Safaricom’s overdraft facility Fuliza was launched back in 2019.
It has grown to become of the company’s leading revenue generators, and for good reason.
It is easy to access, and bearing in mind the majority of Safaricom customers have had their lines for extended periods of time, there is always an incentive to pay back the overdrawn money.
Fuliza, as Safaricom has always insisted, is not a loan facility. M-Shwari and KCB M-PESA exist for lending purposes.
This means that you are not compelled to make a payment in the manner traditional loans are furnished. Rather, your account is regularized as soon as you top up your M-PESA wallet.
Fuliza made Safaricom KES 2.8 billion in from March to September 2021. The disbursement versus repayment rate was at 99 percent, meaning that nearly all people who use the service pay it back.
READ MORE: Counting the Psychological and Financial Cost of Safaricom’s Fuliza
Safaricom, which offers the facility in partnership with NCBA and KCB Bank has also since adjusted Fuliza’s terms and conditions.
Now, customers are required to repay Fuliza by the 30th day after overdrawing.
If not, then Safaricom has the power to access the defaulting customer’s M-Shwari, KCB or NCBA Bank accounts to repay the facility.
This success has also made Fuliza to be replicated in Uganda. MTN Uganda, in collaboration with NCBA Uganda has launched MoMoAdvance. It works like Fuliza, but is more robust in terms of feature sets because MTN Mobile Money agents and corporate clients can even access it.
You can find out more details here.
To this end, how much does Fuliza cost in terms of access fees and interest rates?
Well, here are the charges for 2022 (they haven’t changed from 2021):
[You will be charged a 1% access fee and a maintenance fee on the outstanding balance as per the table below. Normal M-PESA transaction charges apply]
Band (KES) | Tariff (per day) | Promotional Tariff for 30 days from launch |
0-100 | KES 2.4 | One-time fee of KES 0 |
101-500 | KES 6 | |
501-1000 | KES 12 | |
1001-1500 | KES 26 | |
1501-2500 | KES 30 | |
2501-70000 | KES 36 |