How to buy Bitcoin with M-Pesa in Kenya

Buying Bitcoin with M-Pesa is a trade with a person in Kenya. You send shillings to their M-Pesa line only after their Bitcoin is locked in escrow, and the seller releases it after confirming the payment.

Which board to open

Open “Buy Bitcoin with M-Pesa” or “Buy Bitcoin in Kenya”. Each offer states its rate, the shilling limits and the M-Pesa number you will pay. If you are changing USDT rather than Bitcoin, use the M-Pesa USDT board instead.

What happens in a trade

Create an account and verify your email.
Open a trade. The seller’s Bitcoin moves into escrow before you are asked to pay.
Send the shillings by M-Pesa, from a line registered in your own name, to the number in the trade. Then mark the trade paid.
The seller checks the M-Pesa app or statement and releases. The Bitcoin moves to your Koinzaar balance.

If the window runs out before you mark the trade paid, it is cancelled and the Bitcoin returns to the seller.

Fees

The seller pays a fee when the crypto is released: 0.5% for bank transfer and mobile money, 0.75% for e-wallets, 1% for cash and 3% for gift cards. Buyers pay no Koinzaar fee.

M-Pesa is mobile money, so the seller pays 0.5% when the Bitcoin is released. You pay no Koinzaar fee. Safaricom’s own charges are separate and are not set by Koinzaar.

Checks before you send shillings

Confirm the trade shows the Bitcoin locked in escrow.
Pay the M-Pesa number written in the trade, from a line in your own name. A payment from someone else’s line is how a dispute starts.
A screenshot of an SMS is not something you should accept as the seller, and it is not something you should rely on as the buyer either: keep the M-Pesa transaction in the trade chat.
If the seller asks you to pay outside the trade, stop.

Questions

Can I sell Bitcoin for M-Pesa as well?

Yes. “Sell Bitcoin in Kenya” lists buyers paying by the methods they have named. Your Bitcoin goes into escrow when the trade opens, and you release only after the shillings are in your own M-Pesa.

What if I send the shillings and the seller goes quiet?

Open a dispute while the Bitcoin is still in escrow. A moderator reads the trade chat and the M-Pesa evidence. The Bitcoin cannot move while that is open.

What does it cost?

Buyers pay no Koinzaar fee. The seller pays 0.5% of the trade on release for M-Pesa.

Last checked 2026-10-27.

Go to the market

Buy Bitcoin with M-Pesa Buy Bitcoin in Kenya Buy USDT with M-Pesa USDT to shillings with M-Pesa How escrow works