What account number does an employer use to pay SHA?

The E-Slip number generated at employers.sha.go.ke for that submission month. Not a National ID. An individual paying for themselves uses their National ID; an employer remitting a payroll batch uses the E-Slip. Both ride on M-PESA paybill 200222.

Which banks accept SHA employer remittances?

SHA publishes six: Equity (Community branch) 0170285746991, KCB (Capitol Hill) 1329035704, Co-operative Bank (Upper Hill) 01101176474001, Absa (Absa Towers) 2052202135, Sidian (Kilimani) 01036020040330, and Diamond Trust Bank (Capital Centre) 0298631001. All are held in the name of the Social Health Authority.

When is the SHA employer deadline?

The 9th day of each month, under the Social Health Insurance Regulations 2024. Miss it and a 2% monthly penalty accrues under section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023.

What if our RTGS leaves on the 9th but lands on the 10th?

SHA has said a proposal exists to treat the transaction date as the payment date, plus a one-day grace period for banking-system delays. Treat that as a proposal, not policy. Until SHA publishes it as a rule, send early enough to land before the 9th.

What happens to our staff if we do not remit?

The employer is flagged non-compliant and the employees are marked inactive, which means they cannot use SHA cover at a facility. The penalty falls on the employer; the loss of cover falls on the staff.

SHA E-Slip: how employers remit to the six SHA banks

One paybill, two account formats

This is the detail that trips up payroll teams, and it is easy to miss because both routes use the same six digits. SHA collects on M-PESA paybill 200222. What changes is what goes in the account field:

An individual paying for themselves (or for a dependant) enters a National ID number, digits only. See the SHA paybill reference.
An employer remitting a payroll batch enters the E-Slip number generated for that month's submission [Source 1].

The reason is straightforward once you see it: the employer payment is one lump sum covering many members. The E-Slip is what tells SHA which submission the money settles, so the system can split it across your staff list. A National ID on a batch payment identifies one person and cannot resolve the rest.

The employers.sha.go.ke flow, step by step

SHA publishes this sequence for employers who have already deducted 2.75% from gross pay [Source 1]:

If you have not registered yet, register at employers.sha.go.ke. If you have, log in at employers.sha.go.ke/login.
Upload the employee contribution by-product.
Select the month of submission.
Click Submission.
Click E-slip.
Choose the bank you want to pay to.
Print the instructions.
Send the funds to that bank with the E-Slip number as the reference.

Note the order: the submission comes first, the payment second. The E-Slip only exists once you have uploaded and submitted the month's contribution file, which is why a payroll team that pays before filing has nothing valid to quote as a reference.

The six SHA bank accounts

SHA names six banks for employer remittance. All accounts are held in the name of the Social Health Authority [Source 1].

Bank	Branch	Account number
Equity Bank	Community	`0170285746991`
KCB Bank	Capitol Hill	`1329035704`
Co-operative Bank	Upper Hill	`01101176474001`
Absa Bank	Absa Towers	`2052202135`
Sidian Bank	Kilimani	`01036020040330`
Diamond Trust Bank	Capital Centre	`0298631001`

The 9th, and what happens after it

Contributions are due by the 9th day of each month under the Social Health Insurance Regulations 2024 [Source 2]. After that, section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023 charges 2% per month on the unpaid amount for as long as it remains unpaid [Source 2]. The arithmetic is worked through in SHA arrears and the 2% penalty.

Two consequences land in different places, which is worth stating plainly to whoever signs off the payment run:

The penalty lands on the employer. Remittance is the employer's statutory obligation, not the employee's.
The loss of cover lands on the staff. An employer with unpaid penalties is flagged non-compliant and their employees are marked inactive [Source 2] — so the person who finds out is an employee at a hospital reception desk, not the payroll manager.

If your transfer leaves on time but lands late

SHA has acknowledged the problem: a proposal exists to recognise the transaction date as the payment date, and a one-day grace period is under consideration for payments delayed by banking systems, such as an RTGS hitting the account after the 9th [Source 2].

Read that carefully before relying on it. SHA describes both as proposed and under consideration, not as current policy. Until SHA publishes it as a rule, the safe assumption is that the date the money lands is the date that counts, and an RTGS released on the 9th is already too late.

Unpaid penalties block your next submission

There is a second-order effect that catches employers who plan to settle penalties later. Each monthly payment needs a Payment Reference Number, and SHA blocks the generation of a new one while a penalty sits unpaid [Source 2]. You cannot simply pay the current month and deal with the arrears at year end — the current month is gated behind the arrears. See the SHA PRN explained.

Sources

SHA employer remittance flow, E-Slip reference, and the six SHA bank accounts: sha.go.ke/faqs, FAQs on Contributions and FAQs on Employer Registration, accessed 12 September 2026.
Due date, penalty rate, compliance flagging and PRN blocking: sha.go.ke/faqs, FAQs on SHA Penalty Administration, accessed 12 September 2026, citing the Social Health Insurance Regulations 2024 and section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023.
Employer portal: employers.sha.go.ke.
SHA contact centre 147; toll free 0800 720 601.