What KRA Actually Said About M-Pesa Accounts

According to a People Daily report published yesterday, KRA disclosed the specific categories of M-Pesa accounts that are under tax compliance monitoring. While the full list was published in the report, the key takeaway is that the authority is focusing on business-related accounts rather than personal wallet-to-wallet transfers.

This is not about KRA having access to every M-Pesa transaction. It is about specific account types that are registered for business purposes — till numbers, paybill numbers, and merchant accounts where commercial transactions flow through.

The Clarification: Personal Transfers Are Safe

In a follow-up reported by Techweez, KRA clarified that it will not monitor personal M-Pesa transfers between individuals. The statement was aimed at calming widespread concern after the initial disclosure sparked fears that every transaction — including sending money to a family member or splitting a dinner bill — would be visible to the tax authority.

For the duka owner who receives payments via a till number and also sends money to their supplier via M-Pesa, this distinction matters. The till number transactions are business income. The personal send-money transactions are not being watched.

What This Means for Kenyan Small Retailers

If you run your business through M-Pesa — and most Kenyan retailers do — here is what you need to know:

• Your till number transactions are visible. If KRA requests data on your till or paybill, they can see the volume and frequency of payments coming in. This is not new. KRA has had the legal framework to request this data for years.
• Personal transfers are not being monitored. Sending money to your mum or buying airtime is not under surveillance. The clarification was necessary because the initial announcement caused unnecessary panic.
• You should already be keeping records. The best protection is having clear records of your business income and expenses. If your till number shows Ksh 500,000 coming in per month but you only declared Ksh 200,000, that discrepancy is what would trigger questions — not small personal transfers.

The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters Right Now

This announcement comes at a time when Kenya's digital economy is growing rapidly. M-Pesa's GlobalPay Visa card has crossed 316,000 active users, and Safaricom reported a record Ksh 95.6 billion profit, driven largely by M-Pesa growth. More Kenyans are transacting digitally than ever before.

KRA is simply following the money into digital channels. The same way they audited cash-based businesses in the past, they are now building the capability to audit digital transactions. The smart move for any retailer is not to panic, but to get their records in order.

Meanwhile, Safaricom is pushing M-Pesa users to save and invest more through the platform. This signals that M-Pesa is evolving beyond payments into a full financial services ecosystem. For retailers, this means more tools to manage business finances — but also more digital footprints that could eventually factor into tax assessments.

Three Things to Do This Week

• Separate your business and personal M-Pesa. If you are using one phone to receive business payments and send personal money, it is time to get a separate till number or a second line. Clean separation makes your bookkeeping easier and your tax position clearer.
• Keep a simple daily sales log. A notebook or a Google Sheet where you record what came in through M-Pesa each day. If KRA ever asks questions, having this ready is worth more than any lawyer.
• Talk to an accountant about voluntary registration. If your business is growing and you have not registered for VAT or income tax, now is the time to do it voluntarily rather than waiting for KRA to knock. Voluntary compliance looks much better in their eyes.