How to Pay in Kenya

Kenya is one of the few destinations where a local mobile-money setup can materially improve a short trip.

Foreign visitors can register a Safaricom SIM with a valid passport under the current subscriber rules, then register for M-PESA at a Safaricom shop or authorized M-PESA outlet. Complete both steps in your own name, load a small amount of Kenyan shillings, make one test payment and confirm the recipient name before depending on the wallet. A data-only travel eSIM does not provide the Kenyan Safaricom number required for this setup. Safaricom's former M-PESA consumer app became My-OneApp in April 2026 and retains the same official store listings.

The app combines M-PESA, airtime, data and other Safaricom services, but current users report login, data and interface problems after the redesign. Keep *334# and the Safaricom SIM Toolkit as fallbacks, and trust the confirmation SMS rather than a screenshot shown by another person. Tourist Tap is a new visitor-focused alternative launched by Kenya's Ministry of Tourism with Craft Silicon, KCB and Visa. On Android it uses a contactless card through NFC; on iPhone it uses Apple Pay to send a local merchant payment.

It is promising but lightly adopted, so test it with a small transaction and keep card, cash and M-PESA alternatives. Never share an M-PESA PIN, OTP or registration code, and independently verify any changed till or phone number.