Reports of fintechs and financial institutions in Kenya restricting or blocking financial services among users is emerging following a recent review of the country by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which retained Kenya on its grey-list.
Restrictions from compliant stablecoin service providers have also reportedly began. HuruPay, a stablecoin service provider with roots and presence in Kenya, has reportedly told its users that it will ‘no longer support USD banking services for customers in Kenya,’ thereby restricting ‘any payments sent’ to the users’ SSB bank accounts, failure to which the funds ‘will be rejected and automatically refunded to the sender.’
Crypto-related money laundering and fraud has seen #Kenya remain on the #FATF grey-list and is now driving COMPLIANT ENTITIES out of the market.@kolan_xyz @FATFNews @DCI_Kenya @KeTreasury @CBKKenya @NPSOfficial_KE @NAssemblyKE pic.twitter.com/OqylCaftZE
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) July 11, 2026
Another screenshot share with BitKE by users shows Wise, another popular provider of cross-border financial services into the country, updating the user that their account has been restricted and will be closed within 2 months. The reason provided for the restriction and eventual closure was ‘some activity in it against our customer agreement’ forcing the account closure.
The recent developments follow earlier online complaints of PayPal restricting access to Kenyan account users right after the FATF review and retaining of Kenya on its list.
Kenya was added to the FATF grey list in February 2024 over
- poor oversight of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies,
- inadequate monitoring of non-profit organisations and beneficial ownership structures, and
- weaknesses in combating money laundering and terrorism financing,
a designation that has since increased scrutiny from international lenders and investors.
The European Commission later classified Kenya among high-risk jurisdictions with strategic AML deficiencies.
DCI Kenya, Kenya’s leading crime investigative body has consistently warned that proceeds of crime in the country are laundered and concealed within real estate and cryptocurrency.
DCI Kenya has also warned that the rate of crypto-related crimes continues to increase as the authorities seek to equip law enforcement with the needed knowledge and training to hopefully bring down the crime rate.
Kenya’s grey-listing status has raised concerns over foreign direct investment flows and access to international capital with multilateral institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank increasing oversight of the country’s financial governance reforms.
Kenya’s continued listing on the FATF grey list shows significant reform on paper, but limited enforcement in practice. For crypto and fintech players, this means tighter regulation is imminent.
See also
REGULATION | Kenya Retained on FATF Grey List – Crypto, Fintech Firms Face Rising Compliance Demands
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