CBK licensed 29 more digital lenders on 30 September, taking the register to 281. Licensed DCPs have now issued 9.6 million loans worth Ksh.165.1 billion.
The Central Bank of Kenya announced 29 additional Digital Credit Provider licences on 30 September 2026, taking the total to 281. The same release put licensed DCP lending at 9,596,509 loans worth Ksh.165.1 billion as at August 2026.
What changed
- CBK licensed 29 more Digital Credit Providers under Section 59(2) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, taking the register from 252 to 281. This follows the 25 licensed in July 2026 (Source: CBK press release, 30 September 2026).
- Licensed DCPs had granted 9,596,509 loans valued at Ksh.165.1 billion as at August 2026 (Source: same release).
- Arithmetic paybillke has done on CBK's own two figures: that is an average loan of about Ksh.17,200. CBK does not publish this average. For comparison, its Bank Supervision Annual Report 2025 put the average digital loan at Ksh.16,341, so the typical loan has grown by roughly five percent.
- CBK says it has received more than 900 applications since March 2022. With 281 licensed, fewer than one applicant in three has been approved so far. CBK does not break out how many were refused as against still pending; it says other applicants are at different stages, largely awaiting documentation.
- The 29 newest licensees are not in CBK's published directory. The most recent Directory of Digital Credit Providers is dated 9 July 2026 and details 252 firms; CBK published the 29 behind a separate link instead. paybillke lists all 252 with full contact details and does not guess at the rest.
Why it matters
The register is the only free way to check whether a lender on your phone is answerable to anyone. That matters most at the moment it is least convenient: when you are short, the app has already approved you, and the terms are on a screen you are scrolling past. CBK set this regime up because of what unlicensed lenders were doing with interest rates, debt collection and contact lists, and being on the register is not a recommendation of any lender, only evidence that one regulator can be complained to. Two numbers are worth holding together. The register grew from 85 to 281 in under two years, and licensed lending is now 9.6 million loans. Fast growth in supervised credit is better than fast growth in unsupervised credit, and it is still fast growth in credit.
What to do
- Check any lender against the register before you borrow. paybillke holds all 252 firms in the current CBK directory, each with the contact details CBK publishes.
- If a lender is not on the register, that does not make it illegal, but it does mean CBK is not supervising it. Report unregulated digital lenders to CBK at dcps@centralbank.go.ke.
- Being licensed says nothing about price. Work out what a loan actually costs before taking it, not after.
Published 30 September 2026 on paybillke. Last verified 30 September 2026. We refresh news entries quarterly and within 48 hours of any directly relevant ecosystem change. Editorial process.