Send money from Kenya to China
The Nairobi to Guangzhou route has a specific shape. African importers buy from Guangzhou, Yiwu and Shenzhen, and most of them pay in dollars and lose a second spread when the supplier converts. Grey handles the conversion in Nairobi and delivers CNY to ICBC or any other Chinese bank.
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Nairobi to Guangzhou, in one conversion
African importers buy from Guangzhou, Yiwu and Shenzhen, and most of them pay in dollars and lose a second spread when the supplier converts. For senders in Nairobi, the practical question is simple: how much lands, and when.
Grey answers both before you confirm. KES converts to CNY once, the fee is shown separately, and the money reaches ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China as a normal deposit. Kenyans top up by M-Pesa or bank transfer from KCB, Equity or Co-operative Bank. Nairobi's dollar-earning tech and NGO workforce can send from USD directly.
How sending to China works
Sign up
Open the app, scan your national ID or passport, take a selfie. Most accounts in Kenya are approved within minutes. Grey works with licensed partners in Kenya.
Fund
Top up in shillings by M-Pesa or bank transfer. If you're paid in foreign currency, that balance can fund the transfer directly.
Send
Chinese banks reject payments where the name doesn't match the account, so copy it from the supplier's invoice. Then confirm the yuan figure and send.
The real price of yuan from Kenya
One conversion, KES to CNY, with the rate and fee disclosed before you send from Nairobi. When you wire dollars to a Chinese supplier, their bank converts at a rate you never see and sometimes holds the funds for review. Yuan lands as a domestic credit.
Locked at confirmation
A rate that holds means you can promise someone in Guangzhou an exact CNY figure and know it will arrive. When you wire dollars to a Chinese supplier, their bank converts at a rate you never see and sometimes holds the funds for review. Yuan lands as a domestic credit.
Grey fixes KES to CNY at the tap, every time, from Nairobi or anywhere else in Kenya.
Why domestic delivery matters in China
Anyone in Nairobi who has wired money to Guangzhou the old way knows the feeling of not knowing what landed. When you wire dollars to a Chinese supplier, their bank converts at a rate you never see and sometimes holds the funds for review. Yuan lands as a domestic credit.
What arrives in China
A standard CNY deposit into an account at ICBC or any other bank in China. It appears as a local transfer on their statement. No Grey account needed on their side, only on yours in Nairobi.
Account credit, not pickup
CNY goes into the account at ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China. No queue, no agent.
Reuse the details
Save the Guangzhou recipient and every later transfer is three taps.
Track from Nairobi
Pending, converted, delivered: each stage shows in the app.
Before you send
Before the CNY reaches Guangzhou, the money has to get onto Grey in Nairobi. Kenyans top up by M-Pesa or bank transfer from KCB, Equity or Co-operative Bank. Nairobi's dollar-earning tech and NGO workforce can send from USD directly. Convert to CNY when the payment to Guangzhou is due.
From KCB, Equity, Co-operative Bank, NCBA or M-Pesa
shillings credited in minutes.
From abroad
USD, EUR or GBP straight to CNY.
From Grey
GreyTag balances are ready to send to China immediately.
Save the recipient in Guangzhou once and a repeat transfer from Nairobi takes three taps.
What the money is for
Students
Tuition at universities in Nanjing, Wuhan and Guangzhou, paid in yuan.
Agents and freight
Paying Chinese sourcing agents and forwarders in local currency.
Importers
Deposits and balance payments to factories in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Yiwu and Ningbo.
E-commerce sellers
Recurring payments to suppliers on 1688 and Alibaba who accept bank transfer.
Seen from Nairobi, the corridor looks like this. African importers buy from Guangzhou, Yiwu and Shenzhen, and most of them pay in dollars and lose a second spread when the supplier converts. From Nairobi, the money tends to go to specific bills with specific due dates.
Grey on Kenya to China, in three points
Between Nairobi and Guangzhou, the problem is well known. When you wire dollars to a Chinese supplier, their bank converts at a rate you never see and sometimes holds the funds for review. Yuan lands as a domestic credit. Grey's fixed rate and visible fee exist so nothing about the transfer from Nairobi is left to chance.
One conversion from KES in Nairobi, rate locked, CNY delivered to ICBC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China or any other bank in China.
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