Sending money from South Africa to Kenya

The World Bank surveyed 10 providers on this corridor. On R1,370 the cheapest costs 4.38% of what you send and the dearest 22.43%. Enter your own amount below — the ranking changes with it.

Cheapest surveyed

Mama Money

R59.96 to send R1,370 (4.38%)

The dearest would cost you

R247.30

more, for the same transfer

Every provider, ranked at R1,370

The fee and the exchange-rate margin are shown separately on purpose. A transfer advertised as "no fee" can still be the expensive one, because the margin is where the cost hides.

Provider	Type	Fee	FX margin	Total cost	% of transfer
Mama Money Less than one hour	Money Transfer Operator	R29.00	R30.96	R59.96	4.38%
Sikhona Money Transfers Same day	Money Transfer Operator	R24.99	R42.33	R67.32	4.91%
EcoCash Remit 2 days	Mobile Operator	R68.50	R12.33	R80.83	5.90%
Hello-Paisa 2 days	Money Transfer Operator	R50.00	R31.65	R81.65	5.96%
WorldRemit Less than one hour	Money Transfer Operator	R41.10	R58.91	R100.01	7.30%
Mukuru Same day	Money Transfer Operator	R75.00	R25.89	R100.89	7.36%
ABSA via Western Union Same day	Bank / Money Transfer Operator	R185.36	R12.74	R198.10	14.46%
Western Union Less than one hour	Money Transfer Operator	R214.02	R12.74	R226.76	16.55%
MoneyGram 2 days	Money Transfer Operator	R217.03	R64.66	R281.69	20.56%
ABSA 3-5 days	Bank	R280.00	R27.26	R307.26	22.43%

Banks, transfer operators and mobile money

Who you send with matters more than anything else about the transfer. Median cost by provider type, on R1,370:

Bank — 22.43% (1 provider surveyed)
Bank / Money Transfer Operator — 14.46% (1 provider surveyed)
Mobile Operator — 5.90% (1 provider surveyed)
Money Transfer Operator — 7.30% (7 providers surveyed)

That ordering is for R1,370 and does not necessarily hold at your amount. Where a provider charges a flat fee, it is punishing on a small transfer and forgettable on a large one — which is enough to reverse the order entirely. The ranked table above is the one computed at your amount; this one is not.

How to read these numbers

The cost of a transfer is the fee plus the margin the provider takes on the exchange rate. The margin is invisible at the counter: you are quoted a rate, not the difference between that rate and the interbank one, so a "free" transfer can quietly cost more than one with a fee attached. Both are separated in the table above.

Percentages fall as the amount rises wherever a provider charges a flat fee, which is why the same provider can be the cheapest at one amount and not at another. That is exactly what the calculator is for — the ranking above is computed at your amount, not at a fixed one.

Source: The World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, available at https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org — survey period 2025 Q1, field-collected to 11 March 2025. Licensed CC BY 4.0. These are surveyed benchmark costs from a dated quarterly study, not live quotes, and providers change pricing between surveys — check the current cost with the provider before you send. The World Bank does not endorse this use of its data. This is general information, not financial advice.