2026 has been a busy year for anyone who moves money in Kenya. Here are the changes that matter most if you run a business or build payment products, and how we think about them at Sharet.

Remittances are large, and slowing

Kenyans abroad sent home a record US$5.04 billion in 2025. Growth has cooled since: the Central Bank has lowered its 2026 projection, pointing to conflict in the Middle East and new transaction taxes in Saudi Arabia. When inflows slow, every shilling lost to fees and poor exchange rates on the way home matters more.

The cost of sending money within East Africa is still high, too. Most of it is hidden in the exchange rate rather than the fee, which is why we show the rate and the fee together.

Taxes: a proposed VAT on transfers was dropped

In June 2026, Members of Parliament voted 122 to 40 to drop a proposed 16% VAT on person-to-person mobile money transfers from the Finance Act 2026. The 15% excise duty on money transfer fees, set in 2023, still applies. Always price your products with the current tax position in mind.

New rules for digital assets and digital lenders

  • Virtual assets: the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 gives the Central Bank and the Capital Markets Authority oversight of crypto and stablecoin businesses. Licensing starts once the regulations are issued.
  • Digital lenders: the Central Bank keeps licensing in batches; by September 2026 the number of licensed digital credit providers had passed 280.

Data protection is being enforced

By January 2026 the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner had received more than 9,000 complaints and issued 184 compensation orders. If you collect ID numbers, selfies or account details, you must protect them and be able to explain why you hold them.

What we do about it

  • Verification details, ID photos and selfies are encrypted and stored privately, and only our compliance team sees them. Our privacy notice explains what we collect and why.
  • Developers get a free sandbox and test keys, so you can build against the Sharet API without moving real money, then switch to live keys when you are ready.
Building something? Start with the developer docs and a free sandbox key.

Sources

Cover photo: Photo by Hassan Kibwana, Unsplash