Top Payment Gateways in Kenya

Kenya is a mobile money market first. Cards matter, but M Pesa is the default for most local customers. So the “best” gateway is the one that fits your exact use case.

If you sell locally, you want fast M Pesa checkout and clean reconciliation.

If you sell across Africa, you want one integration that handles Kenya plus other countries without rebuilding payments every time.

Below are the best options:

Quick comparison table

Payment gateway	Best at	Best for	Key strengths	Main trade off
DusuPay	Cross border Africa payments	Global platforms, remittance, forex, marketplaces	Built for multi country Africa payments and scale. Simple API positioning for fast integration. (Dusupay)	May be heavier than what a small local shop needs
ElemiPay (Elemitech)	Africa collections plus payouts plus FX	Forex, gaming, crypto, platforms that need payouts and settlement	One API for collections and payouts, FX management, and global settlement options. (Elemi)	Not the simplest choice if you only need basic local checkout
Pesapal	Stable local and regional acceptance	SMEs, ecommerce, merchants who want a known brand	Broad payment acceptance across cards and mobile money, strong local presence. (Pesapal)	Cross border and complex payout flows may need add ons
DPO Pay (DPO Group by Network)	Multi currency and enterprise payment flows	Travel, hospitality, booking platforms, enterprises	Multi currency positioning and local mobile money acceptance in Kenya. (DPO Pay by Network)	Onboarding can be more structured than smaller gateways
iPay Africa	Ecommerce checkout	Local ecommerce and online sellers	Mobile money and card checkout built for ecommerce use cases. (iPay Africa)	Less suited for advanced payouts at scale
M Pesa Daraja	Direct M Pesa integration	Teams that want full control	Official Safaricom portal for M Pesa APIs. Great for custom builds. (developer.safaricom.co.ke)	You are doing more work yourself. Not a multi method gateway
IntaSend	Kenya focused payments and payouts	SMEs, freelancers, basic collections and payouts	Kenya based gateway with M Pesa and other local rails focus. (Intasend)	Feature set depends on your exact needs. Validate for cards and regions
Tingg (Cellulant)	Omnichannel payments	Businesses that want many payment types and channels	Hosted gateway approach across Kenya with multiple payment rails. (Tingg)	Some businesses prefer a deeper API first approach

1. DusuPay

What it is

DusuPay positions itself as a payments API for businesses that want to accept and make payments across Africa, not just Kenya.

Strengths

Fast to integrate if you want pan African reach through one provider. Strong fit for cross border use cases like marketplaces, fintech, remittance, and forex.

Ideal for

• Global businesses selling into Kenya and other African markets

• Platforms collecting from users in multiple countries

• Forex and trading platforms that need Africa rails in one place

Not ideal for

A business that only needs one thing: basic M Pesa checkout in Kenya.

2. ElemiPay (Elemitech)

What it is

ElemiPay is part of Elemitech’s payments stack. It focuses on accepting payments from multiple African countries, plus payouts, plus FX and settlement.

Strengths

• Collections and payouts under one API.

• FX and liquidity management built into the platform.

• Built for industries many processors avoid, like forex, gaming, crypto, and betting.

Ideal for

It is ideal for Forex, crypto, and gaming companies that need high risk friendly payment infrastructure

Not ideal for

Teams that only want a simple plug and play checkout for Kenya only.

3. Pesapal

What it is

A long standing gateway in East Africa with a strong merchant footprint. Pesapal is Ideal for small and medium companies.

Strengths

Helps merchants accept online payments with multiple options including cards and mobile money.

Good for “I need something stable that works” setups.

Ideal for

• SMEs and ecommerce in Kenya

• Businesses that want an established provider and simpler onboarding

Not ideal for

Complex cross border payouts and multi country treasury workflows.

4. DPO Pay (DPO Group by Network)

What it is

DPO is a payment service provider and gateway in Kenya and other African markets.

Strengths

Multi currency positioning for businesses that sell to international customers. Accepts local mobile money like M Pesa and Airtel.

Ideal for

• Travel and hospitality

• Booking platforms

• Enterprises with multi currency needs

Not ideal for

Very small businesses that want the lightest setup possible.

5. iPay Africa

What it is

Ipay is A Kenya focused payment provider with ecommerce checkout positioning.

Strengths

Customers can pay using mobile money and cards through one checkout flow.

Ideal for

• Online stores and ecommerce sites in Kenya

• Businesses that want a familiar, local oriented checkout

Not ideal for

Advanced payout and settlement workflows across many countries.

6. Safaricom M Pesa Daraja

What it is

Daraja is not a “gateway” in the usual sense. It is Safaricom’s developer platform for integrating directly to M Pesa APIs.

Strengths

• Maximum control

• Great for custom apps and deep M Pesa features

Ideal for

• Engineering teams building custom payment flows

• Businesses where M Pesa is 90 percent of transactions and they do not want extra layers

Not ideal for

Anyone who wants multi payment methods and quick plug ins without building.

7. IntaSend

What it is

Instasend Kenyan based payment provider that supports local payment rails like M Pesa and related methods.

Strengths

Local focus

Good for straightforward online payments and payouts

Ideal for

• SMEs

• FreelancersLocal businesses that want a Kenya first provider

8. Tingg by Cellulant

What it is

Tingg is a hosted gateway approach that supports multiple payment methods and channels.

Strengths

Designed for omnichannel payments and varied rails in markets like Kenya.

Ideal for

• Businesses that want one hosted checkout across channels

• Merchants operating in more than one African market

RELATED: Top payment gateways in Africa

How to choose the right payment gateway in Kenya

Pick based on what you are really doing.

If you sell mainly in Kenya

Start with a gateway that nails M Pesa checkout, settlement speed, and reconciliation.

Good fits: Pesapal, iPay, direct Daraja.

If you sell into Kenya and other African countries

You want one integration that handles multiple markets.

Good fits: DusuPay, ElemiPay

If you are high risk

Forex, betting, gaming, crypto. Many providers will delay you or reject you.

ElemiPay is positioned for high risk categories.

FAQ

Do I need cards in Kenya or is M Pesa enough

If you are Kenya first, M Pesa is the baseline. Cards matter more when you sell to international customers.

Should I integrate Daraja directly or use a gateway

Direct Daraja is best when you have engineers and want full control. A gateway is best when you want speed and multiple payment methods.

What should a serious business care about besides fees

• Settlement speed

• Chargeback and fraud handling

• Refund flow

• Reconciliation and reporting

• Payouts if you pay suppliers, agents, or users

If you want, I can also add a Kenya focused “best for” section for each industry: ecommerce, SaaS, marketplaces, schools, forex, betting, and remittance.