Best Ways To Send Money From the UK to M-Pesa in Kenya

If you, your friends, or your family are from Kenya, you'll probably be very familiar with M-Pesa. Not only is it the most popular way to send and receive money, make payments, and even get loans in Kenya, but seeing that everything happens directly on the mobile phone, it's probably also the most user-friendly way too!

Sadly, exchanging pounds for shillings can be tricky and expensive when sending money from the UK to Kenya in general. If you're in the UK and you'd like your recipient in Kenya to receive money onto their M-Pesa account, then you'll need to use a third-party money transfer operator. However, some of these operators charge high fees by catching you on the exchange rate, meaning they're a bad deal for many people.

In this guide, we compare the best ways to send money from the UK to M-Pesa in Kenya and help you to save money along the way!

Option 1: Digital Platforms

Without a doubt, the best way to send money from the UK to Kenya via M-Pesa is to choose a digital money transfer platform like Remitly and others. Each offers M-Pesa payouts in Kenya and supports transfers from dozens of countries around the globe, including from the UK.

To get started, you must sign up on one of these platforms (the process usually is quick, easy, and free) and choose M-Pesa as your delivery method. You'll then be able to enter your recipient's mobile number and name and then make a bank or card transfer from your local currency to their M-Pesa account in Kenyan shillings at excellent exchange rates. (What's more, the money typically arrives in Kenya in only a few minutes!)

We go through each option in more detail below:

WorldRemit

WorldRemit is a UK-based online remittance provider that offers another excellent way to send money from the UK to someone's M-Pesa account in Kenya.

• Average Cost From the UK to Kenya: ±2.2%
• M-Pesa Limits: KES 150,000 (approx. GBP 1,100)
• More Info: See our full WorldRemit review or visit their website.

Remitly

Remitly is a US-based remittance platform that's usually the fastest and cheapest way to send money to Kenya. It supports transfers from the UK to Kenya from many countries worldwide, including the UK, US, EU, and Australia.

• Average Cost From the UK to Kenya: ±2.4%*
• M-Pesa Limits: USD 2,999 within 24 hours, USD 10,000 within 30 days, and USD 18,000 within 180 days
• More Info: See our full Remitly review or visit their website.

Skrill

Unlike Remitly and WorldRemit, Skrill isn't a money transfer platform per se but a mobile wallet that allows many features, including international money transfers. It provides a flexible and interesting way to send money from the UK to Kenya via M-Pesa.

• Average Cost From the UK to Kenya: ±4.8%
• M-Pesa Limits: None
• More Info: See our full Skrill review or visit their website.

Option 2: Legacy Platforms

In addition to the savvy online options we discussed above, using a traditional transfer operator such as Western Union or MoneyGram is another good alternative to sending money from the UK to Kenya with M-Pesa.

Although legacy platforms are usually more expensive than online-only platforms, they usually still offer decent exchange rates, and the cheaper option will depend on exactly how much money you're sending. That's why we recommend you compare money transfer providers before every new transfer to Kenya.

Let's go over the leading platforms in this category:

Western Union

Western Union is the largest and oldest money transfer operator on the globe, offering money transfers from the UK to Kenya via M-Pesa from dozens of countries across the globe.

• Average Cost From the UK to Kenya: ±4%
• M-Pesa Limits: Approx. USD 2,000
• More Info: See our full Western Union review or visit their website.

MoneyGram

After Western Union, MoneyGram is the second-largest money transfer operator in the world and also offers money transfers from the UK to M-Pesa in Kenya from many countries worldwide.

• Average Cost From the UK to Kenya: ±2.1%
• M-Pesa Limits: None
• More Info: See our full MoneyGram review or visit their website.

Small World

Often the cheapest of the legacy operators for transfers to Kenya, Small World is another well-known alternative for sending money, and it supports transfers from the UK to M-Pesa as well as other mobile wallets. In fact, Small World is normally one of the cheapest ways of all for sending money to M-Pesa in Kenya from the UK and is sometimes even as cheap as Remitly!

• Average Cost From the UK to Kenya: ±1.1%
• M-Pesa Limits: None
• More Info: See our full Small World review or visit their website.

Option 3: Banks

If you live in the UK but keep a bank account in Kenya, it's sometimes possible to convert foreign currency to shillings and deposit it into somebody's M-Pesa account. For example, Equity Bank offers this service to residents in some countries abroad, including in the United Kingdom.

While it can make sense if you frequently receive money into your Kenyan bank account and don't mind paying slightly higher fees, it's not a good option if you want to save money, as costs can quickly amount to more than 5% of the total transaction amount. You can learn more about the high costs of using your bank to send money abroad in our dedicated explainer.

Instead, we recommend choosing a provider on this list like Remitly or comparing money transfer providers in real-time below to find the best deal for your specific transfer: