You can send money directly between M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and T-Kash without either side needing to withdraw cash first — but the fee you pay depends entirely on which wallet you're sending from, not which wallet the money lands in. All three networks are interoperable, and the destination doesn't change the price; the tariff of your own wallet does.
Quick Answer
Sending KSh 100 or less is free on all three networks, to any destination. Above that: M-Pesa and T-Kash each charge one flat tariff regardless of where the money is going. Airtel Money is different — sending to another Airtel Money user is always free, but sending to M-Pesa or T-Kash costs a separate fee that has recently been rising toward parity with M-Pesa's rates. Check the confirmation screen before you send, especially on Airtel.
How Cross-Network Transfers Work
- Both sides must be registered. Since February 2024, M-Pesa no longer allows sending to unregistered numbers on any network — the recipient needs an active, registered wallet (M-Pesa, Airtel Money, or T-Kash) to receive a transfer.
- The sender always pays the fee. Whatever the fee is, it's deducted from the sender's wallet on top of the amount sent. The recipient always receives the exact amount typed in — nothing is deducted on their end.
- The fee follows the sender's network, not the recipient's. If you send from M-Pesa to an Airtel Money number, M-Pesa's own tariff applies — not Airtel's. If you send from T-Kash to an M-Pesa number, T-Kash's tariff applies. This trips a lot of people up, since they assume the receiving network sets the price.
Sending From M-Pesa to Airtel Money or T-Kash
Safaricom harmonized its M-Pesa tariff so that sending to a registered M-Pesa user, an Airtel Money user, or a T-Kash user all cost exactly the same — there's no cross-network surcharge.
| Amount Sent (KSh) | Charge (KSh) |
|---|---|
| 1 – 100 | Free |
| 101 – 500 | 7 |
| 501 – 1,000 | 13 |
| 1,001 – 1,500 | 23 |
| 1,501 – 2,500 | 33 |
| 2,501 – 3,500 | 53 |
| 3,501 – 5,000 | 57 |
| 5,001 – 7,500 | 78 |
| 7,501 – 10,000 | 90 |
| 10,001 – 15,000 | 100 |
| 15,001 – 20,000 | 105 |
| 20,001 – 250,000 | 108 |
How to send: Dial *334#, choose "Send Money," then select the option for sending to other networks (Safaricom lists this as "Send Money to other Networks" in the M-Pesa menu). Enter the recipient's Airtel or Telkom number, the amount, and your M-Pesa PIN.
Sending From T-Kash to M-Pesa or Airtel Money
T-Kash also uses a single tariff regardless of the destination network, though the exact fee amounts differ slightly from M-Pesa's own table — this table is confirmed against Telkom's own printed T-Kash Tariff Guide.
| Amount Sent (KSh) | Charge (KSh) |
|---|---|
| 1 – 100 | Free |
| 101 – 500 | 6 |
| 501 – 1,000 | 13 |
| 1,001 – 1,500 | 21 |
| 1,501 – 2,500 | 33 |
| 2,501 – 3,500 | 47 |
| 3,501 – 5,000 | 57 |
| 5,001 – 7,500 | 67 |
| 7,501 – 10,000 | 88 |
| 10,001 – 20,000 | 93 |
| 20,001 – 250,000 | 103 |
How to send: Dial *334# (or open the T-Kash app), select "Send Money," then "Send to any network." Enter the recipient's number and the amount, then confirm with your T-Kash PIN.
For the full breakdown, see the T-Kash Charges for Sending Money guide.
Sending From Airtel Money to M-Pesa or T-Kash
This is where things get less predictable. Airtel Money has always worked differently from the other two: sending to another Airtel Money user is free at any amount, no matter how much you send — that's a genuine, longstanding differentiator. Sending KSh 100 or less to any network is also free, matching the other two platforms.
Where it gets complicated is the fee for sending above KSh 100 to a non-Airtel number (M-Pesa or T-Kash). For years, Airtel's published cross-network rates were noticeably cheaper than M-Pesa's own tariff. However, live transaction tests reported in mid-July 2026 found several bands quietly charging more than the previously published rates — moving to amounts that now match M-Pesa's own tariff exactly:
| Amount (KSh) | Previously Published Rate | Recently Observed Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 101 – 500 | 6 | 7 |
| 501 – 1,000 | 11 | 13 |
| 1,001 – 1,500 | 20 | 23 |
| 1,501 – 2,500 | 30 | 33 |
At the time of writing, this change hadn't been formally announced by Airtel, and Airtel's own official tariff page was still showing the older, lower figures — so there's a real discrepancy between the published tariff and what's landing on people's confirmation screens. Whether this is a full repricing across every band, a temporary glitch, or a rollout still in progress isn't yet confirmed.
What this means practically: don't assume Airtel is still the cheaper option for cross-network transfers without checking. Always read the fee on the confirmation screen before you approve the transaction — it's the only figure you can currently trust with certainty.
How to send: Dial *334# on your Airtel line, select "Send Money," then choose the option for sending to other networks. Enter the recipient's number, the amount, and your Airtel Money PIN.
Side-by-Side: What KSh 1,000 Costs to Send From Each Network
| Sending From | To Any Network |
|---|---|
| M-Pesa | KSh 13 |
| T-Kash | KSh 13 |
| Airtel Money → Airtel Money | Free |
| Airtel Money → M-Pesa or T-Kash | KSh 11–13 (in flux — confirm on screen) |
Cost-Saving Tips for Cross-Network Transfers
- Keep both parties on Airtel Money where possible. It's the only network offering genuinely free transfers above KSh 100, but only between two Airtel Money users — it doesn't apply once you cross to M-Pesa or T-Kash.
- Send KSh 100 or less for free on any network. All three platforms waive fees at or under that threshold, regardless of destination.
- Round up to the top of a band. On M-Pesa and T-Kash, sending KSh 2,400 costs the same as sending the full KSh 2,500 — there's no reason to send less once you're already inside a band.
- Don't assume Airtel is the cheapest option. That used to be a safe assumption for cross-network transfers; with rates reportedly shifting toward parity with M-Pesa, check the fee shown before you send rather than relying on memory of "the old Airtel rates."
- Send once, not in installments. Splitting a transfer into several smaller sends to stay under a fee band almost always costs more in total than one larger transfer, since a fee applies to every transaction.
FAQ
Does the recipient ever pay a fee to receive money cross-network? No. Receiving money is free on M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and T-Kash regardless of which network it comes from. The sender always covers the transfer fee.
Why does the fee depend on which app I'm sending from, not who I'm sending to? Each network prices its own outgoing transactions. The receiving network doesn't charge anything to accept the incoming transfer, so only the sender's tariff applies.
Can I still send money to someone who isn't registered on any mobile money service? No. As of February 2024, Safaricom discontinued M-Pesa transfers to unregistered numbers, and the same registration requirement applies across the interoperable network generally — both sender and recipient need an active mobile money wallet.
Is Airtel Money still cheaper than M-Pesa for cross-network transfers? It's genuinely unclear right now. Airtel's officially published rates are still lower than M-Pesa's at several bands, but real transactions have reportedly been charged at M-Pesa-matching rates instead. Check your confirmation screen before sending — don't rely on the older, published figures.
Is there a maximum I can send cross-network? Yes — all three networks currently cap individual transactions at KSh 250,000, with a KSh 500,000 daily transaction limit.
This is independent, unofficial reference content and isn't affiliated with Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, or Telkom Kenya. M-Pesa and T-Kash figures are drawn from each provider's own published tariff. The Airtel Money cross-network figures are unusually unsettled at the time of writing — treat the "recently observed" rates as a signal to double-check, not a confirmed final tariff, and always rely on the fee shown on your own confirmation screen before approving a transaction.