A Safaricom Shop counter, not the green agent kiosk on the corner, is where a foreign visitor's M-Pesa account begins. Safaricom's tariff page says registration at agent outlets is available only to customers with a Kenyan National ID or Kenyan passport, while customers using a foreign passport register at a Safaricom Shop or Customer Care Desk. After that, the agent network becomes useful: they accept your foreign passport as ID for deposits and withdrawals.
M-Pesa is a stored-value account attached to your phone number, not a card or a bank account. Money goes in as cash through an agent, sits as an electronic balance, and goes out as payments or cash withdrawals. The Central Bank of Kenya's mobile payments data counted 94.35 million registered mobile money accounts and 575,400 active agents across all providers in July 2026, which is why so many small businesses take phone payments.
How do tourists register for M-Pesa?
- Get a Safaricom SIM and take your phone and original passport to a Safaricom Shop or Customer Care Desk. Safaricom's M-Pesa terms (section 3.1.4) list an original Alien Certificate (Foreign Nationals Certificate), Diplomatic ID or passport as the documents for foreign nationals.
- Ask staff to register both the line and M-Pesa. Registration is free; you then receive a 4-digit M-Pesa PIN by SMS and replace it with your own secret PIN.
- Load cash at any agent, showing your passport. Deposits are free.
- Pay using the menu on the SIM toolkit, *334# or the M-Pesa app, always checking the business name in the confirmation before entering your PIN.
If a text later says another line is being registered under your passport, that is Safaricom's New Subscriber Registration Consent alert, and it deserves attention if you did not ask for a second line.
What does M-Pesa cost a visitor?
The charge depends on how the money leaves your account, not on who you are. Safaricom's tariff page, last updated on 4 August 2026, sets these customer charges:
| Transaction | Amount (KSh) | Your charge (KSh) |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit at agent | Any | Free |
| Pay a Buy Goods (till) number | Any | 0 |
| Send money to another user | 101-500 | 7 |
| Send money to another user | 1,001-1,500 | 23 |
| Send money to another user | 7,501-10,000 | 90 |
| Withdraw at an agent | 101-2,500 | 29 |
| Withdraw at an agent | 2,501-3,500 | 52 |
| Withdraw at an agent | 7,501-10,000 | 115 |
Buy Goods payments are free to the payer because the merchant pays instead: 0.55% for payments from KSh 501 to KSh 36,363, and KSh 200 above that. The exception on the same page is authorised fuel stations, where the paying customer bears the charge.
Some small traders take payment through Pochi la Biashara rather than a till. The tariff page lists customer charges for paying Pochi merchants "for 3 months from 1st August 2026": free up to KSh 200, then KSh 7 for KSh 201-500, rising to KSh 50 from KSh 2,500. Check this line again after October 2026, when that three-month period ends.
The page did not list a customer charge for Paybill payments, the numbers used by larger billers. The confirmation message shows what you paid, so read it after each payment.
A worked example: one week, KSh 10,000
A visitor loads KSh 10,000 at an agent (free), pays a restaurant till KSh 2,500 and a craft shop till KSh 3,200 (both free to the payer), and sends a guide KSh 1,200 (fee KSh 23). The balance is 10,000 - 2,500 - 3,200 - 1,200 - 23 = KSh 3,077. Withdrawing KSh 3,000 at an agent costs KSh 52, leaving KSh 25. Total fees for the week: 23 + 52 = KSh 75.
Where M-Pesa matters most for visitors
Some places have stopped taking cash. The Mara Conservancy, which manages the Mara Triangle section of the Maasai Mara, says it does not accept cash for park fees and takes M-Pesa or credit cards; our guide to choosing between the Maasai Mara reserve and a conservancy covers those fees. Safaricom's tariff page also lists Madaraka Express train tickets and bus bookings among M-Pesa services; see our Madaraka Express guide for the train.
The account has ceilings that rarely bind a tourist but matter for a large safari balance: KSh 250,000 per transaction, KSh 500,000 per day, and a maximum balance of KSh 500,000. Safaricom announced the per-transaction increase to KSh 250,000 on 21 September 2023 after Central Bank of Kenya approval. Pay large tour invoices by card or bank transfer when the operator offers it.
M-Pesa Global lets any active registered user send and receive money internationally after opting in through the M-Pesa app or *334#, according to Safaricom's M-Pesa Global page. We could not confirm an official route for loading M-Pesa directly from a foreign bank card, so plan on cash deposits at agents.
Common scams to recognise
Safaricom's fraud awareness page describes "fake reversal" tricks, in which fraudsters direct a customer to the nearest agent and then pose as customer care to defraud the agent using that customer's number. It says Safaricom calls customers only from 0722000000, and warns never to dial codes such as *33*0000* on a stranger's instructions. Check your actual balance, not an SMS someone points to, before refunding anything.
Decide before you land: if your trip is a fully prepaid package, the setup visit may not be worth it; if your plans include small tills, tipping guides or the Mara Triangle's cash-free gates, build a Safaricom Shop stop into your first day and bring your original passport.