke

Category 3: Bank-Backed API Gateways

Buni by KCB

KCB Bank's developer platform.

Collect and send money across M-Pesa, Airtel Money, T-Kash, Vooma, and any Kenyan bank, all through one API.

Uses the same IPN callback pattern as Daraja, making it familiar for developers who have already built M-Pesa integrations.

• Fee: 0.1% per transaction, minimum KSh 50, maximum KSh 1,000

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, T-Kash, Vooma, all Kenyan banks

• Setup: KCB business account required, free setup and training

• Best for: Businesses banking with KCB, businesses wanting direct bank integration with multi-network mobile money support

• Official site: buni.kcbgroup.com

Jenga by Equity Bank

Equity Group's payment gateway.

PCI DSS Level 1 compliant with the widest payment method coverage of any Kenyan bank-backed option.

Deep integration with Equity Bank's ecosystem.

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Equitel, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, AliPay, Masterpass, bank transfers

• Coverage: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan

• Best for: Businesses banking with Equity, fintech startups wanting embedded financial services, businesses needing maximum payment method coverage

• Official site: jengapgw.io

Category 4: Pan-African Gateways

Paystack

Nigerian-founded gateway with strong Kenyan presence.

Clean documentation, reliable uptime, competitive M-Pesa fees.

• Fee: 1.5% M-Pesa, 2.9% cards

• Supports: M-Pesa, Visa, Mastercard, bank transfers, QR

• Settlement: 24–48 hours

• Best for: E-commerce businesses wanting low M-Pesa fees, fast setup, and good developer docs

• Official site: paystack.com

For a detailed cost comparison between Paystack and direct Daraja integration see our Paystack vs Direct M-Pesa breakdown.

Flutterwave

Pan-African gateway supporting payments across 50+ currencies and a wide range of African mobile money networks.

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Visa, Mastercard, bank transfers, USSD, QR

• Best for: Businesses selling across multiple African markets, international businesses entering Kenya, multi-currency platforms

• Official site: flutterwave.com

DPO Group (now Network)

Long-established pan-African payment provider.

Offers the DPO Card for instant merchant fund access and supports multi-currency settlement.

• Supports: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Tigo Pesa, MTN MoMo and bank transfers

• Currencies: KES, USD, GBP, and more

• Best for: Businesses with international customers, multi-currency settlement needs

• Official site: dpogroup.com

Cellulant / Tingg

African payment infrastructure company.

Tingg is their hosted checkout product supporting multiple payment channels across markets.

• Fee: 1% mobile money Kenya, 2% mobile money outside Kenya, 2.8% cards

• Supports: M-Pesa, QR, mobile money, bank transfers, cards, USSD, Tingg wallet

• Best for: Omnichannel businesses, merchants operating across multiple African markets

• Official site: cellulant.io

DusupPay

API-first pan-African payment provider.

Strong for cross-border use cases including marketplaces, fintech, remittance, and forex platforms.

• Best for: Global businesses selling into Kenya and other African markets, platforms collecting from users across multiple countries

• Official site: dusupay.com

Africa's Talking

Developer-focused platform primarily known for SMS and USSD APIs,

also offers M-Pesa STK Push and C2B payment services through the same API.

Good for teams already using Africa's Talking for communications.

• Supports: M-Pesa STK Push, C2B, B2C, other African mobile money networks

• Best for: Developers building communication-heavy applications alongside payments, USSD-based payment flows

• Official site: africastalking.com

Category 5: Specialist and Emerging Options

Pretium

Stablecoin-based payment platform active in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Malawi. Supports both local M-Pesa STK Push collections and cross-border stablecoin payments , making it one of the few platforms that bridges local mobile money and international crypto settlement in one integration.

• Supports: M-Pesa STK Push, cross-border stablecoin transfers (USDC), merchant payments, bill settlements

• Best for: Businesses receiving international payments, freelancers and agencies with cross-border clients, businesses wanting faster and cheaper cross-border settlement than traditional wire transfers

• Official site: pretium.africa

PesaLink by IPSL

Bank-to-bank instant payment network connecting over 80 Kenyan financial institutions. Real-time transfers up to KSh 999,999 between bank accounts, mobile money, SACCOs, and fintech wallets.

• Fee: Set by individual banks, ranges from zero to KSh 500

• Supports: Bank-to-bank transfers, mobile money, SACCOs, fintech wallets

• Best for: High-value bank-to-bank transfers, businesses needing interbank payment infrastructure

• Official site: pesalink.co.ke

How to Choose

Rather than ranking these, here are the questions that narrow it down quickly:

Primarily selling to Kenyan customers via M-Pesa?

• High volume, lowest fees → Direct Daraja API

• Medium volume, fast setup → Paystack (1.5%) or iPay (2.5%)

• Want local support and stability → Pesapal or KopoKopo

Need cards alongside M-Pesa?

• Paystack, Pesapal, Jenga, DPO, IntaSend all support both

Already banking with KCB or Equity?

• KCB → Buni

• Equity → Jenga

Selling across multiple African countries?

• Flutterwave, DPO, Cellulant/Tingg, DusupPay

Need bulk payouts to mobile wallets or banks?

• IntaSend, Buni, KopoKopo

Receiving international payments or cross-border settlements?

• Pretium (stablecoin), Flutterwave, DPO

No developer, need quick setup?

• Pesapal, Paystack, iPay — all have WordPress plugins and no-code options

Need Help Choosing or Integrating?

The right gateway depends on your specific setup, transaction volume, platform,

audience, and whether you need local or cross-border support.

If you're unsure, talk to our team, we work with most of these providers and can help you pick and integrate the right one.