Every time someone in London sends $200 home to Kenya, part of it is lost to the fee and the exchange rate. How much depends almost entirely on which service they use.
The World Bank priced 32 services sending $200 from the United Kingdom to Kenya in its survey of January to March 2025. The cheapest, Skrill, cost $3.14, or 1.57% of the money. The average service cost $8.88, or 4.44%.
The same $200, four sending countries
| Sending from | Cheapest service | Average service |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $0.54 (Walmart2World) | $10.40 |
| United Kingdom | $3.14 (Skrill) | $8.88 |
| Canada | $4.34 (Royal Bank of Canada) | $14.56 |
| South Africa | $8.76 (Mama Money) | $20.90 |
Between 27 and 36 services were surveyed from each country. The cost is the World Bank's measure: the fee plus the margin hidden in the exchange rate, as a share of $200.
What it means
For a family sending monthly (Analysis): from the United States, the cheapest service against the average saves $9.86 on each $200. Over a year of monthly transfers that is $118.32: money that reaches home instead of staying with the provider. From South Africa the gap is $12.14 a transfer, or $145.68 a year.
For the person receiving (Analysis): the exchange rate matters as much as the fee. A service that advertises "no fee" can still cost more if it gives fewer shillings per dollar.
What to check before you send (Facts): the total cost on the provider's own quote screen, meaning the amount that arrives in shillings, not just the fee. Then compare it with the next cheapest.
Our cheapest way to send money to Kenya lists every service the World Bank surveyed, ranked by cost, for each sending country. Some providers pay Afronomics a referral fee when you use them through that page. It never changes the order, which is by cost alone.
Information, not advice.