Jurisdiction guide
Compliance in Kenya: what you must do, and in what order.
Regulatory infrastructure for Kenyan fintechs, digital asset businesses, and the international companies entering the market.
Regulatory map
Who regulates what in Kenya
- Key regulators
- CBK, CMA Kenya, ODPC, FRC
- Central bank
- the Central Bank of Kenya
- Securities regulator
- the Capital Markets Authority
- Financial intelligence unit
- the Financial Reporting Centre
- Data protection authority
- the ODPC
- Privacy law
- the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019
- Payment licence categories
- PSP, payment service provider, and digital credit provider licences
- Digital asset framework
- the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act and CMA licensing
Licensing
The licensing route
CBK payment service provider and digital credit licensing, CMA approvals, ODPC registration, and AML/CFT programmes that survive an FRC review.
Why now
CBK payment and digital credit licensing, the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, ODPC enforcement, and FRC reporting expectations have all moved recently.
Entering from abroad
Entering Kenya means CBK authorisation for payments or lending, ODPC registration as a data controller, and AML/CFT reporting into the FRC.
Where to start
Fintech Compliance Health Check
See scope and price
Digital Asset Diagnostic
See scope and price
Licensing Application Sprint
See scope and price
For policy tracking and analysis of regulatory change in Kenya, read Legum Dialogue. This guide is a practical summary, not legal advice.
Legum provides regulatory and compliance advisory services. Where a matter requires licensed legal representation, we will say so clearly before work begins.