New Safaricom Charges for Calls, SMS, Data, Fuliza, and Home Fibre

The new Excise Duty has gone into effect (as of July 1, 2021), following an amendment of the Finance Act, 2018. The adjustment saw the duty jump to 20 percent from 15 percent. The revisions have been reflected in some of the services it affects, including data, calls, internet, and online loan charges for products such as Safaricom’s overdraft facility Fuliza and M-Shwari.

Following adjustments from Airtel and Telkom Kenya, Safaricom has done the same thing, but for Out of Bundle (OOB) services. OOB refers to calls, SMS, and data browsing from normal airtime and not within a bundle. The changes take effect from today, a week after the amendment was made to the Finance law.

Who is affected?

To note, all pre-pay subscribers (under the Uwezo and Blaze tariffs) will be affected. Also, post-pay and hybrid tariffs under OOB usage will be affected.

New Rates

Service	Without tax (KES)	With tax (KES)
Calls (peak)	3.50	4.87
Calls (off-peak)	1.80	2.50
SMS	0.86	1.20
Data (OOB)	3.50	4.87

Off-peak hours start from 10 PM to 8 AM the following morning.

A few things should be noted:

1. If you are in a bundle and the subscription is exhausted, then the new rates will apply (using your airtime).
2. Priority usage will always use bundles before opting for OOB.
3. If you are using Storo bonus, the new rates will apply because Storo is not a bundled product. The same applies to Okoa Jahazi.

Home Fibre

During the introduction of the first installment of the Finance Bill in 2018, products such as Home Fibre, and other broadband services were adjusted to reflect the tax. The same will be done for the new 20 percent adjustment. The likes of Zuku have already revised their broadband fees.

Safaricom says it is reviewing the charges, and will be communicated to users in the coming days.

New fees:

Package	Speeds (Mbps)	Price (KES)	Fair Usage Limit (GB)	Speeds After Fair Usage (Mbps)
Bronze	8	3000	500	1
Silver	20	4100	1000	3
Gold	40	6300	1000	3
Diamond	100	12500	1000	3

Fuliza, M-Shwari

M-Shwari facilitation fees will grow from 7.5 percent to 9 percent (a 1.5% jump).

KCB M-Pesa loans will now attract a fee of 8.64 percent, up from 7.35 percent.

Fuliza daily fees will include 20% Excise Duty. Access fees remain at 1%.