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What the 2024 law changed for asset financing in Kenya

The Business Laws (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2024 brought asset financing, PAYGo, and BNPL under CBK supervision for the first time. What changed, what section 33S says, how the 252 licensed non-deposit taking credit providers got there, and what it means for you.

AO
by Reviewed by Michael Mwangi 11 min read Updated 26 August 2026Verified 26 Aug 2026

This is the cornerstone explainer for how Kenyan asset finance became a regulated category in late 2024. It matters because before December 2024, an asset financier operating in Kenya was outside the CBK licensing perimeter in a specific technical sense; after December 2024, they are inside it, and unlicensed operation is now criminal.

Before December 2024

Kenya introduced the Digital Credit Providers Regulations in 2022, which brought short-term unsecured mobile lenders (Tala, Zenka, and roughly 60 others in the first batch) under CBK supervision. Those regulations were narrowly scoped: they targeted the digital lending category that had grown explosively in the previous decade, and captured entities whose product was disbursed and repaid through digital channels.

Asset financiers were structurally different. Companies like Watu, Mogo, M-KOPA, Sun King, and d.light were selling a physical asset (a motorbike, a phone, a solar system, a TV) on credit terms. Their model looked, from the regulator's point of view at the time, more like retail with financing attached than like a pure lending product. Whether they were within the 2022 regulations or not was contested, and the practical result was that most of them operated as commercial credit providers under general company law rather than under a specific CBK non-deposit-taking credit licence.

That created a real gap. A single boda financier could underwrite tens of thousands of loans per year with GPS-tracked assets, weekly collection, and repossession as the enforcement tool, all without falling clearly inside any consumer-credit conduct regime.

The 2024 Act

The Business Laws (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2024, in force 27 December 2024 [Source 1], made three important changes to the CBK Act as it applies to credit providers:

  1. Renamed the category. "Digital credit business" became "non-deposit taking credit business".
  2. Expanded the scope. The new definition expressly covers asset financing, PAYGo, and BNPL, as well as the digital lending business that was already inside the 2022 regime.
  3. Set criminal penalties. Section 33S of the Act as amended sets penalties of up to 3 years imprisonment or KES 5 million (or both) for a person carrying on non-deposit taking credit business without a CBK licence [Source 1].

In plain terms: from 27 December 2024, any entity in Kenya providing credit to consumers on a non-deposit-taking basis (which is the entire category that includes the boda financiers, the phone financiers, the solar-loan providers, and the classic short-term digital lenders) must either be CBK-licensed or be committing a criminal offence.

The 2025 draft regulations

The primary legislation grants the Cabinet Secretary and CBK the power to make detailed subsidiary regulations. In August 2025, the draft Non-Deposit-Taking Credit Providers Regulations were published, setting out the more granular rules on capital, fitness and propriety of directors, disclosure, conduct, and reporting [Source 2]. The primary legislation is already in force; the detailed subsidiary regulations continue to be finalised through the standard consultative process.

Who is licensed as of April 2026

The CBK register of non-deposit taking credit providers, as published in April 2026, includes the following names relevant to this cluster [Source 3]:

As of the CBK July 2026 press release, there were 252 licensed non-deposit taking credit providers in total, from more than 800 applications received since March 2022 [Source 4]. Only about a quarter of applicants have been approved.

Notable absences from the April 2026 register

The following names, all of which operate in the PAYGo or asset-financing category in Kenya, do not appear in the CBK April 2026 register [Source 3]:

This is a factual public-record observation about a register on a specific date. It is not a legal conclusion about any of these companies. Each may have an application pending, may take the view its product is out of scope, or may be transitioning its operations. The purpose of the observation is to give prospective customers the information they need to ask the right questions before signing.

What changes for borrowers

Three practical differences apply now that the 2024 Act is in force:

  1. A written CBK licence number is a reasonable ask. Any credit provider offering you a Kenyan credit product in 2026 should be able to produce their licence number in writing on request. If they cannot, that is not by itself proof of anything, but it is a piece of information you are entitled to seek.
  2. The CBK Code of Conduct applies to more categories. The prohibitions on debt-shaming, third-party contact, threats, and misrepresentation now cover asset financing and PAYGo as well as short-term unsecured. See your rights under the CBK Code of Conduct.
  3. The complaint route is defined. Escalation to CBK Consumer Protection at 0800 720 000 is now a real route for a wider set of grievances, provided the lender is licensed.

For the practical playbook if you are dealing with a lender that turns out to be unlicensed, see what to do if an unlicensed lender takes your money in Kenya.

What does not change

A CBK licence does not cap interest rates. Watu's 8.6 percent per month reducing balance is legal despite compounding to roughly 169 percent effective APR. Licensing is about consumer protection process, not price. See why CBK licensing matters if you are borrowing in Kenya for the honest scoping.

Sources appendix

  1. Business Laws (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2024, Republic of Kenya. In force 27 December 2024. Reframes "digital credit business" as "non-deposit taking credit business". Section 33S sets penalties for unlicensed operation of up to 3 years imprisonment or KES 5 million.
  2. Draft Non-Deposit-Taking Credit Providers Regulations, Republic of Kenya, published August 2025. Subsidiary regulations under the 2024 Act.
  3. Central Bank of Kenya. Register of non-deposit-taking credit providers, April 2026 publication. Basis for named licensees and licence dates in this article and for the observed absence of Sun King, d.light, and Onfon Mobile from the register as of the publication date.
  4. Central Bank of Kenya press release, July 2026, citing 252 licensed non-deposit taking credit providers from more than 800 applications received since March 2022.

FAQ

What is the Business Laws (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2024?

A Kenyan statute passed in 2024 that, among other things, replaced "digital credit business" with "non-deposit taking credit business" in the CBK Act and expressly brought asset financing, PAYGo, and BNPL under CBK supervision. In force 27 December 2024.

What are the penalties for unlicensed operation?

Section 33S sets penalties of up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine of up to KES 5 million, or both, for a person carrying on non-deposit taking credit business without a CBK licence.

How many providers have been licensed under the new regime?

252 non-deposit taking credit providers as of the CBK July 2026 press release, out of more than 800 applications received since March 2022 under the original 2022 regulations and their 2024 expansion.

Are the regulations final?

Draft Non-Deposit-Taking Credit Providers Regulations were published in August 2025 under the powers granted by the 2024 Act. The primary legislation is in force; the detailed subsidiary regulations continue to be finalised.

Related CBK-licensing guides

Further reading

Curated external sources we cite. Open in a new tab.