Regulatory Compliance and Fintech Insights
The regimes reshaping Kenyan financial technology, from virtual assets and stablecoins to payments and platform licensing, tracked as the regulators publish and enforce them.
In brief A Kenya stablecoin issuer licence sits at the top of the ten licence categories created by the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026, and it is the most demanding by a wide margin. It is also the one attracting the most boardroom attention. Every remittance corridor into Nairobi, every payment service provider watching […]
By Peter Maina
The choice between a CBK and a CMA virtual asset licence is the first question Kenya’s new regime puts to any crypto business, and the most consequential one. In brief The first practical question for any virtual asset business facing Kenya’s new licensing regime is not what the requirements are. It is which door to […]
By Peter Maina
In brief Most of what has been written about Kenya’s new virtual asset regime explains the law, including our own earlier guide to crypto licensing under the VASP Act. This article does something different. It is a working plan for the businesses the law is about to catch: the exchanges, wallet providers, OTC desks, payment […]
By Peter Maina
In brief A crypto licence Kenya businesses once operated without now sits at the centre of the law. For years, the official position on cryptocurrency in Kenya was a warning. The Central Bank cautioned the public, banks closed accounts linked to crypto trading, and the businesses serving one of Africa’s most active crypto markets operated […]
By Peter Maina
Kenya FATF grey list status has become one of the most important compliance issues for businesses, financial institutions, investors, and professional advisers. Much of the conversation in Nairobi treats Kenya’s eventual exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as a finish line. It is closer to a gate. Crossing it relieves a […]
By Peter Maina