Sending money from the United States to Kenya: the payments stack
Sending USD 200 from the United States to Kenya cost 4.26% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 40 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in Kenya typically run over PesaLink, KEPSS (RTGS); between now and the end of 2027 there are 9 weekdays when banks in the United States are closed but Kenya keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 4.26% of USD 200 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.26% across 40 services |
| Collect in United States | FedNow Service, FedNow network limit, RTP network, Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH and Same Day ACH, Same Day ACH limit |
| Pay out in Kenya | PesaLink, KEPSS (RTGS), M-PESA B2C (Daraja API) |
What it costs to send USD 200
The World Bank surveyed 40 services sending from the United States to Kenya from 12 August 2025 to 20 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 4.26% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.26%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United States
- With few exceptions, each money services business must register with the US Treasury through FinCEN by filing FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of being established, and must renew the registration every two years; a business that is an MSB only because it acts as agent of another MSB does not register. source
- Money transmission is also licensed state by state. As of September 2026, 31 states have enacted the CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act in full or in part, and money transmitters licensed in at least one adopting state account for 99% of reported money transmission activity. source
- The Money Transmission Modernization Act sets a minimum tangible net worth of the greater of US$100,000 or 3% of total assets for the first US$100 million, 2% of assets from US$100 million to US$1 billion and 0.5% of assets above US$1 billion, and encourages states to run licensing, surety bonds and reporting through NMLS. source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United States.
The payout side: Kenya
| Payout partner | What it does in Kenya | Source |
|---|---|---|
| M-PESA Global (Safaricom) | M-PESA Global, Safaricom's international money transfer service, lets M-PESA customers receive money from abroad through partners including Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria, WorldRemit, Wave and Remitly. | source |
| TerraPay · our guide | Its network page lists Kenya among its African receive markets. | source |
| dLocal · our guide | Payouts V3 sends KES to bank accounts and to M-PESA, Airtel and Equitel wallets, funded in KES or USD, with remitter details required for P2P remittances. | source |
| Flutterwave · our guide | Sends KES to Safaricom M-Pesa, Airtel and T-Kash mobile money wallets from a Flutterwave balance, including cross-currency transfers debited from another currency wallet. | source |
| Fincra | Payout API sends KES to mobile money wallets and bank accounts, as local or cross-currency payouts. | source |
| Thunes · our guide | Pays KES to mobile wallets and to bank accounts over PesaLink, in real time on all days including public holidays. | source |
| Onafriq | Its integration with the Yuno platform is live in Kenya, covering mobile money disbursements and collections and FX treasury services. | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Kenya: launching payments in Kenya.
Payout rails in Kenya
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PesaLink | Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL), a Kenya Bankers Association subsidiary | Real-time account-to-account payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and public holidays. | source |
| KEPSS (RTGS) | Central Bank of Kenya | 07:00 to 19:00 on business days since 1 July 2025 (previously 08:30 to 16:30), closed at weekends and on public holidays. | source |
| M-PESA B2C (Daraja API) | Safaricom | Business-to-customer disbursements from a B2C shortcode, from KSh 10 up to KSh 250,000 per transaction, with recipients capped at KSh 500,000 a day and a KSh 500,000 balance. | source |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 9 dates when the United States is closed and Kenya is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 9 dates when Kenya is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United States | Kenya | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 11 Nov 2026 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 26 Nov 2026 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Christmas Day | Both closed |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year's Day | Both closed |
| Mon 18 Jan 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 15 Feb 2027 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Open | Idd-ul-Fitr | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Open | Good Friday | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Open | Easter Monday | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Memorial Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 1 Jun 2027 | Open | Madaraka Day | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 5 Jul 2027 | Independence Day (observed) | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 10 Aug 2027 | Open | General Election Day | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 6 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 11 Oct 2027 | Columbus Day | Mazingira Day (observed) | Both closed |
| Wed 20 Oct 2027 | Open | Mashujaa Day | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 29 Oct 2027 | Open | Diwali (Hindu faith only) | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 11 Nov 2027 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 25 Nov 2027 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Kenya the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 13 Dec 2027 | Open | Jamhuri Day (observed) | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 27 Dec 2027 | Open | Boxing Day (observed) | Kenya banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
Full calendars: United States and Kenya. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Fedwire does not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays; the Monday business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and every business day closes at 7:00 p.m. ET, with customer transfers cut off at 6:45 p.m. ET. source
- Federal Reserve holidays in the rest of 2026 are Veterans Day (11 November), Thanksgiving (26 November) and Christmas (Friday 25 December); in 2027, Juneteenth (19 June) and Christmas (25 December) fall on Saturdays, so the Reserve Banks open on the Friday before. source
- A licensed remittance provider can net off payments with counterparties at settlement, but all its foreign exchange flows must go through Kenyan commercial banks. source
- Customer funds for transmission go into a 'customers' account' held in the provider's name at a licensed commercial bank or microfinance bank. source
- KEPSS closes at weekends and on public holidays, so bank-funded top-ups wait for the next business day while PesaLink payouts continue. source
Running the corridor
Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in United States, the payout partners and banks in Kenya and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the Kenya balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from the United States to Kenya?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending USD 200 at 4.26% in Q3 2025, across 40 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.26%.
Which rails pay out in Kenya?
Local payouts run over PesaLink, KEPSS (RTGS), M-PESA B2C (Daraja API).
When do I need to prefund Kenya payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 9 weekdays when the United States is closed and Kenya is open, the first on Wed 11 Nov 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Holiday Schedules (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 to 2030, plus FedACH holiday processing) · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Public Holidays Act (Cap. 110), revised edition · Kenya Law (National Council for Law Reporting)
- Extension of operating hours for KEPSS (press release) · Central Bank of Kenya
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.