Trading in Kenya: CMA licences, M-Pesa and market hours (2026)
Online forex brokers in Kenya must be licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). In May 2026 the CMA ordered unlicensed brokers to stop operating in Kenya, including advertising to Kenyans. Before depositing through M-Pesa or any other method, find the broker's exact company name on the CMA's official register of online forex brokers.
Sources checked on 27 Oct 2026 · Official register: Capital Markets Authority (CMA)
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Key facts, with sources
| Topic | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who regulates online forex | The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which licenses online forex brokers under the Capital Markets (Online Foreign Exchange Trading) Regulations 2017. | CMA licensee register |
| Where to check a broker | The CMA publishes a register of licensed online forex brokers. The list changes over time, so check the current version, and the exact company name, before depositing. | CMA licensee register |
| Unlicensed brokers | According to a press report of the CMA's alert of 8 May 2026, the CMA ordered unlicensed brokers to stop operating in Kenya, including advertising, running sensitisation campaigns and onboarding Kenyan investors. | KDRTV, 8 May 2026 (press report) |
| Scam pattern the CMA describes | The same alert, as reported, says fraudsters reach people through social media and messaging apps and promise unrealistic profits. | KDRTV, 8 May 2026 (press report) |
| Time zone | East Africa Time (UTC+3) all year, no daylight saving. The US stock market opens at 16:30 Nairobi time while New York is on daylight saving time (second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November) and at 17:30 the rest of the year. | IANA time-zone database |
How to check a broker on the CMA register
- Open the CMA's register of licensed online forex brokers.
- Compare the exact company name and licence number with the ones in the broker's website footer and in your client agreement. A global brand can serve Kenyans through a Kenyan company or through an offshore one: only the Kenyan entity is covered by the CMA.
- If the company you are signing with is not on the register, the CMA's May 2026 alert says it should not be onboarding Kenyan investors.
- Keep a screenshot of the register entry with the date.
Depositing with M-Pesa: what to check
- Which company receives the money. The M-Pesa paybill or till should belong to the same company that holds the CMA licence, not to an agent or a different entity.
- Fees and limits on both sides: M-Pesa's own transaction charges and the broker's minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts, on the broker's payment page.
- Withdrawals: test a small withdrawal back to M-Pesa before depositing more.
- See when the markets are open in Nairobi time on our market hours page, and read how we test strategies before trusting anyone's results.
What we do not do
Empirical Quant does not sell signals, manage accounts or run a Telegram group for Kenyan residents, and this page contains no broker links. Anyone offering to trade your money for a fixed monthly return is a warning sign, whatever they post online.
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