CBK-Licensed Digital Credit Providers: The Official List, Explained (2026)

Kenya's loan apps operated in a regulatory vacuum until the Central Bank of Kenya (Amendment) Act 2021 and the Digital Credit Providers Regulations 2022 brought them under CBK supervision. Since then, lending through an app without a Digital Credit Provider (DCP) licence is illegal — and the CBK publishes the register, updated in batches as applications clear. This page explains how to read that register, who is on it, who legitimately is not, and what a licence actually obliges a lender to do for you.

Where the register stands

The CBK has been licensing in batches since 2022 and has received more than 800 applications. Two batches landed in 2026: 32 providers on 28 April 2026, and a further 25 in July 2026, taking the total to 252 licensed DCPs. The CBK's own Directory of Digital Credit Providers — a dated PDF on centralbank.go.ke — is the authoritative list; press reports of the running total differ by a few names, so only the CBK document counts.

The scale is now significant. The CBK has reported that licensed DCPs had issued more than 8 million loans worth over KSh 150 billion by mid-2026. That is a mainstream credit channel, not a fringe one, which is exactly why the licence rules matter.

What a DCP licence obliges a lender to do

• Disclose the total cost of credit before you accept — all fees and charges, not a daily-rate teaser. If the app shows only "1% per day", it is not complying.
• Collect debts lawfully — no contact-list shaming, threats, obscene messages or calls to your employer. The regulations prohibit it, and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner enforces the data side.
• Handle your data properly — consent-based, purpose-limited, and with a lawful basis for every access to your phone's data.
• Report through credit reference bureaus under the applicable rules, which builds a usable credit history when you repay on time — and means a default follows you.
• Disclose its source of funds to the CBK, which keeps proceeds of crime out of the lending market.

Who is NOT on this register (and why that's fine)

Bank-backed products — M-Shwari, KCB M-Pesa, Fuliza, and the banks' own apps — operate under their banks' CBK licences, not the DCP register. They are regulated, just under a different rulebook, with the Banking Act's disclosure and complaints rules attached. See Fuliza, explained. Likewise, SACCO loans fall under the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority, and microfinance banks under their own CBK licence.

How to use the list

1. Find the app's legal entity name — in the app's About page or terms. Brand names differ from registered names, and one company may run several apps.
2. Match that name against the CBK directory. Note the directory's "as at" date.
3. Not there, and not bank-backed? Don't borrow. See how to spot an unlicensed loan app.
4. On the list but behaving badly? That is now a regulatory matter — see below.

The register

The authoritative, current list of licensed Digital Credit Providers is the one the CBK publishes itself. Always check it directly on centralbank.go.ke, where each edition of the directory carries the CBK's own "as at" date. We do not reproduce the table here because it changes with every batch and a stale copy would be worse than none.

Licensed does not mean cheap

A licence regulates conduct and disclosure, not the price itself, and short-tenor app loans remain expensive when you annualise them. What the licence guarantees is that the cost is disclosed, so use it: compare the total repayable for the amount and tenor you need, not the headline rate — see licensed personal loans.

Do the annual arithmetic before you accept. A charge that reads as "just 1% a day" is roughly 365% a year before compounding; a "small" 15% fee on a 30-day loan is around 180% annualised. Neither number appears on the screen you tap, and both are perfectly legal — which is exactly why the disclosure obligation matters more than the licence itself.

Two cheaper places to look first, for small amounts:

• The Hustler Fund charges 8% a year — not per month, per year. For a small, short need nothing commercial comes close.
• A SACCO you already belong to will typically lend a multiple of your deposits at a rate no digital lender can match — see MMF vs SACCO vs bank savings.

Digital credit earns its place when you need money today and have exhausted those. Used as a monthly habit it is the most expensive borrowing most Kenyans will ever do.

Borrowing well, in one paragraph

Check the register. Check the total repayable in shillings, not the rate. Check the repayment date against when you actually get paid. Borrow the smallest amount that solves the problem, repay on the day, and let the record you build earn you a better price next time — because licensed lenders report to the bureaus, and that reporting is the one genuinely valuable thing a licensed loan gives you beyond the cash. See how to check your credit score in Kenya.

If a licensed lender mistreats you

1. Complain to the lender first, in writing, and keep the reference.
2. Escalate conduct issues — hidden charges, harassment, wrongful CRB listing — to the CBK.
3. Escalate data misuse — contact-list scraping, messages to your contacts — to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, which has enforcement powers over how lenders handle personal data.
4. Keep screenshots, SMS and call logs. Regulators act on evidence.

Frequently asked questions

How many digital lenders are licensed in Kenya? 252 as of the July 2026 batch, per the CBK. Check the CBK's dated directory for the current figure.

Does licensed mean cheap? No. Licensed digital credit is regulated and disclosed — and still expensive. Always compare the total repayable.

An app claims a licence but isn't on the list? The register is the source of truth. Claims in app-store descriptions count for nothing; report false claims to the CBK.

Is Fuliza a digital credit provider? No — Fuliza is a bank overdraft product offered through M-Pesa under the partner banks' licences, so it does not appear on the DCP register.

What if a licensed lender mistreats me? Complain to the lender first, then escalate to the CBK; data-protection violations go to the ODPC. Keep records.