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PayU Kenya Limited Shuts Down After Licence Revocation
PayU Kenya Limited has officially closed its doors after losing its licence. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) revoked PayU Kenya Limited’s licence, which means they can no longer operate in the country.
PayU Kenya Limited started in 2019, teaming up with a local company called Cellulant. Their goal was to make online payments easier by allowing people to pay with cards, bank transfers, and mobile wallets across East Africa. But even though PayU Kenya limited got the right licence and set up locally, they struggled to keep up with the popular mobile-money service, M-Pesa, and other local players who already had strong control over the market.
In August 2025, PayU Kenya limited began liquidation under Kenyan law, with Sonal Tejpal appointed as the liquidator from August 19, 2025. Soon after, CBK moved to revoke their licence, marking the end of PayU Kenya limited operations.
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A public notice from CBK confirmed the licence revocation was effective from October 13, 2025. This formal step means PayU Kenya limited can no longer offer payment services in Kenya. The notice said, “It is notified for the information of the general public that the Central Bank of Kenya has revoked the authorisation granted to PayU Kenya Limited with effect from the 13th October, 2025.”
PayU Kenya limited licence revocation is not a punishment but part of the rules that come with the company’s liquidation process. Even though PayU Kenya limited was backed by its big parent company from the Netherlands, it found it really hard to compete in Kenya’s payments space. One expert said, “Every SIM card in the country comes with M-Pesa by default, so new payment systems like PayU Kenya limited struggle to grow.”
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PayU Kenya limited mainly targeted online merchants, which was smart, but that part of the market is still pretty small compared to the whole Kenya payments scene. On top of that, the high costs of running the business, challenges in getting new customers, and strict regulations made it even tougher to survive.
The licence revocation officially ends PayU Kenya limited’s chance to offer payment services there. While PayU still works in other African countries like Nigeria and South Africa, its time in Kenya is over for good.
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