Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom, NCBA and KCB Bank Kenya have announced a restructuring of the popular Fuliza overdraft facility.
Fuliza was launched back in January 2019 and the service allows M-Pesa customers to send money or pay for goods and services even when they have insufficient funds in their accounts
The new restructuring will now see customers transacting on Fuliza access the overdraft facility at a free daily maintenance fee for the first three days for transactions of KES. 1,000 and below. The move benefits more than 80% of M-Pesa customers who seek to complete their payment transactions with Fuliza credit.
Customers that borrow above KES 1,000 will also enjoy a 10 – 20% discount on their Daily Maintenance Fee. The one-off Access fee, levied when customers access Fuliza remains unchanged at 1%, establishing Fuliza as the most accessible and affordable credit facility in the country.
The new discounted rates will be effective on October 1, 2022.
“In line with our purpose of transforming lives and in the spirit of Tuinuane, we have introduced a free daily maintenance fee period for Fuliza transactions of KSh. 1,000 that repay within the first three days. This simple change will reset the use of the Fuliza service to its intended purpose,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO – Safaricom.
John Gachora, Group Managing Director, NCBA said this restructure aims to reinforce the original purpose of Fuliza – a short term overdraft facility for 4 to 7 days. ‘’From the data that we have, it is clear that the original intent for Fuliza to be a short-term credit facility has evolved,‘’ he said.
Fuliza is an M-PESA innovation and is the first solution in the world to enable mobile money customers to complete a transaction when they have insufficient funds. The service was especially instrumental at the height of the COVID pandemic as many customers and businesses switched to cashless transactions.
“We are taking additional deliberate steps to provide affordable credit to Kenyans in our contribution to drive up economic activity and recovery. We will anchor this on strong partnerships with various stakeholders while deploying innovative digital capabilities to enhance financial access and inclusion,” said Paul Russo, CEO – KCB Group.
Reduced Fuliza Rates
| Tariff Band | Old Daily Maintenance Fee | New Daily Maintenance Fee |
| 1 – 100 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 101 – 500 | 5.00 | Free for first 3 days
2.50 after |
| 501 – 1,000 | 10.00 | Free for first 3 days
5.00 after |
| 1,001 – 1500 | 20.00 | 18.00 |
| 1,501 – 2,500 | 25.00 | 20.00 |
| 2,501 – 70,000 | 30.00 | 24.00 |
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Nice one.