The Central Bank of Kenya has approved the licences of additional 27 digital credit providers (DCPs) after 41 operators received the nod in June 2025.

The approval comes after more than 700 applicants sought authority to operationalise their services under Section 59 (2) of the CBK Act.

According to a press release, the focus of the engagements with DCPs has been, inter alia, on business models, consumer protection and fitness and propriety of proposed shareholders, directors and management which ensures adherence to the relevant laws and importantly that the interests of customers are safeguarded.

“We acknowledge the efforts of the applicants and the support of other regulators and agencies in this process,” part of the statement read.

Notably, DCPs predominantly carry out their lending activities digitally including through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes.

Additionally, loan products include education loans, development loans, short-term personal loans, asset financing and business loans, and as at June 2025, licenced DCPs had granted 5.5 million loans valued at Ksh76.8 billion ($593.5 million).

Meanwhile, the CBK has provided details of the 27 licensed DCPs in its website and also reported that other applicants are at different stages in the process, largely awaiting the submission of requisite documentation.

“We urge these applicants to submit the pending documentation expeditiously to enable completion of the review of their applications,” the statement stressed.

Similarly, CBK has also directed that reports by the public on unregulated DCPs be sent through deps@centralbank.go.ke.

The licensing and oversight of DCPs as indicated was precipitated by concerns raised by the public about the predatory practices of the unregulated DCPs, and in particular, their high cost, unethical debt collection practices and the abuse of personal information.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Michael Omondi