The short answer
Yes, you can move a PayPal balance to M-PESA in Kenya, but only in US dollars. Safaricom says "customers can top up and withdraw funds in US-Dollars (USD) only". It also says: "This service is only offered to users in Kenya with registered M-PESA accounts, Google (PayPal) accounts, and Android devices."
So the catch is the device, the currency and the fee at each step. On a client's 1,000 USD commercial payment from abroad, PayPal Kenya's published fee leaves you 955.70 USD before you've moved anything. This is general information, reviewed on 2 November 2026. Check both companies' own pages, as fees and terms change.
How the money moves
Safaricom says the service is provided by Thunes in partnership with Safaricom and PayPal. It's for people who hold both accounts, and it moves money between your own PayPal and your own M-PESA.
- Your client pays your PayPal account.
- If your balance is in another currency such as euros or pounds, convert it first. Safaricom says to go to the "Manage Currencies" section in your PayPal account.
- Withdraw the US dollars to M-PESA through the service.
- Your M-PESA account works in Kenya shillings only, so the money arrives in shillings.
Note the second step. Converting inside PayPal is where a second cost can come in, because of the rate PayPal gives you. And the fourth step means the rate matters again, so look at what you get before you confirm.
The PayPal fee, with a sum
PayPal Kenya's page, last updated on 28 October 2026, gives this for receiving an international commercial payment: "All other markets All markets 4.40% + fixed fee". The fixed fee on a USD payment is 0.30 USD.
On 1,000 USD that's 44 USD plus 0.30 USD, so 955.70 USD reaches your balance. The cost is 44.30 USD.
Your rate may differ if your account is on another plan, or if the payment comes from a certain market, so read the table for your case. To see what it does to a whole month, compare it with other routes in our payment fee comparison.
What about a bank instead?
PayPal's Kenyan page also covers withdrawing to a bank. There's "No Fee (when no currency conversion is involved) where KES withdrawal amount is greater than 20,000.00 KES". Below that, the fee is 105.00 KES. So small withdrawals to a bank cost more, in relation to their size, than big ones.
PayPal also says: "Withdrawal to a bank account or a card may not be possible in all markets/regions." Check what your account offers.
The charge and limit we can't give you
People search for the PayPal to M-PESA charges and the limits. We can't print them. Safaricom's page gives no charge or limit, and we won't copy a figure from a forum. To see yours, start the withdrawal in the app and stop before you confirm. It's also worth asking Safaricom directly if you plan to move large sums.
If you don't have an Android device, Safaricom's wording says the service is offered on Android, so you may need to use a bank withdrawal instead.
Other ways money reaches M-PESA
Safaricom says M-PESA Global customers "can also receive funds from abroad on their MPESA account". That's a separate service from PayPal, so read Safaricom's page on it. We don't list other routes here because we couldn't confirm them from official pages. Don't believe an offer from a stranger on a messaging app who promises to change your PayPal money into M-PESA for a fee. Keep the move between your own accounts.
Tax and records
M-PESA is an easy place to lose track of income. Money reaching you this way is still income. Read remote work taxes in Kenya. If you're a contractor, KRA says "all persons carrying on business including those who are not registered for VAT are required to electronically generate and transmit their invoices", so read about eTIMS in our invoicing guide.
Save your PayPal statement and your M-PESA messages each month, and write down the shilling amount that landed. A short file like this will save you a lot of trouble when you file.
Next steps
Work out what your dollar pay means in shillings with our USD salary calculator, then read getting paid from abroad for the other routes. Looking for work? See remote jobs open to people in Kenya and who is hiring. Ask an employer how it pays before you sign, as not all of them pay through PayPal. Applying is free, and nobody should pay for a job.