Nairobi, June 16 -- Kenyans living abroad are sending home about Sh280 billion annually in unrecorded remittances through informal channels and non-monetary items, indicating that they are playing a bigger role in funding households than was previously thought.

A new official survey of diaspora remittances shows that total inflows stood at Sh931.8 billion in the 12 months to May 2025, inclusive of in-kind items and cash that was brought into Kenya outside of formal channels like banks and remittance service providers.

This amount is Sh280.6 billion higher than the Sh651.2 billion inflows that were recorded by the CBK through formal channels like banks, mobile money and remittance service providers in the period.

The survey was carried ...