By the 254.ke Newsroom.
Kenya’s National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have published a draft National Payment System Bill, 2026 that would license mobile-money wallets, payment gateways and crypto payment firms under one law, force competing platforms to work with each other, and require customer funds to sit in protected trust accounts. Public comments close on Friday, October 9, 2026.
What is the National Payment System Bill 2026?
The bill is a proposed overhaul of how payment firms are regulated in Kenya. According to reports published on September 21 and 22, the Treasury and CBK released the draft for public input, with forums running across all 47 counties from September 28 to October 9.
The stated aim is a payments system that is “safe, secure, efficient, affordable, accessible, and inclusive.”
What would change for payment providers?
- New licence categories: payment initiation services, account information services, merchant acquirers, digital wallet providers, electronic money issuers, payment gateways and payment messaging operators, plus virtual asset service providers that offer payment services.
- Interoperability: providers must run systems that work with those of other providers, and the CBK could direct firms into interoperability arrangements where necessary.
- Trust accounts: electronic money issuers and digital wallet providers must hold customer funds in segregated accounts shielded from attachment or use in settling the provider’s debts if it becomes insolvent.
- Tougher oversight: the CBK would gain powers to inspect firms, issue directives, intervene in management, appoint statutory managers and impose administrative penalties.
- Open finance: third parties could access customer data, with the customer’s consent, to build new products.
Will it affect M-Pesa and other mobile money users?
The draft does not name individual companies in the reports reviewed. The interoperability and trust-account rules apply to any electronic money issuer or wallet provider, which covers the mobile-money operators that most Kenyans use daily. Whether the final text changes fees or transfer rules for ordinary users is not yet clear and will depend on what survives public comment and Parliament.
The bill follows other recent changes affecting digital business in Kenya, such as the WhatsApp Business charges that start October 1, and the court fight over the Safaricom-Vodacom stake.
How can you submit comments?
Comments are addressed to the CBK Governor and can be sent by post, delivered by hand at the CBK offices on Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi, or emailed to the address in the official notice. The deadline is October 9, 2026. Notices and consultation material are published on the Central Bank of Kenya website.
Key dates
| Item | Date |
|---|---|
| Draft bill published | September 21-22, 2026 |
| County public forums begin | September 28, 2026 |
| Comment deadline | Friday, October 9, 2026 |
FAQ
Is the National Payment System Bill 2026 law yet?
No. It is a draft open for public comment. It must still be revised and go through Parliament before it can become law.
Does the bill cover cryptocurrency?
It creates a licence category for virtual asset service providers that offer payment services, bringing them under CBK oversight.
What does interoperability mean for mobile money?
It means a customer of one provider could send money to, or transact with, customers of another without being locked into a single network. The CBK could order firms to connect where necessary.
Where can Kenyans give their views?
At the county forums running until October 9, or in writing to the CBK Governor by post, hand delivery or email.
Sources: reports by The Kenya Times (September 22, 2026) and Streamlinefeed (September 21, 2026) on the draft bill published by the National Treasury and CBK.
