XLM → M-Pesa · Kenya
Sell Stellar and get paid by M-Pesa in Kenya
This corridor converts your XLM into Kenyan Shilling and pushes the amount onto M-Pesa in Kenya. Unlike a multi-country rail, everything below — identifier format, limits, hours, reporting framework — belongs to this country and holds nowhere else.
- Median total 3 min
- Currency KES
- Cap KES 150,000
- 0.50%
Corridor available, not proposed for indexing
Corridor en beta : accessible, mais pas propose a l’indexation.
The page stays reachable, linked from the rest of the site and fully functional. It is simply not submitted for indexing until this country’s editorial depth or the corridor’s maturity justifies it.
This local corridor in numbers
These values come from the catalogue published on this site. Delays are market orders of magnitude, given as median and p95, never contractual commitments.
- Median total time
- 3 minFastest confirmation: 1 min on Stellar, then rail settlement.
- Rail settlement (p50 / p95)
- 2 min / 45 minThe median describes the common case, the p95 the slow one. We show both: a median alone hides exactly what worries you.
- Operating hours
- Continuous, weekends and holidays includedNo cut-off: the rail processes orders continuously. A Sunday evening deposit settles like a Tuesday morning one.
- Settlement currency
- KES — Kenyan ShillingThis is the local currency in Kenya: no extra conversion is done by your bank on arrival.
- Min – max per operation
- KES 100.00 – KES 150,000On the deposit side the asset minimum adds up: 100 XLM. The stricter of the two decides.
- Beneficiary identifier
- Numero M-Pesa · Account holder nameThe exact format is validated as you type. It is where payouts fail most often, and also what differs most from one country to another.
What is specific to Kenya
Three things change from country to country on a local rail: how the beneficiary is designated, the name matching rules, and the reporting framework.
The local landscape
Kenya receives shillings on M-Pesa, from a mobile number. The beneficiary gets an SMS and can withdraw cash at an agent, with no bank account.
Details and name matching
The number must be in international format and registered in your name with the operator. The wallet has its own balance and transaction caps, set by the operator and the regulator, which come on top of ours.
Reporting framework
Digital asset operations are reportable to the Kenya Revenue Authority, which has set up a specific framework for this sector. We give no tax advice: your account exports every operation for your accountant.
Required details and validation rules
Every field is validated as you type, not at send time: an error is flagged immediately rather than as a rejection days later.
| Field | Required | Validation rule | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Numero M-Pesa | Yes | international format number, country code included · normalised to E.164 international format | International format. The account must be in your name. |
| Account holder name | Yes | 2 to 140 characters · edges trimmed | Must match the name verified on your ID exactly. A mismatch gets the transfer rejected. |
The trip, step by step
Each step has its own duration, and none is rounded in our favour.
Quote and lock
The net shows with the full breakdown, before any sign-up. The rate is frozen when the order is created.
Beneficiary details
You enter the M-Pesa details required in Kenya. Every format is checked immediately.
Deposit and confirmation
A dedicated address for your XLM, then about 1 min of confirmation on the fastest network.
Payout
The order goes out on M-Pesa as soon as the threshold is reached: under 5 minutes of settlement, then a downloadable receipt.
How M-Pesa actually works
The payout is pushed to the mobile account through the operator. The credit is near immediate, but depends on the operator platform being available: that is the only real external dependency of this rail.
The mobile wallet has its own balance and transaction caps, set by the operator and the regulator, independently of ours. A payout that would push you past your balance cap is rejected by the operator, not by us.
The memo is mandatory and must be of the type we indicate. A deposit without a memo is not attributed automatically and triggers a manual procedure.
Other payout methods available in Kenya
If this rail’s delay or cap does not suit you, here is what sits next to it, with the same level of detail on each page.
| Payout method | Currency | Typical time | Rail fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virement international SWIFT | USD | 2 business day(s) | $25.00 | Open |
Neighbouring corridors
Same rail with another asset, or same asset with another rail: that is usually where a better trade-off sits.
FAQ: Stellar to M-Pesa in Kenya
How long between sending my XLM and the money landing in Kenya?
About 3 min in total in the median case: the confirmation time of the network you pick, then under 5 minutes of settlement on M-Pesa. This rail also runs on weekends and holidays.
What is the minimum to sell Stellar to M-Pesa?
Two minimums apply at once: 100 XLM on the deposit side, and KES 100.00 on the settlement side. The stricter of the two decides. The rail cap is KES 150,000 per operation.
What exactly do I pay on this corridor?
Three lines, shown separately before you confirm: the XLM network cost, taken in kind from your deposit; our spread, surcharged for asset volatility and the corridor’s beta status; and the rail fee, that is 0.50%. There is no fourth line, and the three sum to exactly the gap between the mid-market value and the net.
Is the Memo mandatory?
Yes, on Stellar. Without it your deposit lands on a pooled account with no automatic way to attribute it: recovery becomes manual and does not always succeed. The field is displayed next to the address at deposit time.
Which M-Pesa details do I provide in Kenya?
The number must be in international format and registered in your name with the operator. The wallet has its own balance and transaction caps, set by the operator and the regulator, which come on top of ours.
What about tax in Kenya?
Digital asset operations are reportable to the Kenya Revenue Authority, which has set up a specific framework for this sector. We give no tax advice: your account exports every operation for your accountant.
What if I send an amount different from the quote?
Nothing is lost. An underpayment triggers a recalculation at the locked rate, and you receive the amount matching what you actually sent. An overpayment is handled the same way on the excess. In both cases, if the result falls below the rail minimum of KES 100.00, we offer another payout method rather than freezing the funds.