Kenya’s new payments bill could force banks to share customer data

Kenya’s central bank is proposing new rules that would let it require banks and payment providers to share customer data with licenced third parties, opening the door to open banking in one of Africa’s biggest digital-payments markets.

The draft National Payment System Bill, 2026, would require payment providers to build systems that can securely share customer data for “open finance purposes.” It would also give the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) the power to require providers to enable that sharing once customers have given consent.

The proposal could loosen banks’ and mobile money providers’ control over customer relationships by allowing licenced fintechs to access customer data. That could turn data locked inside banks and M-PESA into a new battleground, giving fintechs a chance to compete for customers without having to own the accounts where their money sits.

“Each payment service provider or payment system operator shall use systems that are capable of securely sharing customer data with third parties for open finance purposes,” the draft bill read.

The bill does not name the third parties directly, but its licensing schedule creates two categories. Payment initiation service providers could execute payments on a customer’s behalf, while account information service providers could pull data and give customers a single view across accounts.

Neither category would need to hold customer funds to operate, unlike electronic money issuers and wallet providers. The bill requires the latter to keep customer money in trust accounts at a bank.

The bill is less specific on how access would work, saying CBK “may require” providers to enable data sharing after customer consent and “shall make regulations to give effect to this section.” Details on what data can be accessed, under what conditions, and at what cost would be left to subsequent CBK regulations.

Kenya’s proposal would cover banks and mobile money providers, opening their data to licensed payment initiation service providers and account information service providers, the two new fintech categories the bill creates, once the central bank issues regulations spelling out the access mechanics.

If Kenya’s parliament passes the law, players will have one year to comply with the new requirements.

“Upon the commencement of this Act, any person providing payment services shall, within one year of the commencement, comply with the provisions of this Act,” the proposed bill read.

The draft would also compel all financial and payment service providers to use systems compatible with competitors’ systems as part of a renewed interoperability push.

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