Fuliza is barely two weeks old and it is already lending billions of shillings to Kenyans. According to this article, the Safaricom’s overdraft facility has already lend 1.5 billion shillings in just 10days.
And as days go on, it seems that within a month, Fuliza will have registered up to 10 million users, the first million having registered on the first day after launch.
What is Fuliza?
Fuliza launched on January 7 after approval from the Central Bank of Kenya. It is a partnership between Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and is open to all active Safaricom users. Concisely, Fuliza is an overdraft facility that allows you to continue using Mpesa Services even when you have run out of money.
You can access the facility by dialing *234# or if you are using a smartphone, you can access it on My Safaricom App.
On your phone, go to My Safaricom App Menu. Go to Mpesa and find the Fuliza link.
How to use Fuliza
By dialing * 234# or going to Fuliza link on your smartphone, you should be able to know you credit limit, which is based on Mpesa transactions. The more transactions you do on Mpesa, the higher your credit limit.
Once you opted in and know your loan limit, you can then borrow as many times as possible within this limit.
This just a kind of ‘Okoa Jahazi’ but instead of working on the usual credit top-ups, it is working on Mpesa. Anytime you run out of cash on Mpesa and need to do a transaction, you can run to Fuliza for help.
How do I qualify for Fuliza?
To qualify, you need to;
- Must be an Mpesa customer.
- Be active on Mpesa for at least 6months.
- Transact often on Mpesa, this gives you a higher loan Limit.
What are the transactions fees?
Just like any other loan facility, the service attracts 1% access fee apart from the normal Mpesa transaction fees.
In addition, there is maintenance fee on any outstanding balances as shown below.
| Band | Tariff |
|---|---|
| 0-100 | One-time fee of KES 2 |
| 101-500 | KES 5 per day |
| 501-1000 | KES 10 per day |
| 1001-1500 | KES 20 per day |
| 1501-2500 | KES 25 per day |
| 2501-70000 | KES 30 per day |
How do I pay?
If you been using Okoa Jahazi, you are too aware of how Safaricom recovers their money. As soon as you top up, the money is deducted.
Safaricom will recover their funds from you as soon as you deposit money into your Mpesa wallet. This means that if you intending not to pay soon, then you are better of not using Mpesa services.
Moreover, if you do not pay within 30 days, you cannot use the Fuliza limit and you can only be reinstated to the service after paying outstanding loans.
Finally, is yet to be seen if other mobile companies will follow suit and give Kenyans a better deal.