Kenyan Fintech Tende Pay Gets CBK Approval to Operate E-Wallet

Tende Pay Limited has received approval from the Central Bank of Kenya to operate an e-wallet, allowing the fintech to hold and move digital funds as part of its payments services. The approval builds on the Payment Service Provider licence Tende Pay received in January 2025 under Kenya’s National Payment System framework.

The new authorization gives Tende Pay the ability to offer stored-value services alongside the payment and spend management tools it already provides to businesses.

From Petty Cash to Payments

Tende Pay was founded in 2020, initially focusing on petty cash management for businesses before expanding into spend management and payments. Its platform now supports petty cash management, bulk payments, payroll processing, supplier payments, collections and reconciliations. Businesses can make one-off and recurring transactions through M-Pesa, bank transfers and Paybill integrations.

The platform also gives businesses controls over user wallets, approval levels and transaction limits.

The e-wallet approval allows Tende Pay to support businesses that need to hold funds digitally before making payments or transferring money to other users. Depending on the products covered by the approval, this could include wallet transfers, merchant payments, collections, payouts and refunds.

More Payment Flows

The e-wallet could be useful for businesses that handle money between several parties. Marketplaces, for example, may collect payments from customers and later distribute funds to sellers. Mobility platforms may need to manage driver earnings, while loyalty programmes can use digital balances for rewards.

An e-wallet can provide the infrastructure for these transactions to be managed within one system. The specific services Tende Pay offers will depend on its approved activities and the requirements set by the regulator.

Expanding Its Payments Services

The approval follows other moves by Tende Pay to expand its payments offering. In September 2025, the company partnered with Pesalink to allow businesses to make single and bulk payments of up to KSh 999,999 instantly across Kenyan banks.

The integration also supports automatic reconciliation of incoming bank payments, helping businesses match payments with the transactions recorded on their systems.

The partnership came as Tende Pay expanded from its original focus on expense management into business payments and spend management.

Regulation and the Next Stage

The Central Bank approval gives Tende Pay permission to offer e-wallet services within Kenya’s regulated payments system. The company said the approval followed work across compliance, technology and product development. It also highlighted governance and consumer protection as part of the process.

For Tende Pay, the new authorization adds e-wallet services to a platform that already covers business expenses, payments and reconciliation.

How widely the wallet is used will depend on the products the company develops and the businesses it brings onto the platform. For now, the approval gives Tende Pay the regulatory basis to offer businesses a way to store and move digital funds alongside its existing payment services.