Safaricom’s overdraft facility Fuliza was announced in late 2018 and went live a few days ago. The product has proved its popularity, both from our editorial end and engagement with the company.
According to Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore who spoke with Reuters, Fuliza attracted more than 1 million users in its first week. Mr Collymore reports that the numbers surpassed their initial expectations, and could go higher as people learn more about the product.
In its first week, Fuliza issued more than KES 1 billion. At the moment, the carrier is said to have allowed their customers to draw more than KES 1.5 billion, which is an impressive feat.
Functionally, Fuliza allows M-PESA users who have insufficient funds in their wallets to pay bills, buy goods and services, as well as send cash. The amount allocated for customers is based on a transactional profile. You can get access to Fuliza by dialling *234#. The product is also available on mySafaricom app.
Additional details regarding its operations, such as how it is different from M-Shwari, payment process and interest rates can be read in a previous post. To recap, early payments will translate to a growing profile – and you will also pay less service fees. If payment is delayed for a month, you will not access the service, although the period is extended to 90 days (each day accumulates interest), unlike M-Shwari that is restricted to 30 days.
Both Fuliza and M-Shwari are run by Safaricom in partnership with CBA. By the way, CBA Loop users have the same service in the Loop app.
