Kenyans living abroad sent home USD 438.5 million in September 2026, according to the Central Bank of Kenya's diaspora remittances table. That is USD 13.3 million less than August, but 4.5% more than September 2025, when the figure was USD 419.6 million. For anyone following Kenya remittances in 2026, the monthly total is the least interesting part. The bigger change is where the money now comes from.
Kenya remittances 2026 so far: flat overall, with a different mix
The CBK table splits inflows into three regions: North America, Europe and the rest of the world. Adding up the monthly figures for January to September gives this picture:
- Total: USD 3,768.9 million in the first nine months of 2026, against USD 3,774.2 million over the same months of 2025. That is down about 0.1%, which is close to flat.
- North America: USD 1,946.0 million, down 11.2% from USD 2,191.2 million.
- Europe: USD 798.4 million, up 16.9% from USD 683.1 million.
- Rest of the world: USD 1,024.6 million, up 13.9% from USD 899.8 million.
September alone shows the same pattern more sharply. North America sent USD 215.5 million, 12.4% less than in September 2025. Europe sent USD 97.7 million, up 19.7%, the highest monthly figure for Europe anywhere in the 2025 and 2026 table. The rest of the world sent USD 125.3 million, up 36%.
North America still sends the most of any region. But its share of the monthly total fell from about 59% in September 2025 to about 49% in September 2026.
The weakest month this year was June, at USD 375.6 million. July, August and September have all been above USD 435 million since then.
The 12-month view
The CBK's weekly bulletin of 16 October put cumulative inflows for the 12 months to September at USD 5,032 million, down 1.0% from USD 5,080 million a year earlier. Kenyans.co.ke, reporting that bulletin, also gave foreign exchange reserves of USD 14,689 million, or 5.9 months of import cover, and a shilling holding below KSh 130 to the dollar. (Kenyans.co.ke, 17 October 2026)
Which countries moved
The regional table does not name countries, but Business Daily went through the CBK country data for January to September and reported these changes against the same period of 2025 (Business Daily, 23 October 2026):
- United States: USD 1.79 billion, down 12.63% from USD 2.05 billion. The US is still the largest single source.
- Africa: USD 323.87 million, up 43.6% from USD 225.54 million.
- Saudi Arabia: USD 121.45 million, down 51.68% from USD 251.33 million.
The paper is careful about cause. It notes that the CBK numbers do not show whether more Kenyans are moving to other African countries for work, and that higher transfers could reflect better earnings, different household needs or changes in how people send money. The data does not explain the fall from the US or Saudi Arabia either, so we will not guess at it here.
The US remittance tax, if you send from America
One change that does apply to Kenyans in the US this year is a new 1% federal excise tax on certain remittance transfers. Under the proposed IRS regulations issued in April 2026, the tax applies when the sender pays for the transfer with cash, a money order, a cashier's check or a similar physical instrument. It does not apply when the money comes out of an account at a covered US financial institution or is paid with a US-issued debit or credit card. (CPA Practice Advisor, 11 May 2026)
The regulations were still proposed at the time of that report, so check with your transfer provider before relying on the detail. For most people buying property, the practical point is simple. Paying a provider in cash costs an extra 1%, and it also leaves a weaker paper trail than a transfer from your own bank account.
What this means if your money is going into property
Remittance totals are national figures. They say nothing about whether the plot you are paying for is real. But a few things in this month's data are worth keeping in mind if you are sending money home to buy land, build or finish a house.
Your money is part of a large, steady flow
Kenyans abroad have sent home more than USD 375 million in every month of 2025 and 2026 so far. A buyer who is far away and paying in instalments is also the buyer who cannot walk down to the land registry or knock on the seller's door. We covered two 2026 cases where buyers lost money on deals that looked right on paper in A clean land search is not enough.
Send to the right account, and keep the record
If you are buying from abroad, the transfer itself is evidence. A few habits make that evidence useful later:
- Pay deposits and balances into an account named in the sale agreement, ideally your advocate's client account, not a personal mobile number given over the phone.
- Send from an account in your own name, so the payment can be traced back to you if there is ever a dispute.
- Keep the transfer receipts with the sale agreement, the search certificate and the advocate's acknowledgement of each payment.
- Do not change the payee because of a message, call or email asking you to. Confirm any new account details by calling a number you already had.
Our guide on how to do a land search in Kenya online covers what to have in your hand before the first payment.
Check the asking price before you send
A steady shilling helps when you are comparing prices over several months, since the dollar cost of a KSh asking price has not been jumping around. Whatever the exchange rate, you still want to know whether the price you have been quoted is in line with the area. The Karibu online pricing index shows asking prices from listed properties by area. They are asking prices, not sale prices, so treat them as a starting point for negotiation and for spotting a quote that looks far off.
What to watch next
The September figures appeared in the CBK's weekly bulletin in mid-October, so the October figures should follow around mid-November. They will show whether Europe and the rest of the world keep growing fast enough to cover the decline from North America. The December number matters too. In 2025 it was USD 435.5 million, one of the stronger months of the year.
If you are planning to send money home for property in the next few months, set up the paper trail first: the sale agreement, the advocate, the search certificate and the account details, all checked before the first transfer leaves your bank.
Sources: Central Bank of Kenya, diaspora remittances table, September 2026 data (regional totals and Karibu's calculations from the monthly figures). Kenyans.co.ke, 17 October 2026, reporting the CBK weekly bulletin of 16 October 2026. Business Daily, 23 October 2026. CPA Practice Advisor, 11 May 2026. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.