A mama mboga at Toi Market in Nairobi sells vegetables all morning, and every sale lands on her Till as a Buy Goods payment, free, the way it is supposed to be. By early afternoon she needs cash to pay her wholesaler, so she walks two stalls down and withdraws KES 8,000 from an M-Pesa agent. The receipt shows KES 87 gone in a single tap, more than she made on her last three sales combined. She did nothing wrong. She just did not know that the two sides of M-Pesa, receiving money and pulling it back out as cash, are priced on completely different tariffs.
That gap catches out traders, landlords, and salaried workers across Kenya every day. M-Pesa is not a small convenience anymore. Safaricom’s FY2026 results show the platform processed KES 41.68 trillion across 46.4 billion transactions in the year to March 2026, worth more than 2.5 times Kenya’s entire GDP moving through phones rather than banks. With more than 40 million monthly active users and roughly 89% of the mobile money market, almost every Kenyan business runs on M-Pesa in some form. Knowing exactly what each transaction costs, not roughly, but to the shilling, is the difference between pricing a product correctly and quietly losing margin every day.
This guide lays out every M-Pesa fee in force for 2026: Send Money, withdrawals, Paybill, Till, and Fuliza, verified against Safaricom’s own published tariff.
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M-Pesa does not charge a flat percentage of the amount you move. Instead, Safaricom uses fixed price bands: your transaction falls into a range (say, KES 1,001 to 1,500), and everyone in that range pays the same shilling amount, whether they sent KES 1,001 or KES 1,499. This is why sending one extra shilling can push you into the next band and cost noticeably more.
Every fee shown in this guide already includes Kenya’s 15% excise duty on money transfer services. There is no extra tax added at the point of transaction, the number on your confirmation screen is the final number.
A few structural facts worth knowing before the tables below:
- Deposits, registration, balance checks, PIN changes, and buying airtime through M-Pesa are always free.
- Transfers to unregistered numbers were discontinued in February 2024 as an anti-fraud measure, so both sender and recipient now need a registered wallet.
- Fees to Airtel Money and T-Kash users are harmonised to match Safaricom-to-Safaricom rates, so there is no cross-network penalty.
- Nearly 37% of all M-Pesa transactions in FY2026 were low-value Kadogo transfers, under KES 101 for person-to-person transfers and under KES 201 for merchant payments, and cost nothing at all.
Once you know your real transaction cost, the fastest way to compare it against MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, and Wave is the free Mobile Money Fees Comparison tool at MetricSuite.tools, no signup required.
M-Pesa Send Money Charges 2026
Sending money to a registered M-Pesa user, an Airtel Money or T-Kash user, Pochi la Biashara, or a Business Till all use the identical tariff, verified against Safaricom’s official consumer tariff table:
| Amount (KES) | Charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 100 | Free |
| 101 to 500 | 7 |
| 501 to 1,000 | 13 |
| 1,001 to 1,500 | 23 |
| 1,501 to 2,500 | 33 |
| 2,501 to 3,500 | 53 |
| 3,501 to 5,000 | 57 |
| 5,001 to 7,500 | 78 |
| 7,501 to 10,000 | 90 |
| 10,001 to 15,000 | 100 |
| 15,001 to 20,000 | 105 |
| 20,001 to 250,000 | 108 |
The fee caps at KES 108 once you cross KES 20,001, and stays flat all the way to the KES 250,000 single-transaction ceiling. A KES 250,000 transfer costs almost nothing proportionally, while a KES 501 transfer carries a real percentage cost.
Three things worth acting on:
- There is no benefit to splitting a large payment into smaller ones. Two transfers of KES 25,000 each cost KES 216 total; one transfer of KES 50,000 costs KES 108.
- If your amount sits just above a band boundary (KES 101, KES 1,001, KES 2,501), check whether trimming it by a few shillings drops you into the cheaper band below.
- Many of these large Send Money payments are supplier transfers. If yours is part of an import order, pair it with the free Kenya Import Duty Calculator at MetricSuite.tools to see the full landed cost, and our guide to importing from China to Kenya for the complete playbook.
M-Pesa Withdrawal Charges: Agent vs ATM
Pulling cash out of M-Pesa is the most expensive thing you can do with it, and agent withdrawal usually costs more than an ATM.
Agent withdrawal:
| Amount (KES) | Charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 50 to 100 | 11 |
| 101 to 2,500 | 29 |
| 2,501 to 3,500 | 52 |
| 3,501 to 5,000 | 69 |
| 5,001 to 7,500 | 87 |
| 7,501 to 10,000 | 115 |
| 10,001 to 15,000 | 167 |
| 15,001 to 20,000 | 185 |
| 20,001 to 35,000 | 197 |
| 35,001 to 50,000 | 278 |
| 50,001 to 250,000 | 309 |
ATM withdrawal (M-Pesa-linked bank ATMs):
| Amount (KES) | Charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 200 to 2,500 | 35 |
| 2,501 to 5,000 | 69 |
| 5,001 to 10,000 | 115 |
| 10,001 to 35,000 | 203 |
At exactly KES 10,000, the two are identical: KES 115 either way. But at the top end they diverge. ATM withdrawal caps at KES 35,000 per transaction with a maximum charge of KES 203, while an agent withdrawal of KES 50,001 to 250,000 costs KES 309. Under roughly KES 7,500, agents are usually cheaper and more available; above that, an M-Pesa-linked ATM card (Equity, KCB, Co-op, and similar) often wins.
Practical takeaway: withdraw in fewer, larger amounts rather than several small ones. Five withdrawals of KES 2,000 cost KES 145 total; one withdrawal of KES 10,000 costs KES 115, for more cash in hand.
Paybill and Buy Goods (Till): What You Actually Pay
This is where most people overpay without realising it, because the two feel identical but are priced completely differently.
Buy Goods (Till number) is free for the customer in every case. When you tap Lipa na M-PESA and pay a till number, whether it is a supermarket, a boda-boda stage, or a market stall, Safaricom charges you nothing. The merchant absorbs a small commission on their end, capped at 0.5% of the transaction.
Paybill works differently: the customer’s fee depends on which tariff the business chose when it registered. Safaricom offers businesses three Paybill models, one where the customer pays the standard band fee, one where the business absorbs it, and a hybrid of the two. In practice, many Paybill charges land 30 to 50% below the equivalent Send Money fee for the same amount, since the receiving business shares part of the cost. A small number of government Paybills, including eCitizen (206206) and the consolidated government services Paybill (222222), are zero-rated, so the customer pays nothing at all.
If you run a business and are trying to work out your real profit after M-Pesa fees eat into a sale, the free Social Commerce Profit Tracker at MetricSuite.tools calculates net margin per sale across WhatsApp, Instagram, and in-person Till payments.
Practical takeaway for merchants: if you can accept both, steer customers toward your Till number over Paybill wherever possible. It is the one combination that is genuinely free on both sides for smaller payments.
Fuliza and M-Pesa’s Other Credit Products
Fuliza, M-Pesa’s overdraft facility run with KCB and NCBA, is priced differently from ordinary transactions and deserves its own explanation, because its excise duty rate is not the same 15% used above.
Fuliza charges a one-time access fee of 1% of the amount borrowed (2% for Fuliza Ya Biashara, the business version), plus a daily maintenance fee once you carry a balance overnight. Borrow KES 1,000 or less and repay within three days, and the maintenance fee is waived entirely, you only pay the 1% access fee. Beyond that grace period, or on larger balances, the daily maintenance fee is charged at midnight and carries its own 20% excise duty, separate from the 15% rate on Send Money and withdrawals.
This structure makes Fuliza genuinely cheap for a same-day shortfall and genuinely expensive as rolling credit. A KES 5,000 balance left unpaid for a month can cost over 30% of the borrowed amount in fees alone. For anything you cannot clear within a few days, a flat-fee product like M-Shwari (7.5% for a full 30-day loan, no compounding) is usually far cheaper than letting Fuliza run.
Why M-Pesa Fees Did Not Rise in 2026
There was a real scare earlier this year. Kenya’s Treasury proposed, in the Finance Bill 2026, removing the VAT exemption on mobile money transfer fees and applying the standard 16% VAT on top of the existing 15% excise duty. Safaricom told Parliament’s Finance Committee the combined effect would push the tax load on a transaction from 15% to roughly 33%, and warned it would hit low-income users hardest.
Parliament agreed. When the National Assembly passed the Finance Bill 2026 in June, MPs specifically scrapped the proposed VAT on person-to-person mobile money transfers, alongside a separate proposal to add a 25% excise duty on mobile phones at the point of activation. The Finance Act 2026 took effect on 1 July 2026 without either change, and every figure in this guide reflects that outcome. As always, treat the number on your M-Pesa confirmation screen as the final word, since Safaricom can revise tariffs with notice, but nothing has moved since 2023.
Six ways to keep your own M-Pesa costs down:
- Pay via Till, not Send Money, wherever a business accepts both. Till is free.
- Consolidate withdrawals and transfers into fewer, larger transactions instead of many small ones.
- Watch the band boundaries (KES 100, 1,000, 2,500) before you hit send.
- Use an M-Pesa-linked ATM card for withdrawals above roughly KES 7,500.
- Clear any Fuliza balance within three days to avoid the daily maintenance fee entirely.
- Check a competing service before a large transfer using the Mobile Money Fees Comparison tool at MetricSuite.tools.
All figures in this guide are drawn directly from Safaricom’s published M-PESA tariff and cross-checked against PwC’s Kenya tax summary for the excise duty rate. Rates verified against Safaricom’s official M-PESA tariff, last checked July 2026.
Conclusion
Before your next large M-Pesa transaction, whether it is a supplier payment, a rent transfer, or a business withdrawal, run the actual number rather than guessing from memory. The gap between an agent withdrawal and a Paybill payment for the same KES 10,000 is real money, and the free Mobile Money Fees Comparison calculator at MetricSuite.tools shows you the exact figure, alongside MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, and Wave, in seconds.
Key Takeaways
- Sending money on M-Pesa is free up to KES 100, then rises through fixed bands to a maximum of KES 108, no matter how large the transfer.
- Buy Goods (Till) payments cost the customer nothing; agent withdrawal is the single most expensive way to touch your own money.
- Every standard transaction fee already includes Kenya’s 15% excise duty; Fuliza’s daily maintenance fee carries a separate 20% excise duty.
- Parliament rejected a 2026 proposal to add 16% VAT on top of mobile money fees, so nothing in this guide changed on 1 July 2026.
- Paybill costs depend entirely on which tariff a business selected, so identical payments can cost differently at two different Paybills.
How much does M-Pesa charge to send money in 2026?
Sending money to a registered M-Pesa, Airtel Money, or T-Kash user is free between KES 1 and KES 100, then rises through fixed bands from KES 7 up to a maximum of KES 108 for any amount above KES 20,001.
Is Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods (Till) really free?
Yes. Paying a Till number costs the customer nothing in every case. The merchant pays a small commission, capped at 0.5% of the transaction, to Safaricom instead.
Why does sending KES 101 cost more than sending KES 100?
M-Pesa charges by fixed price band rather than by percentage. KES 1 to 100 falls in the free band; KES 101 crosses into the next band, which costs KES 7 regardless of whether you send KES 101 or KES 500.
Are M-Pesa charges going up in 2026?
No. A Treasury proposal to add 16% VAT on top of mobile money transfer fees was rejected by Parliament during the Finance Bill 2026 process in June 2026. The tariff structure has been unchanged since 2023.
What is the cheapest way to withdraw cash from M-Pesa?
For amounts under about KES 7,500, an M-Pesa agent is usually cheaper. Above that, an M-Pesa-linked ATM card (via Equity, KCB, Co-op, or similar) is often cheaper and caps out at KES 203 for withdrawals up to KES 35,000.
REFERENCES
- Safaricom PLC. “M-PESA Charges (Consumer Tariffs & Limits).” Official tariff table, last updated 28 May 2024. https://www.safaricom.co.ke/main-mpesa/m-pesa-for-you/tariffs-limits/consumer-tariffs-limits
- PwC. “Kenya: Corporate, Other taxes.” Worldwide Tax Summaries, confirms Finance Act 2023 excise duty rates. https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kenya/corporate/other-taxes
- Ruto, Japhet. “Finance Bill 2026: MPs Reject Proposal to Introduce VAT on M-Pesa, Airtel Money.” Tuko.co.ke. https://www.tuko.co.ke/business-economy/economy/630140-finance-bill-2026-mps-reject-proposal-introduce-vat-m-pesa-airtel-money/
- “Kenyan mobile money accounts top 53 million, M-Pesa leads.” Connecting Africa, citing Communications Authority of Kenya Q3 2025/26 sector statistics and Safaricom FY2026 results. https://www.connectingafrica.com/mobile-money/kenyan-mobile-money-accounts-top-53m-m-pesa-leads