How to Receive USD Payments as a Freelancer in Kenya

Key takeaways

• For most Kenyan freelancers, a USD receiving account from Raenest or Grey is the cheapest way to get paid by foreign clients and Upwork. Convert to shillings, then withdraw to your bank or M-Pesa.
• PayPal now withdraws straight to M-Pesa inside the M-Pesa app, which is convenient. But PayPal's receiving and conversion costs can take 7% or more of each payment.
• Payoneer costs 1% to receive plus 1.2% to 4% to withdraw. Keep it for marketplaces that pay only through it.
• Wise doesn't list Kenya as a country where residents can hold balances, so it isn't an option for receiving.
• Upwork's direct USD wire to a Kenyan bank costs $50, so it only makes sense for large withdrawals.

The cheapest way for most freelancers in Kenya to receive US dollars is a USD receiving account from a fintech like Raenest or Grey. Your client or Upwork pays it like a normal US bank account, and you convert to shillings when you're ready. PayPal to M-Pesa is the most convenient route, but it's also the most expensive, so use it only for clients who insist on PayPal.

What are your options in Kenya?

Option	Works in Kenya?	Best for
Raenest	Yes	Direct US clients and Upwork
Grey	Yes	Clients paying in USD, GBP or EUR; withdrawals to M-Pesa
Payoneer	Yes	Fiverr and marketplaces that pay to Payoneer
PayPal to M-Pesa	Yes	Clients who only pay by PayPal
Bank USD account (Equity, KCB, NCBA)	Yes	Holding dollars; large wires
Wise	Not for receiving	Clients can still use it to send shillings to your M-Pesa or bank

How much do you lose on a $1,000 payment?

Say a Nairobi developer invoices a US client $1,000. Here's roughly what each route costs, using published fees where we could find them:

Route	Approx. fees	What you keep	In shillings (approx.)
Raenest	$1–2 deposit + up to $8 conversion	~$990	~KES 128,600
Payoneer	$10 receiving + $12–40 withdrawal	~$950–978	~KES 123,400–127,000
PayPal to M-Pesa	~4.4–5.4% + $0.30 receiving, ~3% conversion	~$915–930	~KES 118,900–120,800
Upwork wire to a Kenyan bank	$50 + bank charges	~$950 or less	~KES 123,000 or less

Shilling amounts use Wise's mid-market rate of about KES 129.9 to the dollar on 22 October 2026. Each provider's own rate will be a little worse. PayPal's fees come from Paybill KE's August 2026 guide, which marks some of its figures as unverified, so treat that row as an estimate.

The gap between a receiving account and PayPal is roughly $60 to $75, or KES 8,000 to 10,000, on one $1,000 invoice. Over a year of monthly invoices, that's close to a new laptop.

Option 1: Raenest (cheapest for most freelancers)

Raenest, formerly Geegpay, gives you USD, GBP and EUR account details your clients can pay into. You convert to shillings in the app and withdraw to your Kenyan bank.

Fees we found:

• Deposits: Raenest's July 2026 guides for Kenya quote a flat $1 to $2 per ACH deposit, whatever the amount. The two guides give different figures, so check the app.
• Conversion to shillings: our earlier research found 0.7%, capped at $8 in Kenya. Raenest's newer Kenya guides only say "competitive rates", so confirm the cap in the app.

For Upwork users, add your Raenest USD details in Upwork as a US bank account (ACH). Raenest says Upwork doesn't charge for this route, and its FastTrack option delivers up to $1,500 on weekdays and $500 at weekends in under an hour. That's Raenest's own claim, so treat it as the best case.

Downside: we couldn't confirm direct withdrawal to M-Pesa. If it isn't available, withdraw to your bank and move the money to M-Pesa from there.

Option 2: Grey (with M-Pesa withdrawals)

Grey launched in Kenya in 2022 through a partnership with Cellulant. It offers USD, GBP and EUR accounts, and lets you withdraw to M-Pesa or a Kenyan bank account. That M-Pesa option is the reason many Kenyan freelancers like it.

We couldn't find Grey's current Kenyan fees on its public pages. TechCentral's South African comparison reported 0.8% to deposit, capped at $10, and 1% to convert, capped at $6 there. Kenyan pricing may differ, so check the app before you put Grey's details on an invoice.

Option 3: Payoneer (the marketplace backup)

Payoneer works in Kenya, and some marketplaces pay out to it. It costs more than a receiving account.

Fees from Payoneer's fee page:

• 1% to receive into a USD account if you're not in the US (minimum $1)
• 1.2% to 4% to withdraw to your local bank with conversion
• $29.95 annual fee if you receive less than $6,000 in 12 months

Use it if a platform you rely on pays to Payoneer. For direct clients, Raenest or Grey will usually leave you with more shillings.

Option 4: PayPal to M-Pesa (convenient but expensive)

PayPal works in Kenya for receiving, and Safaricom made withdrawals much easier in July 2025 by adding PayPal as a mini app inside the M-Pesa app. The old PayPal–M-Pesa web service shut down on 16 August 2025.

How to withdraw, according to The Kenya Times:

1. Update and open the M-Pesa app.
2. Find PayPal under Finance or Global Payments.
3. Log in to PayPal and link your accounts the first time.
4. Enter the amount, check the fees and exchange rate shown, and confirm.

Money usually arrives within minutes to a few hours.

Limits: M-Pesa's usual caps apply to your wallet: KES 250,000 per transaction and KES 500,000 a day, according to TechCabal. That's roughly $1,900 at a time. For larger amounts, Equity Bank's PayPal service handles up to $10,000 per transaction into an Equity account.

The catch is cost. Paybill KE estimates PayPal's commercial receiving fee at 4.4% to 5.4% plus $0.30, before a conversion margin of around 3%. That's 7% or more of every payment. If a client is happy to pay by bank transfer instead, send them your Raenest or Grey details.

Option 5: A USD account at your Kenyan bank

Equity, KCB and NCBA, among others, offer USD accounts. Clients wire dollars straight in, and you keep them in dollars until you need shillings.

This makes sense for large payments and for saving in dollars. It's also the natural home for Upwork's direct USD wire, which costs $50 per withdrawal according to Raenest. On $5,000 that's 1%, which is reasonable; on $500 it's 10%, which isn't.

Downsides: international wires pick up intermediary fees. Paybill KE reports Kenyan banks charging KES 2,500 to 4,500 to receive a Swift payment, plus a conversion spread when you change to shillings. Some USD accounts also need a minimum balance.

Can Kenyan freelancers use Wise?

Not for receiving. Wise's help centre lists the countries where residents can hold money with Wise, and South Africa is the only African country on it. Some Kenyan blogs still recommend Wise for receiving, but without a balance you can't get USD account details.

What does work: a client abroad can use Wise to send shillings directly to your M-Pesa or Kenyan bank account. They pay the fee, and you receive shillings. For a client who already uses Wise, that's a perfectly good option.

Which should you choose?

• Direct US clients, or Upwork: Raenest as your main account.
• You want withdrawals straight to M-Pesa: Grey, after checking its Kenyan fees in the app.
• Fiverr or other platforms that pay to Payoneer: Payoneer, alongside a cheaper main account.
• A client who only uses PayPal: accept it, withdraw through the M-Pesa app, and think about pricing PayPal's fees into your quote.
• Large single payments, or saving in dollars: a USD account at your bank.

Do you pay tax on foreign freelance income?

Yes. Kenyan residents must declare all income, including money from foreign clients received through Raenest, Payoneer, PayPal or a bank. You'll need a KRA PIN, which you can register for on iTax, and returns are due by 30 June for the previous year's income.

Kenya's tax bands change with each Finance Act, so check current rates on KRA's site or with an accountant rather than relying on a blog post. Export your transaction history from each app at the end of the year. It makes filing much easier.

Once the dollars are coming in, our guide to virtual dollar cards in Kenya covers spending them on software, and our four-way comparison of Raenest, Payoneer, Wise and Chipper goes deeper on fees.