Receive your Kenyan rent in USD, every month.
Kenya rent collected in KES. Net of expenses and Kenya's 7.5% MRI tax. Converted at the Wise mid-market rate and wired to your account in USD, GBP, EUR, AED, CAD or AUD. One statement a month, line-by-line, no hidden FX margin.
Already a landlord with us? Add or verify a payout method in the portal →
The default flow costs diaspora landlords 4 to 6% a year.
Most diaspora landlords lose more money to FX and bank friction than they do to bad tenants. The losses are invisible because they show up as exchange rates rather than line items, but they compound brutally. A 2% retail FX spread on a year of Nairobi rent costs you more than the gap between an 8% and a 10% management fee.
The default an agent will put you on, often without ever having the conversation, is: rent collects in KES into a local bank account. Once a quarter, somebody walks in and converts it at the bank's retail window. The bank takes a 2-4% spread plus a fixed wire fee. The diaspora landlord sees a USD figure and assumes that's what the rent was worth.
It isn't. It's what the rent was worth minus the FX margin minus the wire fee minus the cost of the 90-day delay. We built the Goldstay payout flow specifically to remove all four of those leaks.
Annual cost of the "default" payout flow
Two-bed apartment in Westlands at KES 120,000 / month. One year of rent, four payouts.
- Gross annual rentKES 1,440,000 (~USD 11,160)
- Bank retail FX spread (3%)USD 335 lost
- 4× SWIFT wire fees ($35)USD 140 lost
- 90-day cash drag (vs monthly)USD ~85 lost
- Annual leakUSD ~560
Equivalent to 5% of gross rent. Goldstay's payout flow recovers most of this.
Six things every diaspora payout flow should do, and that most don't.
None of these are exotic. They're hygiene. Goldstay treats them as the floor, not the ceiling.
FX you can read
Mid-market rate, Wise's actual fee in KES and USD, and the exact converted amount, printed line-by-line on every statement. No hidden 'house rate'.
Monthly cadence
Statement issued the 5th, wire pushed the same day, money in your account within 1-2 working days for Wise or 3-5 for SWIFT.
Verified accounts only
We refuse to send a payout to an account we haven't verified against an ownership document. Removes the entire 'wrong-IBAN' failure mode.
MRI handled for you
Kenya's 7.5% Monthly Rental Income tax is filed and paid before you see the net. KRA receipts are attached to every statement.
Trust-account ringfence
Tenant rent never touches Goldstay's operating bank. It sits in a regulated trust account until your statement signs off, then moves straight to you.
Six payout currencies
USD, GBP, EUR, AED, CAD or AUD. Pick whatever your home account is denominated in. We convert once, you receive a clean foreign-currency credit.
From KES on the 1st to USD in your account by the 7th.
The same four steps run every month, in the same order, on the same dates. Predictable cadence is half the value of a payout flow.
- 01
Tenant pays rent in KES
Long-term tenants pay by bank standing order, M-Pesa or paybill into the Goldstay collection account on the 1st of the month. Short-stay guests pay by card at booking, processed via Airbnb / Booking.com / direct.
- 02
Statement issued on the 5th
We close the previous month, deduct the agreed expenses (cleaning, MRI, repairs with photo evidence), and email you a one-page PDF showing every line and the resulting net.
- 03
FX conversion at mid-market
The net KES is converted to your nominated currency using the Wise mid-market rate at the moment of conversion. The rate, the fee and the converted figure are all printed on the statement.
- 04
Money lands in your account
Wise transfers typically land within 1-2 working days; SWIFT within 3-5. You get an email at each step (statement issued, transfer initiated, transfer landed) so you're never guessing where the money is.
Wise, SWIFT or M-Pesa: the honest comparison.
We support all three because diaspora landlords don't all bank in the same place. The default is Wise; the override is yours.
Wise (recommended)
- Cost
- 0.5-0.9% all-in
- Speed
- 1-2 working days
- FX rate
- Mid-market
Best for: Diaspora landlords with a Wise multi-currency account, or any landlord who values FX transparency over end-to-end bank statements.
SWIFT bank wire
- Cost
- USD 25-50 + 2-4% FX spread
- Speed
- 3-5 working days
- FX rate
- Bank retail
Best for: Landlords whose home bank doesn't accept Wise, or who need a SWIFT/MT103 reference for accounting / mortgage-affordability evidence.
M-Pesa
- Cost
- KES 0-110 fixed
- Speed
- Instant
- FX rate
- N/A (KES)
Best for: Landlords who keep a Kenyan M-Pesa wallet, typically for living expenses on visits home, not as a primary payout channel.
We refuse to wire money to an account we haven't verified.
Wrong-IBAN payouts are the most expensive operational mistake in diaspora property management. Once funds land in the wrong account, recovery is a 30 to 90 day ordeal. Goldstay closes the failure mode at source: the payout-account row is locked behind a verifiedAt flag, and our server-side rule refuses to record an outbound Transaction.PAYOUT against an unverified row. No human override.
- Upload proof of payout-account ownership in the portal
- Upload a proof of ID (passport or national ID)
- Verification team signs off within one working day
- Server-side rule then unlocks payouts for that row
What lands in your inbox the 5th of every month
- Gross rent (1 month, KES)120,000
- MRI withholding (7.5%)− 9,000
- Goldstay management fee (8%)− 9,600
- Repairs (with photos attached)− 4,500
- Net to landlord (KES)96,900
- Wise FX (mid-market, 0.6% fee)@ 129.5 KES / USD
- Wired to your USD accountUSD 744
Illustrative figures. Real statements include the KRA MRI receipt, repair photos and the Wise transfer reference, all attached as a single PDF.
Diaspora payouts: your most common questions.
How do I receive rent from Kenya in USD?
Goldstay collects rent in KES from your tenant or guest, deducts agreed expenses, and remits the net to your overseas account in USD (or GBP / EUR / AED) every month. The conversion uses the live Wise mid-market rate, not a marked-up retail spread, and the funds typically land within 1-2 working days of the statement being issued.
What payout rail is cheapest: Wise, SWIFT or local bank?
For diaspora landlords, Wise is almost always the cheapest. A KES → USD Wise transfer typically costs 0.5-0.9% all-in, lands in 1-2 working days, and uses the mid-market FX rate. A SWIFT wire from a Kenyan bank usually costs USD 25-50 in fees plus a 2-4% retail FX spread that hides on the deal ticket. We support both, plus M-Pesa for landlords who hold a Kenyan account.
When does the money actually land?
Goldstay's payout run is the 5th of each month. We issue the statement, debit our trust account, and push the wire / Wise transfer the same day. Wise lands within 1-2 working days, SWIFT within 3-5 working days. We email you when each step happens so you're never guessing where the money is.
What FX rate do you use?
The Wise mid-market rate at the moment of conversion. The rate plus the exact fee (in KES and USD) is shown line-by-line on every monthly statement. We never quote a 'house rate' or bake an FX margin into the management fee.
Do I need a US dollar account?
No. We pay into whatever account currency you nominate. USD, GBP, EUR, AED, CAD or AUD are the most common. The conversion happens before the wire so the receiving bank sees a clean foreign-currency credit and doesn't charge you a second FX margin on the way in.
Is it legal to send rental income out of Kenya?
Yes. Kenya runs no exchange controls on personal rental income for non-residents. The Central Bank of Kenya requires the originating institution (Goldstay's bank or Wise) to file a normal outbound-transfer report, which they do automatically. The receiving country may treat the income as foreign-source for your own tax return; speak to a local accountant about double-taxation relief.
What about the 7.5% Monthly Rental Income tax (MRI)?
MRI is a Kenya-side withholding on gross rent, paid to KRA before any payout to you. We file and pay it automatically every month and the receipt is attached to your statement. Diaspora landlords don't need to register with KRA themselves. Goldstay holds the MRI agency status. Read more: 'Kenya MRI tax for diaspora landlords' in our Insights.
How do you verify my payout account before the first wire?
Once in the owner portal, you upload two documents: proof of payout-account ownership (a bank letter, voided cheque, M-Pesa till statement or Wise screenshot showing your name) and a proof of ID (passport or national ID). Both go to encrypted storage and are reviewed by the verification team within one working day. Until the account is verified, no outbound transfer can be initiated against it. That's a hard server-side rule, not a process suggestion.
Does Ghana work the same way?
Yes. The mechanics are identical: GHS → USD via Wise, monthly statements on the same template, the same MRI-equivalent (Ghana's 8% withholding on rental income) handled before payout. The only practical difference is that local-bank SWIFT out of Ghana is slower than Kenya, so we steer Accra landlords toward Wise even more strongly.
What happens if my bank rejects the wire?
Goldstay's bank notifies us within 24 hours of any return. We email you immediately, hold the funds in the trust account (no rollover into the next month's statement), and re-send to a corrected account on your nod. A returned wire never disappears into a clearing limbo. We account for every shilling.
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