Best Virtual Dollar Cards in Kenya for SaaS

Key takeaways

• M-Pesa GlobalPay, Safaricom's virtual Visa card, is the best starting point for most Kenyans paying for software. You create it in the M-Pesa app or with *334#, and it charges straight from your M-Pesa wallet.
• When GlobalPay launched in 2022, Safaricom set a 3.5% forex fee. Kenyan banks were charging 4% to 7% above Visa's rate at the time.
• Eversend charges just 0.6% to top up in shillings from mobile money, and its $2.99 lifetime card has no monthly fee.
• Grey added shilling deposits by mobile money and bank transfer in July 2026, and charges a 1% conversion fee.
• Every foreign software subscription in Kenya also carries 16% VAT, whichever card you use.

If you're in Kenya and need to pay for ChatGPT, Canva, Notion or Google Workspace, start with M-Pesa GlobalPay. It's already in your M-Pesa app, there's nothing to sign up for, and it handles monthly renewals straight from your wallet. If you want a separate card with lower fees for dollar subscriptions, Eversend is the cheapest fintech option on published fees. If you earn in dollars, Grey or Raenest let you spend that money directly without converting to shillings first.

Kenya is in a better position than most of the continent here. Many Nigerians and Ghanaians depend on fintech cards because their bank cards get declined. Kenyans have a telco-issued Visa card in their pocket. The question is mostly about fees, not whether anything works.

The quick comparison

Card	Card cost	Monthly fee	Main spending fee	Fund from M-Pesa?	Best for
M-Pesa GlobalPay	Not published	None found	3.5% forex (set at 2022 launch)	It is M-Pesa	Most people
Eversend	$2.99 lifetime or $0.99/month	$0 on lifetime card	Free on US merchants; 3.5% + $0.50 otherwise	Yes, 0.6% top-up	Low-cost dollar subscriptions
Grey	$4 (Mastercard) or $5 (Visa)	$0	1% conversion	Mobile money deposits since July 2026	Freelancers earning USD
Raenest	$3	$0	$0.70 per payment, +2% on non-US merchants	Not confirmed	Creators paid in USD
Figo	$2	$0	$0.35 per payment	KES bank transfer	Crypto users
Kenyan bank debit card	Usually free	Varies	4%–7% above Visa's rate (2022)	No	If it already works for you

Fees are as published by each company, or as reported in the press for GlobalPay and bank cards, and checked in October 2026. Most fintechs also make money on the exchange rate and few publish it, so always compare the final shilling amount before you pay.

1. M-Pesa GlobalPay: best for most people

GlobalPay is a virtual Visa card that Safaricom launched with Visa in June 2022. It draws directly from your M-Pesa balance, so there's no separate wallet to top up and no app to install.

How to get it: open the M-Pesa app and find M-Pesa GlobalPay under the Grow tab, or dial *334# and go to Lipa Na M-Pesa → GlobalPay. The card number, expiry date and CVV appear straight away. You enter them at checkout like any other Visa card.

Fees: when GlobalPay launched, Business Daily reported that Safaricom would charge a 3.5% forex fee. At the time, The Exchange compared that with Kenyan banks charging 4% to 7% above Visa's exchange rate. We couldn't find a more recent official fee schedule, so check the shilling total the app shows before you confirm a payment. Recent guides confirm you see the total in shillings before approving.

Subscriptions: this is where GlobalPay has improved. According to Safaricom guidance reported by The Kenya Times in 2026, services like Netflix charge the card automatically each billing cycle, straight from your wallet, without asking for your PIN each time. If your balance is short on renewal day, the subscription pauses and restarts when you top up.

Stopping charges: GlobalPay has a Repeat Payments switch. In the app, go to Grow → M-Pesa GlobalPay → Repeat Payments. By USSD, go to *334# → Lipa Na M-Pesa → GlobalPay → Repeat Payments. Turn it off to block future automatic charges, and cancel the subscription with the company too. Doing only one of the two isn't enough.

What to watch: your software bill comes out of the same wallet you use for rent, airtime and everything else. A big renewal can surprise you, and a low balance can pause your tools mid-project. Some people keep a separate line or a second card just for subscriptions for that reason.

Who it suits: almost everyone, especially if you have one or two subscriptions and don't want another app.

2. Eversend: cheapest fintech card on published fees

Eversend is a Ugandan-founded fintech with a clear Kenya fee page, and its numbers are good for subscriptions.

Fees: a lifetime card for $2.99 with no monthly fee, or a monthly card at $0.99 to create plus $0.99 a month. Adding money to the card is free. Spending is free on US merchants charging in dollars. Payments to merchants that settle outside the US or in another currency cost 3.5% + $0.50. If a payment fails because the card balance is too low, you pay $0.40.

Funding: top up your Eversend wallet in shillings from mobile money for 0.6%, which is much cheaper than its 2.5% fee in Ghana. Adding KSh 3,000 costs KSh 18.

What to watch: check where your tools bill from. Many software companies bill from Ireland, the UK or Australia, and that triggers the 3.5% + $0.50 fee. Keep a small buffer on the card to avoid the decline fee.

Who it suits: people with a few subscriptions from US-based companies who want to keep software spending off their M-Pesa wallet.

3. Grey: best if you earn in dollars

Grey's personal accounts are available in Kenya, and in July 2026 Grey added shilling deposits by mobile money and bank transfer.

Fees: according to WorldFirst (a competitor) in June 2026, Grey's virtual cards cost $4 for Mastercard or $5 for Visa to create, with no maintenance fee, and Grey charges 1% for currency conversion. We couldn't confirm a per-payment card fee for Kenyan users.

Why it's here: if clients pay you in dollars into Grey, you can pay for your software from that balance directly. That skips the double conversion (dollars to shillings, then shillings back to dollars) where small percentages quietly add up.

Who it suits: freelancers and remote workers with USD income.

4. Raenest: good for creators paid in USD

Raenest (formerly Geegpay) has a 2026 guide aimed at Kenyan creators paying for tools like Canva, Adobe, ChatGPT and Notion. Its USD Visa card costs $3 to create, has no funding or maintenance fees, and charges $0.70 per successful payment. There's an extra 2% Visa cross-border fee on non-US sites or non-dollar charges.

What to watch: that $0.70 per payment is high for small subscriptions. On a $10 tool, it's 7%. Raenest's Kenya guide also doesn't explain how to fund the card from M-Pesa. It works best when your Raenest balance already holds dollars from clients.

Who it suits: creators and freelancers paid in dollars who want one account for earning and spending. More on our Raenest (Geegpay) profile.

5. Figo: an option for crypto holders

Figo lists Kenya among its supported countries and lets you fund its card by KES bank transfer or with USDC. Its own 2026 comparison lists a $2 card fee, no monthly fee, and $0.35 per USD purchase.

What to watch: these figures come from Figo's own marketing, and the same article still recommends Flutterwave's Barter card, which shut down in March 2024. Use Figo if you already hold stablecoins, but test it with a small payment first.

6. Your Kenyan bank debit card: fine if it works

Plenty of Kenyan Visa and Mastercard debit cards work on foreign websites. The issue is cost. In 2022, The Exchange found Kenyan banks charging between Sh 125 and Sh 128.10 per dollar on card payments when Visa's rate was Sh 118, which is 4% to 7% more. ABSA was the cheapest of the banks it checked, and KCB the most expensive.

Bank rates will have moved since then, so check your own statement. If your bank card already works and the markup is close to GlobalPay's, there's no need to switch.

Bonus: M-Pesa on Google Play

For tools you subscribe to through an Android app, you may not need a card at all. M-Pesa has been a payment option on Google Play in Kenya since 2018. It's worth trying for app-based subscriptions, including some Google plans, before you set up anything else. Our M-Pesa payments guide covers this in more detail.

Don't forget the 16% VAT

Whichever card you use, foreign software companies are supposed to charge Kenyan customers 16% VAT. A $20 tool usually ends up costing $23.20 before card fees. If your business is VAT-registered, you can usually claim it back. Our explainer on Kenya's digital taxes and SaaS has the details.

How we chose

We picked cards that Kenyans can actually use in 2026 for international online payments, and ranked them on published fees, ease of funding from M-Pesa, and how well they handle monthly renewals. We used official fee pages where they exist, labelled claims from card companies and competitors, and left out cards we couldn't confirm for Kenya. Chipper Cash's USD card is confirmed for Nigeria and Ghana, but we found no confirmation for Kenya.

Tips for fewer declines

• Test with a small payment before moving a big annual subscription onto a new card.
• Keep a buffer. A renewal that's a few cents short will fail, and some providers charge for that.
• Use the right billing address, whichever one your card provider tells you to use.
• Watch where your tools bill from. Non-US merchants trigger extra fees on several fintech cards.
• Keep a backup card from a different provider in case one gets blocked by a merchant.

Which card should you get?

Start with M-Pesa GlobalPay. For most Kenyans it's the simplest option, it handles renewals, and its fee looked competitive with the banks when it launched. If you'd rather keep subscriptions separate from your M-Pesa wallet, or most of your tools are US-based, add an Eversend lifetime card. If you're paid in dollars, use Grey or Raenest to spend those dollars directly.