Central Bank of Kenya Grants Payment Service Provider License to pawaPay Subsidiary

In the rapidly evolving landscape of African financial technology, June 17, 2026, marked a significant milestone, although official confirmation only reached the public in September. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has formally authorized Quidexplus Kenya Limited, a member of the pawaPay group, to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). This decision is no coincidence but the result of a long-term strategy aimed at bridging the gap between global merchants and the specific requirements of African markets.

Kenya is considered a pioneer for mobile money. What started as a simple method for sending cash has developed into the backbone of the national financial infrastructure. Through this new licensing, pawaPay is now officially authorized to offer payment gateway services. This includes the receipt, processing, and final settlement of payments on behalf of merchants. A notable detail is the discrepancy in communication: while pawaPay made the breakthrough public on September 16, 2026, the official directory of the Central Bank records the license grant as early as June of this year.

Numbers and facts

The scale of the market in which pawaPay operates is massive. According to the GSMA's 2026 State of the Industry Report, more than $2 trillion flowed through mobile money accounts globally in 2025. The industry reached 2.3 billion registered accounts and 593 million monthly active users. A large portion of this growth occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. pawaPay itself is a major player, managing connections across 21 African countries, including giants like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Uganda. In Kenya, the system already integrates established providers such as M-PESA for web or USSD deposits as well as payouts.

"Kenya is one of the world's most established mobile money markets, so receiving this authorisation is an important milestone for PawaPay. It strengthens our regulated presence in Kenya and our ability to support businesses accepting mobile money payments in the market." - David Kanyora, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa at pawaPay

Background

A crucial point in this development is the distinction between payment services and gambling law. The CBK license for Quidexplus allows for the processing of payment flows but does not serve as a substitute for a gambling license. Sports betting or online casino operators must still obtain separate approvals from Kenyan gambling authorities. pawaPay maintains a strict policy here: unlicensed gambling, illegal lotteries, and unauthorized betting are excluded from using the infrastructure. Only those operating legally are permitted to access the interfaces that bundle both M-PESA and Airtel payments.

pawaPay's business model relies on local entities. Instead of a single African license, the company uses market-specific structures like Quidexplus in Kenya. For the merchant, the process remains simple: they access a network through a single technical integration (API) that resolves the complex regulatory and currency hurdles of individual countries in the background. This is particularly important for international providers looking to expand into Africa without having to establish their own banking relationships in every country.

Why it matters for German players

For German players, this news initially has no direct impact on their daily lives in domestic online casinos. Anyone playing in Germany with a provider licensed by the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) is bound by stricter rules than players in Kenya. In Germany, a deposit limit of 1,000 euros per month across all providers applies, as well as a stake limit of one euro per spin for virtual slot machines. These rules are monitored through the LUGAS system. However, pawaPay's expansion shows how important the state regulation of payment flows is becoming worldwide to ensure player protection and prevent money laundering.

German customers cannot use pawaPay to deposit at local platforms. Instead, German GGL-licensed casinos offer methods like PayPal, credit cards, or Klarna, which are directly linked to the German banking system and LUGAS databases. Nevertheless, the industry observes such developments closely, as the professionalization of payment paths in emerging markets is often a precursor to stronger regulation of the entire gambling market. Stable payment processing is the fundamental requirement for a fair market, whether in Nairobi or Magdeburg.

What it means for GGL-licensed casinos

For operators with a German GGL license, the news from Kenya illustrates that the global trend is toward seamless monitoring of financial transactions. In Germany, the GGL whitelist is the decisive document. Only those listed there may utilize payment services. The cooperation between pawaPay and regulated African providers mirrors the German model, where financial service providers share responsibility for the legality of the offering. Anyone supporting illegal casinos as a payment service provider risks their own license, a logic that is now also being solidified in Kenya through pawaPay's explicit prohibitions for unlicensed providers.