Central Bank of Kenya Raises Licensed Lenders’ Annual Fee to KSh500,000

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) issued Legal Notice 191 on September 29, 2026, revoking the 2022 digital credit rules.

The notice raises the annual fee for a licensed non-deposit-taking credit provider to KSh500,000, up from KSh20,000.

CBK’s directory of licensed lenders now lists 281 entries after 29 new licences were granted on September 28.

The term “digital credit provider” is removed and the rules now apply to “non-deposit-taking credit providers”.

Providers that lend their own money, do not take deposits and are not regulated under another law fall under the new regime.

Banks, microfinance banks, savings and credit co-operatives and credit guarantee firms are excluded.

A lender that starts with at least KSh20 million in capital must obtain a licence, while smaller lenders must register and apply for a licence once capital, borrowings or loan book exceed KSh20 million.

Registration is a new requirement and carries its own fee.

The 2022 rules set a December 31 deadline for compliance; the new rules keep the same deadline.

The penalty regime changes: the draft in August 2025 left the late penalty to CBK’s discretion, but the final schedule adds a KSh1 million late penalty fee.

A lender that pays within three months of December 31 owes double the annual fee – KSh1 million for a licensed lender and KSh500,000 for a registered one.

After three months, CBK may revoke the licence.

Lenders licensed under the 2022 rules are deemed licensed under the new rules, which appears to place them on the new fee for the payment due on December 31, 2026.

Kenya Law records the notice as commencing on September 29, 2026.

If all 281 lenders pay the licensed rate, CBK would collect KSh140.5 million a year, compared with KSh5.6 million under the old schedule.

CBK’s impact statement says the changes bring “no additional regulatory cost” and affect only banks that breach banking law.

The new rules also name interest rates explicitly and require written CBK approval, a justification and at least 30 days’ notice to customers before a rate change.

Borrowers must also accept any change to a loan agreement.

Existing loans cannot have their rates raised without a month’s warning and the borrower’s agreement, although loan agreements may set their own variation terms.

The directory provides each lender’s legal company name, address, phone, email and licence date; only five entries show a brand, including Tala.

CBK reports that licensed lenders had granted 9,596,509 loans worth KSh165.1 billion by August, an average of about KSh17,200 per loan.

The directory records 86 licences dated to 2026, including the 29 granted on September 28.

In March 2024 the list contained 51 approved lenders; the current list is not yet exhaustive.

Any lender operating without a licence has six months from the notice’s publication, until about March 29, 2027, to apply for a licence or registration and may continue trading while CBK decides.

The directory remains titled “Directory of Digital Credit Providers” and has no separate section for registered lenders.

CBK invites reports of unregulated lenders at [email protected].

The flat KSh500,000 fee will impact the smallest lenders most, as it does not vary with loan book size.

The first payment due on December 31, 2026 will reveal whether the KSh1 million replaces or adds to the annual fee.

By March 31, 2027 CBK must publish the names of every licensed and registered lender, closing the six-month window.