Fees

• All money transfer services charge a fee for the transaction. Usually, the sender of money is charged and pays for the fee when sending. The fee is a percentage of the amount sent, up to a limit determined by each service. Because there is a fee of at least a few dollars on any transfer, even for a small amount of money, you will get the best deal if you transfer a larger sum at one time than several smaller sums in multiple transfers.
  
  

Western Union Money Transfer

• The classic way, and until recently the only way, to send money to Kenya was via a Western Union money transfer. To complete such a transfer, go to an American Western Union office, use a phone service or use the website. Western Union offices are typically located in check cashing businesses, supermarkets and convenience stores. Pay for your money transfer in cash or with a debit card. To send money by phone or online, you need a credit or debit card.
  
  Western Union will send the money transfer to a Western Union agent in Kenya. The recipient then needs to go to the Western Union agent with the transfer confirmation number. Most Kenyan Western Union agents are located at banks and post offices, but you can check the Western Union website for all agents in an area.
  
  

Internet and Mobile Phone Transfers

• Many services use the Internet and mobile phone networks to help with the transfer of funds. The different services have different transfer methods, fees and reliability, so check out each service individually before you use it.
  
  Some Internet-based money transfer services allow you to transfer money directly to a bank account in Kenya. These services include ATMCash and iKobo. With these services, the sender in the U.S. provides money via credit card over the phone or on the Internet. The money is routed directly to a pre-existing Kenyan account. These services benefit from bank protection, but they do require the Kenyan recipient to have an account in a bank with Internet transfer services and automatic teller machines.
  
  Other Internet-based services function much like Western Union, routing the transferred funds to an agent based in a Kenyan bank or post office. MoneyGram is an example of such a service.
  
  One innovation in money transfer to Kenya is transfer information sent directly to a mobile phone. The biggest Kenyan service for such transfers is Safaricom, a company that uses the phone SIM card as identification for the money. The recipient brings the phone to an agent for the cash. The agent network for Safaricom is much more widespread than other services' agents, with gas stations, stores and distributors among the registered agents. Kenwan Global offers this service from the U.S., while the larger transfer service, MPesa, currently works only out of the United Kingdom.