Crackdown on Paybills Intensifies As KRA Targets Digital Payments

Kenya’s tax authority has tightened its grip on businesses using mobile payment systems, rolling out a fresh crackdown targeting traders operating through till numbers and paybills.

The move by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is aimed at sealing tax leakages in a fast-growing digital payments space that has, for years, operated with minimal scrutiny. Thousands of businesses across the country rely on mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa to receive payments, but KRA now says some traders have been under-declaring income or avoiding taxes altogether.

Under the new enforcement push, KRA is closely monitoring transactions linked to till numbers and paybill accounts to match them with declared revenues. Businesses found with inconsistencies risk penalties, audits, or even closure. The authority is also working with telecom companies and financial institutions to access transaction data, making it harder for traders to hide their real earnings.

This shift signals a major change for small and medium-sized enterprises, many of which have depended on the flexibility of mobile payments to run daily operations. For years, informal traders and even some formal businesses have treated till numbers as a convenient but loosely regulated payment channel. That space is now shrinking fast.

KRA argues that the crackdown is not meant to punish businesses but to create fairness in the tax system. Officials say compliant taxpayers have long carried the burden while others slipped through the cracks. By bringing all traders into the tax net, the authority hopes to boost government revenue without increasing tax rates.

However, the move has sparked concern among business owners, especially small traders who fear the new measures could increase their operating costs. Some say they lack proper bookkeeping systems and may struggle to meet stricter compliance requirements. Others worry about privacy, given the deeper access to transaction data.

As mobile money continues to dominate Kenya’s business landscape, the taxman is making it known that the era of operating in the shadows is coming to an end.

For many traders, adapting quickly could mean the difference between staying in business or falling on the wrong side of the law.

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By Robai Ludenyi