Kenya, 8 November 2025 - Starting 1 November 2025 at 6 pm, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officially transitioned from the legacy eCitizen payments portal to KWSPay, a refreshed and expanded digital payment platform aimed at delivering greater efficiency, flexibility and transparency for users.
“The transition from the old eCitizen platform to the upgraded new eCitizen payment system, branded as ‘KWSPay,’ introduces a more seamless, enhanced and flexible process for booking and making payments for Conservation Fees and other KWS services,” said KWS in a joint statement.
What’s happening
Under KWSPay, users can now pay via M-Pesa, bank cards, bank transfers and eWallets, an expansion beyond the previous payment options offered under the old eCitizen platform. The system also carries a 5% gateway fee and uses a monthly US dollar exchange rate aligned with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to buffer inflation and currency-fluctuation risks.
KWS, in collaboration with eCitizen, emphasised that detailed user instructions are available at both the eCitizen and KWS websites, and that user feedback will continue to inform platform improvements.
Why is this important?
Digital infrastructure such as payment systems may not always seem headline-grabbing, but in Kenya, improvements in e-services can deliver tangible benefits. For both tourists and local patrons of national parks, the new system means fewer queues, more payment flexibility and improved transparency. Reducing friction helps tourism recovery and increases the efficiency of public-service delivery.
More broadly, the upgrade signals a deepening maturity in Kenya’s digital government-services ecosystem. As more citizens interact online for services, the reliability, security and ease of payment processes become integral to trust in digital governance. By choosing multiple payment methods and aligning fees with currency movements, the authorities are acknowledging underlying economic realities. This matters because inefficient platforms can discourage usage, increase cost for users and hamper sector growth.
What’s next
While the launch is a strong step, the focus must now shift to implementation:
• User experience: Are payments processed seamlessly across channels? Will foreign tourists find the barriers removed?
• Cost transparency: The 5 % gateway fee and any additional card-processing charges (up to ~3.5%) must be clearly disclosed to users and stakeholders.
• Wider rollout: The transition at KWS may be just the beginning, will other state services adopt KWSPay or similar upgrades?
• Data and security: With new payment options comes new risk, ensuring robust cybersecurity and data-privacy protections will be essential.
• Feedback loops and improvement: KWS invited input from users. Monitoring complaints, transaction failure rates and user uptake could provide signs of real improvement.
The shift from eCitizen to KWSPay is more than a system re-brand, it is a reflection of Kenya’s ambition to streamline digital-service delivery and embed modern payment methods in public infrastructure. If the user experience improves, costs are transparent and adoption grows, the platform could become a model for other digital-government efforts. But the promise will be judged by how effectively the system works for real users, tourists, local businesses and ordinary citizens accessing services across Kenya.
