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Verified June 2026Public university~70K students

KU fees 2026: paybill, M-PESA, HELB, portal

Kenyatta University serves ~70,000 students across 6 campuses. Fees route through eCitizen 222222 with the legacy paybill 247247 still active for older invoices. The 247247 paybill is also used by Equity Bank for some bill payments, so always check the M-PESA recipient name shows KENYATTA UNIVERSITY.

Quick action

eCitizen Single Payment paybill

Paybill

222 222

Open the portal

KU Student PortalFull paybill directory entry

How to pay KU fees via M-PESA

  1. 1

    Log in to KU Student Portal and generate a payment reference

    Open https://studentportal.ku.ac.ke, log in with your student credentials, navigate to the fee-payment or e-payment page, enter the amount you want to pay. The portal generates a unique reference code. Copy it; that becomes your M-PESA account number.

  2. 2

    Open Lipa na M-PESA, Pay Bill

    M-PESA app or *334# or *144#, choose Lipa na M-PESA, then Pay Bill.

  3. 3

    Enter paybill: 222222

    222222 is the eCitizen Single Payment paybill, used by most government services. The M-PESA recipient name shown will be eCitizen-related; the routing to your university happens via the reference.

  4. 4

    Enter account number, amount, PIN, Confirm

    Account number: eCitizen-generated payment reference from the KU student portal. For legacy paybill 247247: your KU registration number (e.g. E55/12345/2024).

    Read the recipient name and amount before tapping send. A typo in the reference lands your payment in a holding account that takes manual finance-office intervention to clear.

  5. 5

    Save the M-PESA SMS

    The 10-character transaction code is your receipt and your fallback if the portal does not update. Keep it for 90 days minimum.

Legacy paybill: 247247

KU retains the legacy paybill 247247 alongside eCitizen 222222. Use the legacy paybill if your invoice still references it, or if you prefer the older flow with your registration number as the account. Otherwise use 222222 with the portal reference.

Account format for the legacy paybill: your KU registration number exactly as it appears on your admission letter. Do not include spaces, hyphens, or stray characters.

HELB and KU

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) pays the awarded tuition portion directly to KU, on a disbursement schedule tied to the academic semester. You pay the difference between your fee invoice and the HELB award out of pocket. HELB does not cover accommodation, books, or personal expenses for most undergraduate awards.

Check your HELB award status at the start of each semester at helb.co.ke before paying out of pocket. The KU Student Portal portal shows your invoice net of HELB once the disbursement lands; if your portal still shows the full invoice in week 2 of the semester, the HELB disbursement has not arrived yet.

Accommodation

KU on-campus accommodation is allocated via the housing office. Hostel fees route through the same 222222 paybill with a separate hostel reference generated at allocation.

When things break

  • Payment not reflecting after 2 hours. Most common cause: wrong reference. Compare the M-PESA SMS account field against the portal-generated code. If they match, take the M-PESA transaction code to the finance office.
  • M-PESA SMS shows the wrong recipient name. You paid a scam paybill. Reverse via *456# (or forward the M-PESA SMS to 456) within 7 days. The M-PESA SMS recipient name for legitimate KU payments will reference eCitizen.
  • Lost the transaction code. Dial *334# > My Account > M-PESA Statement, or check the M-PESA app under Transactions. Statements cover 12 months by default; older payments need a Safaricom request.
  • Portal says I owe more than I paid. Possible HELB disbursement not yet posted. Check HELB award status at helb.co.ke; if confirmed but not reflecting on the portal, raise with finance.

FAQ

What is the KU paybill in 2026?

KU routes fees through the eCitizen Single Payment paybill 222222. The account number is a payment reference generated by the KU Student Portal portal. The legacy KU paybill 247247 also still accepts payments using your registration number as the account.

How do I pay KU fees via M-PESA?

Step 1: log in to KU Student Portal and generate a payment reference for the amount you want to pay. Step 2: Lipa na M-PESA, Pay Bill, paybill 222222, account = the reference, amount, PIN, Confirm. Reflects on the portal within 5 to 30 minutes typically.

My KU fees payment has not reflected on the portal. What do I do?

Most reflections happen within 30 minutes. If it has been longer than 2 hours: (1) check the M-PESA SMS that the recipient name and amount are correct; (2) compare the account/reference you typed against the one shown in your portal, even a single wrong digit lands the payment in a holding account; (3) take the M-PESA transaction code plus your portal reference to the KU finance office; they can manually post a held payment. Keep the transaction code for 90 days minimum.

Does HELB pay KU fees directly?

Yes for the awarded tuition portion. HELB disburses directly to KU on a schedule tied to the academic semester (typically within the first 4 to 6 weeks of the semester). You pay the difference between your fee invoice and the HELB award out of pocket. Check your HELB award status before each semester at helb.co.ke so you know the amount to pay yourself.

Does KU charge an application fee?

Yes. The application fee for KU is announced on the admissions page each intake. It typically routes through the same fees paybill with an application-specific reference generated at application.

Can I pay KU fees from M-PESA Global if I am in the diaspora?

Yes. Paybill 222222 accepts M-PESA Global payments from supported countries (UK, USA, UAE, South Africa, etc.). FX at the Safaricom M-PESA Global rate. Many diaspora households also send to a Kenyan family member who pays locally; depending on the corridor, that can be cheaper.

What happens if I pay the wrong amount to KU?

Overpayments credit your fee account and roll forward to the next semester. Underpayments leave a balance that must be cleared before exam registration. If you typed the wrong account/reference and the payment landed in a holding account, contact the KU finance office with the M-PESA transaction code; they reconcile manually.

Last verified: June 2026. Paybill 222222 confirmed against Kenyatta University official sources and the Safaricom M-PESA app. We refresh quarterly and within 48 hours of any paybill or portal change. How we verify. Report a change.