NAIROBI, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Kenya's central bank has capped the amount of dollars that money transfer companies can sell to an individual customer at $100,000 per day, a central bank letter to the firms shows.

       The firms, which provide cash remittance services to those living abroad, will be required to sell any hard currency amounts exceeding $100,000 only to commercial banks, the regulator said in the letter dated Wednesday and seen by Reuters on Thursday.

       The move was caused by an observation that the firms have been participating in the wholesale foreign exchange market without complying with the various guidelines, standards and code that govern that segment, the central bank said.

       The move will create a fair and orderly market, the bank said. The Kenyan shilling has been under sustained pressure from the dollar for more than a year.

       Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alison Williams and Kevin Liffey

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