Kenya Q2 2026 Consumer Pulse Study

As inflation accelerated and income growth slowed across Kenya this quarter, lenders and risk teams faced consumers who continued to seek credit while becoming increasingly cautious about taking it on. Understanding this tension is critical to reaching customers as they navigate tighter household budgets.

The TransUnion Q2 2026 Consumer Pulse Study tracks how shifting income, credit and fraud dynamics reshaped consumer behaviour throughout the quarter, providing lenders, FinTechs and telecoms actionable insights to help align strategies with evolving consumer priorities.

How Kenyan consumers are adapting to change:

• Income gains reached just 3 in 10 consumers, down 12 percentage points year over year, though 4 in 10 expected to increase spending on bills and loan repayments
• Two in five (40%) believed they had sufficient access to credit, up from 36% a year earlier
• Interest in mobile loans rose six percentage points to 45%, the fastest-growing borrowing option
• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of consumers believed adding alternative data, such as rental payments and BNPL activity, would improve their credit scores
• Most (68%) targeted consumers avoided becoming fraud victims, with smishing the most common scam at 41%

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Use these insights to sharpen credit strategies, expand financial inclusion and better serve Kenya’s financially active, digitally engaged consumers.