---
title: "KCB Bank Kenya Exchange Rate API: KES Buy and Sell Rates as JSON"
description: "KCB Bank Kenya's forex board buy / sell rates for 17 currencies against the Kenyan shilling, read hourly from the bank's own page and served as JSON with the Central Bank of Kenya official rate alongside. REST, JavaScript and Python examples."
canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/kcb-bank-kenya-exchange-rate-api/
source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt
generated: 2026-11-13T18:12:17.930Z
---

KCB Bank Kenya is the Kenyan bank of KCB Group, Kenya’s largest banking group by assets. Its forex page lists buying and selling rates against the shilling for about 17 currencies, including the Ugandan, Tanzanian and Rwandan currencies, with an as-at time. This guide shows how to read that board as JSON: what the rates mean, how they compare with the Central Bank of Kenya official rate, and the calls that return them.

## What the KCB board shows

- **17 currencies against the Kenyan shilling**: AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, DKK, EUR, GBP, INR, JPY, NOK, RWF, SEK, TZS, UGX, USD and ZAR. Every value is KES per 1 unit of the foreign currency.
- **The forex board buy / sell pair.** The Kenyan shilling floats and each bank sets its own buying and selling rates from the interbank market, so spreads differ between banks and currencies. Regional currencies such as the Ugandan and Tanzanian shilling are often quoted per 1 KES; they are converted here to KES per 1 unit. The Central Bank of Kenya sets a daily official mean rate, which banks are not bound to use.
- **USD on 13 November 2026**: KCB bought at 125.75 and sold at 132.25 KES, a spread of 5.04%. The Central Bank of Kenya official rate was 129.96, so the bank's mid sat -0.74% from it.
- **The bank's own timestamp.** The page prints a last-updated stamp (`2026-11-13 09:35 (Nairobi)` on the board above), returned as `bank_updated_at` next to our `captured_at`.
- **Every day's board is kept permanently, from 13 November 2026, the day collection started.** Read one past day with `?date=`, or a range for one currency with the `/history` endpoint (paid plans).

## Spreads across the board

On the 13 November 2026 board the tightest spreads were USD (5.04%), JPY (7.38%), AED (9.03%) and the widest ZAR (38.71%), RWF (36.43%), SEK (23.29%). Spread is (sell − buy) ÷ mid: what a round trip through the bank costs, before any fees. The API returns it on every row as `spread_pct`, so you can rank currencies or alert when a bank widens its board.

## Get the board (REST)

You need an API key; the [free key](https://allratestoday.com/register/) works. The full board:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/ke/kcb" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

What comes back (the 13 November 2026 board, first three rows):

```
{
  "bank": "kcb",
  "name": "KCB Bank Kenya",
  "country": "ke",
  "quote_ccy": "KES",
  "bank_updated_at": "2026-11-13 09:35 (Nairobi)",
  "basis": "Forex board buy / sell",
  "captured_at": "2026-11-13T13:37:23.144Z",
  "rates": [
    {"ccy":"AED","buy":34.393,"sell":37.645,"mid":36.019,"spread_pct":9.029,"official":35.38,"vs_official_pct":1.806},
    {"ccy":"AUD","buy":84.2,"sell":95.9,"mid":90.05,"spread_pct":12.993,"official":88.36,"vs_official_pct":1.913},
    {"ccy":"CAD","buy":83.15,"sell":101.23,"mid":92.19,"spread_pct":19.612,"official":91.13,"vs_official_pct":1.163},
    … 14 more currencies
  ],
  "disclaimer": "…",
  "attribution": { … }
}
```

One currency, with the row fields at the top level:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/ke/kcb?ccy=USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

```
{
  "bank": "kcb",
  "name": "KCB Bank Kenya",
  "country": "ke",
  "quote_ccy": "KES",
  "bank_updated_at": "2026-11-13 09:35 (Nairobi)",
  "basis": "Forex board buy / sell",
  "captured_at": "2026-11-13T13:37:23.144Z",
  "ccy": "USD",
  "buy": 125.75,
  "sell": 132.25,
  "mid": 129,
  "spread_pct": 5.039,
  "official": 129.96,
  "vs_official_pct": -0.739,
  "disclaimer": "Retail buy/sell rates as displayed on each bank’s own website at capture time, quoted as home currency per 1 unit of foreign currency. Indicative only: banks change these through the day, apply them at the counter or in-app, and they are not official or reference rates. For the rate a regulation names, use the central-bank endpoints.",
  "attribution": {
    "source": "Board rates published by KCB Bank Kenya on its own website, collected by AllRatesToday",
    "bank_url": "https://ke.kcbgroup.com/forex",
    "url": "https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/ke/kcb/",
    "terms": "Public pages that show the rates need a visible link to allratestoday.com"
  }
}
```

The board as it stood on a past day:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/ke/kcb?date=2026-11-13" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

One currency over a date range, one row per day (paid plans; add `&format=csv`, `xml` or `xlsx` for a file):

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/ke/kcb/history?ccy=USD&from=2026-11-13&to=2026-11-13" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

## JavaScript

```
npm install @allratestoday/sdk
```

```
import { AllRatesToday } from '@allratestoday/sdk';

const client = new AllRatesToday({ apiKey: 'art_live_your_key' });

// KCB Bank Kenya's USD row
const r = await client.bankRates('ke', { bank: 'kcb', ccy: 'USD' });
console.log(`KCB buys USD at ${r.buy}, sells at ${r.sell} KES`);

// The board as it stood on a past day
const past = await client.bankRates('ke', { bank: 'kcb', date: '2026-11-13' });
console.log(past.snapshot_date, past.rates.length);
```

## Python

```
import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/ke/kcb",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer art_live_your_key"},
    timeout=10,
)
r.raise_for_status()
for row in r.json()["rates"]:
    print(row["ccy"], row["buy"], row["sell"], row["spread_pct"])
```

## Board rate or official rate?

The Central Bank of Kenya rate is the one tax, accounting and customs rules in Kenya name; nobody transacts at it. KCB's board is the price a customer actually gets. The API puts both on every row: `official` is the central bank's rate for the same currency and `vs_official_pct` is how far the bank's mid sits from it. Use the board to show customers a real price, compare banks for a remittance, or keep a dated record of what the bank quoted; use the [Central Bank of Kenya endpoint](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/cbke/) when a rule asks for the official rate.

## FAQ

### Where do the KCB Bank Kenya rates come from?

From the bank's own public rates page (https://ke.kcbgroup.com/forex), read hourly. AllRatesToday does not change the numbers: each row is the buy and sell price KCB shows, with the mid, the spread and the Central Bank of Kenya rate added.

### Are these the official KES exchange rates?

No. They are KCB's retail prices for customers. The official rate in Kenya is the Central Bank of Kenya rate, which the API returns as `official` on each row where the central bank has one, and in full from the central-bank endpoint.

### How often is the KCB board updated?

AllRatesToday reads the page every hour. The bank's own last-updated stamp is returned as `bank_updated_at`, so you can tell a fresh read of an unchanged board from a new board.

### Can I get KCB rates for a past date?

Yes, from 13 November 2026 onward; every day's board is kept permanently. Add `?date=YYYY-MM-DD` for one day: the response is the board captured that day, or the nearest earlier day within five days, with `date_requested` and `snapshot_date` added. For a range, `/history?ccy=USD&from=…&to=…` returns one row per day as JSON, CSV, XML or XLSX on paid plans.

### Do I need an API key?

Yes. Commercial bank boards need an API key; any plan works, the free key included, and each call counts against the plan. Public pages or widgets that show the rates need a visible link to allratestoday.com.

## KCB Bank Kenya rates, as JSON

Free API key, hourly board captures, the official rate alongside.

 [Get your free API key](https://allratestoday.com/register/)

## Related

- [KCB Bank Kenya live board rates](https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/ke/kcb/)
- [All banks in Kenya side by side](https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/ke/)
- [Central Bank of Kenya official rates API](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/cbke/)
- [Commercial bank rates API: every bank and country](https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/)