When you want to send money to family and friends back home,
you might end up spending more than you should. But with a little homework,
sending money from countries like US, UK, Canada, Germany, France etc to Kenya
shouldn’t be hard and expensive.
You can send money offline from forex bureaus or your bank
or more conveniently from your PC online or using an APP. Several money
transfer service providers have different ways of letting you send money and
we’ve curated the top 10 for you.
World Remit
World Remit is by far our most trusted, fastest and most
convenient way of sending money from abroad to family and friends anywhere in
African including Kenya. With World remit you can pay using your credit card or
bank account and send money directly to the recipient’s mobile money such as
M-Pesa , bank account or pick-up location. You can also send airtime topup to
the following Kenyan mobile networks Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, Orange Kenya.
Moneygram
Moneygram offers a number of options of sending money to
Kenya. They offer cash pick-up where money is received from Moneygram partner
pickup locations within about 10 minutes of sending. Alternatively Moneygram
can send money directly to the recipient’s bank account. This usually takes
hours to days depending on banking hours and systems availability, good funds
availability, approval by verification systems and local laws and regulations.
Lastly you can you can send money directly to your receiver’s mobile wallet
account.
Moneygram can send directly to MPESA in Kenyan Shilling
(KES). The money is typically deposited to the account within minutes after the
transfer is submitted.
Payoneer
Payoneer provides you with a US bank account as though you
actually lived in the US. This makes it possible to receive money from anywhere
in the world. For us in Africa, you want to use Payoneer to withdraw funds from
Paypal. Because Paypal doesn’t allow cash withdraw from most African countries
including Kenya, signing for a Payoneer mastercard could be your work around.
You could also withdraw money from your Paypal account in Kenya using Equity
bank even though it takes 3-10 working days.
Transferwise
TransferWise is a British online money transfer service
founded in January 2011 by Estonians Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus and is
based in London. They claim they just use the exchange rate – independently
provided by Reuters which apparently is low-cost and fair.
Mobile Money
Depending on where you are sending money from, you can send
money directly to any M-Pesa mobile number in Kenya. Most remittance companies
now integrate with M-Pesa. For instance, MTN Mobile Money from the markets they
operate in can send money directly to M-Pesa. Fintech startups such as
Flutterwave, Paystack, Eversend, Barter, Chipper cash all have M-Pesa support.
Simbapay
Simbapay lets
you transfer money from European countries such as UK, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy and Spain to Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria at no extra cost.
They make money through foreign exchange rates. Transactions to mobile wallets
such as M-Pesa are paid out instantly while those to recipient bank account
might range from instant to 3 days depending on the package you select.
Useremit
Remit is
a remittance transfer service that offers real-time debit or credit card to
mobile money transfers from all over the world to registered mobile-money users
in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. If you want the fastest and cheapest way to send
money to M-Pesa user, then think about Remit.
Update: Useremit is now Eversend which
bills itself as a new bank for Africans anywhere in the world.
Xoom/Paypal
Xoom, a Paypal division that processes money transfers
partnered with Safaricom to enable money transfers from abroad directly to
Mpesa accounts within just 24 hours. You can keep track of your transfers via
text updates, email notifications, online access from your PC or mobile device.
Xoom also offers a money back guarantee such that in the event that your money
doesn’t reach the intended recipient, you get a refund.
Western Union
Most people are already probably aware of Western Union, the
130+ year company that’s dominated international money transfers for decades.
Western Union isn’t any much different from Money gram in terms of their operations.
You can send money in person from their agents locations or online or via an
App. The recipient can get their money from western union agent locations in
person or money can be transferred directly to their bank account. Western
Union gives you the option of sending money from your debit/credit card or
directly from your bank account.
Transfast
Transfast is an online money transfer service with presence
in over 120 countries in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia.
Transfast allows direct bank deposit to several banks in Kenya including Bank
of Africa, Barclays, Chase bank, Citibank, UBA Kenya, Diamond Trust, Ecobank,
Standard Chartered among others. You can also send money directly to mobile
phone with M-Pesa account. Alternatively the recipient can get money from Pick
up cash at 1,200+ locations nationwide.
NationHela
NationHela is
another online money transfer service provider that lets you send money online
to friends and family in Kenya. You can send money directly to a NationHela
account holder or to just about any bank account in Kenya.
If you are to send to a NationHela user, the recipient can
get a NationHela card from any Diamond Trust Bank or Nakumatt Supermarket and
activates it through his/her mobile phone. They should also fill in the
registration form provided in the pack and drop it off at any DTB Branch or
NationHela agent.
Skrill
Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) is a Paypal competitor with
features such as free setup, low fees, and the ability to send text messages
straight from your account. Skrill lets you send money to any M-Pesa account in
Kenya. The recipient also does not have to be pre-registered to the M-Pesa
service in order to receive your payment.
So that’s it people; 10 different ways to send money online from where ever you are in the world to your family and friends in Kenya. We know the list is not exhaustive, but that’s our best shot. If you know of any other ways to send money to Kenya or if you have had experiences with any of the service providers we have mentioned above, let us know in the comments below.