Updated 13 November 2026. The send-money charges have not changed since July 2023. The most recent change we found took effect on 7 August 2026 and cut fees that businesses pay (section 7). Every send, withdrawal and Paybill charge below is the full amount taken from your M-Pesa balance, with excise duty included.
M-Pesa charges at a glance
| Amount (KES) | Send money | Agent withdrawal | ATM withdrawal | Paybill (full charge) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Free | 11 | Not available | Free |
| 500 | 7 | 29 | 35 | 5 |
| 1,000 | 13 | 29 | 35 | 10 |
| 2,500 | 33 | 29 | 35 | 20 |
| 5,000 | 57 | 69 | 69 | 34 |
| 10,000 | 90 | 115 | 115 | 48 |
| 20,000 | 105 | 185 | 203 | 62 |
| 50,000 | 108 | 278 | Not available | 108 |
| 250,000 | 108 | 309 | Not available | 108 |
Paying a Buy Goods till number is free for the customer at every amount, except at authorised fuel stations. ATMs pay out from KES 200 to KES 35,000. The Paybill column is the full charge: some businesses pay part or all of it for you (section 5). For any other amount, use the M-Pesa fees calculator.
1. Send money charges
These charges apply when you send to a Safaricom M-Pesa, Airtel Money or T-Kash number. The charge is the same whichever network receives the money.
| 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 charge stops at KES 108. Sending KES 25,000 costs the same as sending KES 250,000, so one large send costs less than several small ones.
2. Agent withdrawal charges
| Amount (KES) | Charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 50 to 100 | 11 |
| 101 to 500 | 29 |
| 501 to 1,000 | 29 |
| 1,001 to 1,500 | 29 |
| 1,501 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 |
Agents do not pay out less than KES 50. Every withdrawal from KES 101 to KES 2,500 costs KES 29.
3. ATM withdrawal charges
| 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 |
Agent or ATM? An agent never costs more than an ATM. For KES 1,000 the agent charges KES 29 and the ATM KES 35. For KES 20,000 the agent charges KES 185 and the ATM KES 203. At KES 5,000 and KES 10,000 both cost the same. Above KES 35,000 only an agent can pay out.
4. Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods (till number)
Paying a till number is free for the customer. The merchant pays the fee:
| Collection (KES) | Merchant fee |
|---|---|
| 1 to 500 | Free |
| 501 to 36,363 | 0.55% of the amount |
| Above 36,363 | KES 200 |
The free band went up from KES 200 to KES 500 on 7 August 2026. On a KES 10,000 sale the merchant pays KES 55. One exception: at authorised fuel stations the customer pays the charge, so check it before you confirm.
5. Paybill charges
When a business sets up its Paybill, it chooses who pays the charge: the customer (Business Bouquet), the business (Customer Bouquet), or both (Mgao). On a Customer Bouquet Paybill you pay nothing.
| Amount (KES) | Business Bouquet: you pay | Mgao: you pay | Mgao: business pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 100 | Free | Free | 0 |
| 101 to 500 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 501 to 1,000 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| 1,001 to 1,500 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| 1,501 to 2,500 | 20 | 13 | 7 |
| 2,501 to 3,500 | 25 | 16 | 9 |
| 3,501 to 5,000 | 34 | 16 | 18 |
| 5,001 to 7,500 | 42 | 17 | 25 |
| 7,501 to 10,000 | 48 | 18 | 30 |
| 10,001 to 15,000 | 57 | 18 | 39 |
| 15,001 to 20,000 | 62 | 19 | 43 |
| 20,001 to 25,000 | 67 | 20 | 47 |
| 25,001 to 30,000 | 72 | 20 | 52 |
| 30,001 to 35,000 | 83 | 21 | 62 |
| 35,001 to 40,000 | 99 | 23 | 76 |
| 40,001 to 45,000 | 103 | 23 | 80 |
| 45,001 to 250,000 | 108 | 24 | 84 |
You cannot see in advance which option a business chose. The transaction cost in the confirmation SMS shows what you paid: the full charge from the table, a smaller charge (Mgao), or nothing (Customer Bouquet).
6. Pochi la Biashara
The customer pays when paying into a Pochi la Biashara. Before August 2026, a Pochi payment cost the same as a send (section 1). From 1 August to 31 October 2026, Safaricom ran a lower promotional table:
| Amount (KES) | Charge (KES) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 200 | Free |
| 201 to 500 | 7 |
| 501 to 1,000 | 13 |
| 1,001 to 1,500 | 23 |
| 1,501 to 2,500 | 33 |
| 2,501 to 250,000 | 50 |
Safaricom's notice did not say what applies after 31 October 2026. On 13 November 2026 its charges page still showed this table, labelled "for 3 months from 1st August 2026". Check the charge before you confirm.
7. Business till transfers (cut on 7 August 2026)
From 7 August 2026, moving money out of a Business Till costs about half the old fee. Before that, the till-to-phone charge was the send-money table in section 1, and the till-to-Paybill charge was the Paybill table in section 5.
| Amount (KES) | Till to phone (KES) | Till to Paybill (KES) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 100 | Free | No charge listed |
| 101 to 500 | 4 | 3 |
| 501 to 1,000 | 7 | 5 |
| 1,001 to 1,500 | 12 | 8 |
| 1,501 to 2,500 | 17 | 10 |
| 2,501 to 3,500 | 27 | 13 |
| 3,501 to 5,000 | 29 | 17 |
| 5,001 to 7,500 | 39 | 21 |
| 7,501 to 10,000 | 45 | 24 |
| 10,001 to 15,000 | 50 | 29 |
| 15,001 to 20,000 | 53 | 31 |
| 20,001 to 25,000 | 54 | 34 |
| 25,001 to 30,000 | 54 | 36 |
| 30,001 to 35,000 | 54 | 42 |
| 35,001 to 40,000 | 54 | 50 |
| 40,001 to 45,000 | 54 | 52 |
| 45,001 to 250,000 | 54 | 54 |
8. M-Pesa limits
| Limit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maximum per transaction | KES 250,000 |
| Maximum per day | KES 500,000 |
| Maximum M-Pesa balance | KES 500,000 |
| Agent withdrawal | KES 50 minimum |
| ATM withdrawal | KES 200 to KES 35,000 |
The per-transaction and daily limits date from 2023, when the Central Bank of Kenya approved higher caps.
9. What is free on M-Pesa
- Sending KES 1 to KES 100, to any network
- Depositing cash at an agent
- Buying airtime
- Checking your balance
- Registering for M-Pesa and changing your PIN
- Paying a Buy Goods till number (except at authorised fuel stations)
10. Excise duty is already in the fee
The send, withdrawal and Paybill charges already include excise duty. You do not pay it on top. The rate on mobile money transfer fees is 15%. It went up from 12% under the Finance Act 2023, and Safaricom raised its send-money table on 29 July 2023 to cover it. A 2024 proposal to raise it to 20% was dropped.
11. How to pay less
- Send once, not in parts. KES 5,000 in one send costs KES 57. Five sends of KES 1,000 cost KES 65. KES 50,000 in one send costs KES 108. Five sends of KES 10,000 cost KES 450.
- Pay a till, not a phone number. A till payment is free for you. Sending the same amount to a phone number costs up to KES 108.
- Withdraw at an agent, not an ATM. The agent charge is never higher.
- Use the KES 29 band. Agent withdrawals from KES 101 to KES 2,500 all cost KES 29, so one KES 2,500 withdrawal costs less than two of KES 1,000.
For transfers and loans that work with M-Pesa, see money transfer options and mobile money loans.
How we checked: on 13 November 2026 we checked every band in this article against Safaricom's M-PESA charges page (last updated 4 August 2026) and its Paybill Standard Tariff. The dates of the August 2026 changes come from Safaricom's tariff notice of 1 August 2026, as printed by tech-ish and The Kenya Times. Excise duty: Budget Speech 2024/25, as reported by Eastleigh Voice. Safaricom can change its charges at any time, and the confirm screen shows the charge before you pay. If you see a different charge, tell us.
Update history
- 2026-11-13: Added the August 2026 changes (Buy Goods free band, Pochi la Biashara promotion, Business Till transfers). Corrected the excise rate to 15% (we said 20%) and the Buy Goods merchant fee to 0.55% (we said 0.5%). Fixed two worked examples. Removed claims we could not source: bank transfer fees, M-Pesa Global limits, an ATM daily limit and a 2024 end to sends to unregistered users. Checked every band against Safaricom's own pages: send, withdrawal, ATM, Paybill and Mgao bands did not change.
- 2026-04-18: Re-checked the send and withdrawal bands. No change.
- 2026-03-19: Published.