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Accept payments for your business in Africa

Collect and make payments from 14 African countries. Mobile money, Credit/ Debit cards and online banking channels accepted

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How Forex Companies Can Accept Payments from Kenya

Kenyan traders make up 12% of all retail forex activity in Africa. Yet most international brokers treat Kenya like an afterthought.

The numbers tell the story. While brokers chase clients in Europe and Asia, Kenya's forex market grew 340% between 2019 and 2024. That's real money walking away.


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The M-PESA Problem Nobody Talks About

96% of Kenyan adults use M-PESA. Your typical forex broker accepts Visa and Mastercard.

See the problem?

A trader in Nairobi wants to deposit $500. Most of them do not even have bank accounts because Mpesa is how they transact not visa and mastercard like what the west is accustomed to:


With M-PESA, the same deposit takes 30 seconds and costs $2.

Yet most brokers still don't offer it.


The challenges forex and CFD companies face:


  1. Need for Local payment gateway: You can’t rely on traditional card processors or bank transfers alone. Kenyan traders prefer M-PESA. To reach them, you need a payment gateway that connects directly to the local rails.

  2. International settlements: Collecting money in Kenya is one thing. Getting it out to your global accounts is another. The provider you choose should settle seamlessly to bank accounts worldwide or in USDT and other stablecoins. Without this, your funds get stuck.

  3. Scale: Forex companies don’t run on small volumes. Tens of thousands of transactions flow daily. Many fintechs in Africa are simply not built to handle this scale. You need a partner that won’t crumble when volumes spike.

  4. Transaction costs: High fees can eat into both your margins and your clients’ deposits. The right gateway should keep costs low while still giving reliable service.

  5. Payouts to M-PESA: It’s not just about deposits. Kenyan traders expect to withdraw to M-PESA instantly. Any provider without this option is a dealbreaker.

The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong

EGM Securities learned this the hard way. They launched in Kenya in 2022 with standard European payment methods. After 18 months:

  • 67% of signup attempts failed at payment

  • Customer acquisition cost hit $340 per trader

  • Monthly churn rate: 45%

They added M-PESA integration in late 2023. Results:

  • Payment success rate: 94%

  • Customer acquisition cost: $89

  • Monthly churn: 18%

Same product. Different payment approach. Completely different business.


Why Forex, stock and CFD Trading companies are choosing Elemitech

The brokers winning in Kenya share three things:

  1. Direct mobile money integration. Not third-party workarounds. Direct API connections to Safaricom and other telecom operators. Use payment platforms like Elemitech that give you instant access to all local payment options and several other countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda and more from all over Africa.

  2. Global settlement options. Money moves from M-PESA to your New York bank account in under 48 hours. Or settles directly in crypto if you prefer.

  3. Built for volume. Systems that handle 100,000+ transactions monthly without breaking. With real-time monitoring and 99.9% uptime guarantees.

GET STARTED ACCEPTING PAYMENTS FROM KENYA AND BEYOND


The Bottom Line

Kenya's forex market is growing whether you participate or not. Traders have money to invest and they're going to invest it somewhere.

The question isn't whether M-PESA integration is worth it. The question is how much money you're comfortable leaving on the table while your competitors figure this out first.

The early movers in Kenya are already seeing the results. The late adopters will be playing catch-up for years.

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