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When a customer walks into a shop in Kenya, whether they pay through M-Pesa, Airtel Money, a bank app, or another digital wallet determines which payment route they and the merchant use.

But a new proposed law could make these distinctions less important by pushing Kenya’s digital financial sector toward systems that can communicate with each other and allowing customers to share their financial data with other service providers.

The National Payment System Bill, 2026, introduces mandatory interoperability and open finance, which would reshape how fintechs build their products.

The proposed law requires payment service providers and payment system operators to use systems that can connect with those of other providers, operators and their agents.

Payment service providers handle customer-facing transactions, such as M-Pesa and Airtel Money, while payment system operators such as Pesalink own the underlying infrastructure for settling funds between financial institutions.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) would also have the power to require providers to enter into interoperability arrangements.

This means fintechs would have less room to operate entirely closed payment systems. Different networks would connect, allowing money and payment instructions to move more easily between providers.

Kenya has already moved toward this model through mobile money interoperability and bank-to-mobile-money connections. For example, customers using Airtel Money can pay for goods at stores that use Safaricom’s M-Pesa till numbers.

The Bill seeks to make interoperability a broader feature of the national payment infrastructure rather than something individual providers choose to offer.

‘Each payment service provider or payment system operator shall use systems that are interoperable with the systems used by other payment service providers and payment system operators, and their agents,’ the Bill says.

For fintechs, this could change how they design their products. Instead of building around a single bank, wallet or payment network, a startup could build services that connect to several providers.

The bill defines open finance as allowing a third party, with a customer’s permission, to access and use data held by a payment service provider to offer new or improved services or develop new business models.

It also creates the concept of an account information service, which could allow information from accounts held with different providers to be brought together.

For instance, a Kenyan can have a salary account at one bank, a savings account at another, M-Pesa for everyday spending and a digital loan elsewhere.

Today, each institution largely sees only part of that person’s finances and the customer has to move between different apps, while the institutions have limited visibility of accounts held elsewhere.

Under open finance, the customer could authorise third-party applications to access information from several accounts and present it in one place.

This information could support other financial services: a personal-finance app could analyse spending across accounts, and a lender could, with permission, assess a customer’s financial activity across several providers instead of relying only on its own records.

Similarly, a small business seeking working capital could allow a lender to examine its transaction history across different payment channels.

The proposed law also introduces payment initiation services, enabling users to initiate online payments without directly interacting with their bank or financial service provider. This could allow fintechs to build new payment services on top of existing financial infrastructure.

This model is already more developed in markets such as the UK, where regulated third-party providers can access account information and initiate payments with customer permission.

For Kenya’s fintech sector, this could create room for startups built around the data and infrastructure of established financial institutions.

However, the financial system also creates new risks.

Because transaction histories can reveal income, spending habits, regular payments, relationships and financial difficulties, giving more third parties access to this information makes cybersecurity, data protection and clear customer consent critical.

Recent research by UK law firm TLT Solicitors found that half of financial services companies are concerned about the increased fraud risk as a result of the larger ‘attack surface’ open banking can give hackers.

Two thirds of respondents raised concerns about data loss or misuse through third-party providers.

The technology also raises the question of fraud and liability. If a customer authorises a payment through a third-party fintech and the transaction turns out to be fraudulent, the industry will need clear rules on who is responsible – the bank, fintech, payment system or customer.

As such, regulators globally have had to develop rules covering authentication, consent, data security, liability, complaints and the responsibilities of third-party providers.

Kenya’s bill does not specify how access would work and says the CBK ‘shall make regulations to give effect to this section.’

Details on what data can be accessed, under what conditions, and at what cost would be left to subsequent CBK regulations.

Opening access to financial infrastructure could also make it easier for smaller fintechs to compete with established institutions.

However, experts have warned that this may give large financial and technology companies room to exploit their customer bases and datasets, meaning open finance does not automatically produce a more competitive market.

If you spend most of your working day seated at a desk, a few minutes of vigorous movement could be more useful than you think.

A new study suggests that replacing sedentary time with physical activity, particularly short bursts of vigorous movement, is associated with a lower risk of several cancers.

The study, published in July in BMC Medicine, analysed activity data from 59,218 men and women who were part of the UK Biobank. Participants wore activity trackers for a week, allowing researchers to measure how much time they spent sitting, standing and engaging in light, moderate or vigorous activity.

Researchers then examined their medical records over roughly eight years, looking at 13 cancers that have been associated with physical inactivity. They used statistical models to estimate what could happen if participants replaced some of their usual sitting time with different types and intensities of physical activity.

Standing was associated with lower cancer risk compared with remaining seated, but movement appeared to have a stronger association. Light activity was associated with greater benefits than standing, while vigorous movement showed the strongest association.

The study found that about three minutes of vigorous activity was associated with a similar reduction in cancer risk as about 90 minutes of light-intensity movement.

Vigorous activity in the study included movements that substantially increased breathing and heart rate, such as rushing up stairs or running to catch public transport.

For Riya Shah, a cancer specialist physiotherapist at Performance Medicine Kenya, the findings reinforce a broader message about the importance of movement throughout the day.

‘Regular movement is one of the most important modifiable lifestyle factors we can influence across the cancer continuum, from prevention, through treatment and recovery, and into survivorship,’ she says.

Shah says people often think of exercise as something that has to happen in a gym or as a structured workout, yet the body benefits from movement throughout the day. ‘Our bodies are designed to move throughout the day,’ she says.

There is already evidence linking higher levels of physical activity with a lower risk of several cancers, particularly breast and colorectal cancer, she said. Physical activity is also associated with better cardiovascular and metabolic health.

For someone who spends eight or more hours sitting at work, Shah says the focus should not be solely on finding time for a workout before or after work.

Instead, people should also look at how they can interrupt long periods of sitting. ‘Don’t wait until the end of the working day to ‘do your exercise’. Build movement into the working day itself,’ she says.

Her suggestions include standing up and walking around for a couple of minutes every 30 to 60 minutes, walking to speak to a colleague instead of sending a message where practical, taking the stairs, walking while making a phone call, getting up to refill a water bottle and having walking meetings where possible.

Standing, she says, is certainly better than remaining completely sedentary, but ideally people should move rather than simply switch from sitting to standing.

‘Even a short walking break can increase muscle activity, circulation and energy expenditure,’ she says.

The idea of vigorous movement can also be less complicated than it sounds.

It does not necessarily require a gym, running track or exercise equipment.

Shah says climbing several flights of stairs, walking quickly uphill, carrying heavy shopping, cycling quickly or running to catch a matatu can potentially qualify, depending on how hard the activity makes a person work.

‘Exercise doesn’t have to look like exercise,’ she says.

For one person, climbing several flights of stairs may constitute vigorous activity, while for someone who is fitter, the same activity may only be moderate.

A useful indicator, Shah says, is breathing. During vigorous activity, breathing and heart rate increase substantially and a person may only be able to say a few words before needing another breath.

However, she cautioned against interpreting the study as suggesting that three minutes of exercise a day is all a person needs.

The study was observational, meaning it identified an association between physical activity and cancer risk but did not prove that the short bursts of vigorous movement directly prevented cancer.

Shah says the finding should instead be viewed as an encouraging message for people who currently do little physical activity.

‘If you currently do very little activity, small amounts of purposeful movement can still matter,’ she says.

Those short bursts can be a starting point and can gradually be built upon, she adds.

There are also possible biological explanations for why physical activity may influence cancer risk. During vigorous movement, heart rate, blood flow, breathing and muscle glucose uptake increase. Exercise can also influence insulin sensitivity, metabolic health, inflammation, body composition and the immune system.

Shah says researchers are also studying how exercise mobilises immune cells, including natural killer cells, which are involved in identifying and responding to abnormal cells.

But cancer prevention cannot be reduced to physical activity alone.

‘Physical activity is important, but it doesn’t eliminate other established risk factors such as tobacco exposure, alcohol consumption, unhealthy body weight and diet,’ she says.

For people with sedentary jobs, her advice is therefore simple: move whenever there is an opportunity.

Walk during a phone call. Take the stairs. Walk part of the journey where practical. Break up long periods of sitting. Add some brisk walking to the day and incorporate strength exercises such as squats, calf raises, glute bridges or resistance exercises at least twice a week.

The broader message is not that everyone needs to find an extra hour in an already busy day.

Rather, movement can be accumulated throughout the day, from the journey to work and the office stairs to household tasks and short bursts of faster activity.

‘Don’t aim for perfection, aim to avoid sitting continuously for hours at a time,’ Shah says.

County governments left Sh100.2 billion of available funds unspent in the year to June 2026, while execution of development budgets weakened and 189 projects worth Sh10.51 billion stalled, exposing a widening gap between approved spending and delivery.

Controller of Budget (COB) Margaret Nyakang’o says counties had Sh596.78 billion available for spending during the year but used Sh496.58 billion, translating into an overall absorption rate of 83.2 percent.

The biggest shortfall was in development, where counties spent Sh126.69 billion of the allocated Sh233.69 billion, absorbing just 54.21 percent of allocations compared with 57 percent a year earlier and leaving nearly Sh107 billion unspent.

‘The total funds available to the County Governments in the financial year 2025/26 amounted to Sh596.78 billion. These included Sh415 billion equitable share of revenue raised nationally, Sh97.55 billion from OSR (own-source revenue) and Sh1.47 billion from other revenues,’ said Dr Nyakang’o.

‘County Governments spent a total of Sh496.58 billion, comprising Sh369.89 billion for recurrent activities and Sh126.69 billion for development activities.’

The weak execution of development budgets means billions earmarked for roads, markets, water infrastructure, health facilities and other capital projects did not translate into completed projects during the financial year.

Only three counties achieved development absorption above 80 percent, led by Kilifi at 84.52 percent, Wajir at 83.03 percent and Mandera at 80 percent, according to the budget watchdog.

On the other end, 13 counties absorbed half or less of their development budgets, with Kisumu recording the lowest rate at 25.92 percent, followed by Siaya at 26.53 percent and Nairobi at 28.47 percent.

The poor performance left a growing list of unfinished investments, with counties reporting 189 stalled projects valued at Sh10.51 billion.

’22 counties reported 189 stalled projects valued at Sh10.51 billion, out of which Sh4.21 billion had already been paid,’ said the COB.

Nairobi accounted for the largest value of stalled projects at Sh2.24 billion across 57 projects, followed by Isiolo at Sh1.77 billion from seven projects, highlighting the financial cost of delays on capital investments.

Kakamega reported 26 stalled projects worth Sh848.95 million, while Baringo had 23 projects valued at Sh163.32 million, as Machakos reported 22 projects worth Sh891.58 million.

The figures point to a persistent implementation problem in devolution where county administrations allocate money for development but struggle to move projects from procurement and contracting into actual construction and completion.

Counties also carried Sh172.53 billion in trade payables at June 30, creating another constraint for contractors and suppliers and potentially slowing new projects as administrations struggle to clear obligations from previous years.

The accumulation of unpaid bills is significant for development, as contractors facing delayed payments can slow work, suspend construction or demand settlement of previous obligations before taking on additional county projects.

The challenge has previously been linked to procurement disruptions, with an earlier COB review showing that 10 counties cut development spending by Sh1.7 billion in the three months to September 2025 following disruption caused by the transition to the electronic government procurement system.

The squeeze is occurring even as counties remain central to delivery of services such as healthcare, local roads, markets, water and sanitation, making development spending a key measure of whether the devolved units are converting budgets into public assets.

Dr Nyakang’o has urged counties to prioritise stalled projects that can be completed and operationalised, allocate adequate resources for completion, as well as resolve outstanding contractual obligations.

‘County governments should prepare verified schedules of stalled projects, prioritise projects that can be completed and operationalised, and allocate adequate resources in future budgets,’ said the COB.

‘Ring-fence projects under investigation and pursue appropriate recovery, enforcement, or corrective actions where loss or irregularity is established.’