Do you have any idea how much a money transfer to Kenya is going to cost you?
If you’re working with a freelancer or a team of workers in Kenya and want to transfer money, you have to be prepared for all the charges and fees that come with money transfers.
Time Doctor is a time management tool that attracts professionals from all parts of the world that work with remote teams. Many of these professionals are in need of a cost-efficient and practical international money transfer solution.
We have a remote team with people in 19 different countries around the world. The two transfer methods we use the most are:
The following tables include information about the cheapest methods to send money to Kenya if you’re located in the US, Canada, Australia or Europe.
| Table 1: Sending $1000 from the US to Kenya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer method | Fees to send $1000 USD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total fees | Time for the transfer to arrive |
| XE Trade | $0 | $9 | $9 | 3-5 days |
| Ria Money Transfer (slow) | $5 | $16 | $21 | 3-5 days |
| Payoneer | $3 | $25 | $28 | 3-5 days |
| Ria Money Transfer (fast) | $15 | $16 | $31 | In Minutes |
| Xpress Money | $15 | $22 | $37 | 3-5 days |
| MoneyGram (slow) | $5 | $33 | $38 | 4-6 days |
| Poapay | $15 | $28 | $43 | 3-5 days |
| WorldRemit | $14 | $30 | $44 | 1-3 days |
| Western Union (slow) | $5 | $46 | $51 | 4-6 days |
| MoneyGram (fast) | $20 | $33 | $53 | In Minutes |
| Wire transfer | $25-40 | $10-20 | $35-60 | 3-5 days |
| Western Union (fast) | $20 | $46 | $66 | In Minutes |
| Transfast | $5 | $64 | $69 | 1-3 days |
| Skrill | $50 | $19 | $69 | 3-5 days |
| Travelex | $0 | $150 | $150 | 3-5 days |
| NationHela | $35 | $159 | $194 | In Minutes |
| Table 2: Sending £1000 from the UK to Kenya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer method | Fees to send £1000 GBP | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total fees | Time for the transfer to arrive |
| XE Trade | £0 | £11 | £11 | 3-5 days |
| Western Union (fast) | £3 | £10 | £13 | In Minutes |
| EasyPesa | £4 | £20 | £24 | 1-3 days |
| Equity Direct | £4 | £20 | £24 | 1-3 days |
| WorldRemit | £6 | £21 | £27 | 1-3 days |
| Exchange4free | £0 | £29 | £29 | 1-2 days |
| SimbaPay | £0 | £36 | £36 | In Minutes |
| Small World FS | £3 | £35 | £38 | 1-3 days |
| MoneyGram (fast) | £20 | £28 | £48 | In Minutes |
| Azimo | £1 | £47 | £48 | 1-3 days |
| Xpress Money | £30 | £22 | £52 | 3-5 days |
| Wire transfer | £15-25 | £10-30 | £25-55 | 3-5 days |
| Afrikmostra | £26 | £35 | £61 | In Minutes |
| Dahabshiil* | £55 | £10 | £65 | In Minutes |
| Skrill | £50 | £21 | £71 | 3-5 days |
| Travelex | £0 | £74 | £74 | 3-5 days |
| Mukuru | £22 | £75 | £97 | In Minutes |
| NationHela | £5.5 | £116 | £121.5 | 1-3 days |
| Table 3: Sending $1000 from the Canada to Kenya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer method | Fees to send $1000 CAD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total fees | Time for the transfer to arrive |
| XE Trade | $0 | $11 | $11 | 3-5 days |
| Exchange4free | $0 | $30 | $30 | 3-5 days |
| WorldRemit* | $18 | $24 | $42 | 1-3 days |
| ZOOMPesa* | $20 | $22 | $42 | 3-5 days |
| Xpress Money | $16 | $28 | $44 | 3-5 days |
| Transfast | $5 | $65 | $70 | 1-3 days |
| Skrill | $50 | $24 | $74 | 3-5 days |
| Wire transfer | $25-40 | $20-30 | $45-75 | 3-5 days |
| MoneyGram (fast) | $50 | $26 | $76 | In Minutes |
| Western Union (fast) | $40 | $43 | $83 | In Minutes |
| Travelex | $0 | $145 | $145 | 3-5 days |
| Table 4: Sending €1000 from the Western Europe to the Kenya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer method | Fees to send €1000 EUR | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total fees | Time for the transfer to arrive |
| XE Trade | €0 | €1 | €1 | 3-5 days |
| NationHela | €6.6 | €1 | €7.6 | 1-3 days |
| Exchange4free | €0 | €30 | €30 | 3-5 days |
| MoneyGram (fast) | €10 | €23 | €33 | In Minutes |
| Azimo | €1 | €34 | €35 | 1-3 days |
| Small World FS | €0 | €51 | €51 | 3-5 days |
| Western Union | €25 | €27 | €52 | 1-2 days |
| WorldRemit | €22 | €30 | €52 | 1-3 days |
| Xpress Money | €25 | €34 | €59 | 3-5 days |
| Skrill | €50 | €20 | €70 | 3-5 days |
| Wire transfer | €20-35 | €20-40 | €40-75 | 3-5 days |
| Table 5: Sending $1000 from the Australia to Kenya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer method | Fees to send $1000 AUD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total fees | Time for the transfer to arrive |
| XE Trade | $0 | $14 | $14 | 3-5 days |
| Mhits* | $22 | $2 | $24 | In Minutes |
| Exchange4free | $0 | $30 | $30 | 3-5 days |
| Worldremit | $14 | $31 | $45 | 1-3 days |
| Xpress Money | $25 | $21 | $46 | 3-5 days |
| Western Union (fast) | $40 | $27 | $67 | In Minutes |
| MoneyGram (fast) | $35 | $34 | $69 | In Minutes |
| Skrill | $60 | $27 | $87 | 3-5 days |
| Wire transfer | $25-35 | $30-60 | $55-95 | 3-5 days |
Nice article right there.
Paypal and western union are the most common and convenient method of money transfer here in Kenya.
M~pesa also it is best money transfer to Kenya
HI!
I try swift money transfer .
Thank you for the information on money transfers to Kenya.
Here in Kenya the methods i see most people using are Western Union, Money Gram, Paypal and Payoneer.
Hi,
I run a mining business out of Rwanda. I’ve been doing business with Dubai and Hong Kong but am expanding sales to the USA. The banking system there isn’t good so using a Kenyan bank such as KCB and then doing a inter-bank branch transfer is my plan. What is the best way to transfer very large sums of money ($1,000,000) from the USA to Kenya. Getting it there as close to within 24hrs is also quite important. I would be doing such transactions several times a month. Since margins in the mining sector aren’t very big, the percentage fees need to be low.
Thanks,
Dean
Hi Dean, I’m not sure however I think you will have to check with every bank that does business in Kenya and if that doesn’t work then the other option is to develop a relationship with a company of a similar size that is sending money in the other direction, however that will be quite difficult to achieve and manage.
I personally prefer to use Mobi-Remit or Sendwave coz its very efficient and less costly
which is the most used?
Paypal is a good option but it has its own shortcoming, first you need to build some sort of credibility with them if you are not a US citizen, this means that if you open a new account, do everything they ask, there is still that amount of cash you can not transfer/receive, for instance about $300 and because they don’t use bank regulation and you are not subject to the USA regulation they usually get their way most of the time, lets be honest $300 is not a lot of money, that’s why i started looking for an alternative after having 3 account limited because of the amount of cash i have received.
KenyaPesa allows you to send cash to Kenya via Mpesa, airtel money, bank transfers and cash pick up. The fees start at $3.99 and the first order is FREE.
Thanks for the info. What about SendWave? Is it the cheapest of all?
Hi Rob,
I have read through the article and I have found it very informative but something to note as per now Skrill has a service that allows you to send money to an M-PESA mobile wallet in Kenya and the money is received instantly. This are the fees:
-It costs 1% of the amount sent but is capped at a maximum of $ 10
-Paying at a shop or transferring funds with any merchant is free
-Receiving money is free of charge
-Uploading funds into your Skrill account is usually free, but some options involve a small charge.
They have a currency conversion fee of 3.99% FX fee if you’re sending from GBP, Euro, US Dollar, Canadian Dollar or Polish Zloty. If you’re sending from any other currency the rate is 4.99%.
Check it out it is efficient.
Regards,
Wilson.
Thanks Wilson I will add that to the article
We added Skrill but it seems like it is one of the most expensive options. I think it would be comparing it with the convenience of being able to deposit straight into M-PESA
The cheapest way to send money to kenya is via Skrill, this is because Skrill is the only money transfer platform connected to Mpesa which is the most wide spread money transfer system in Kenya, transfering money from this platforms takes a few minutes and almost instantanious to Mpesa.
Hi George, will definitely add it to the article however I think that doesn’t make it the cheapest. It makes it the most convenient. Skrill charges 4-5% on currency conversion which is a lot more than some of the other methods.
Hi George, we added Skrill but it seems like it is actually one of the more expensive options.