Safaricom and EDOMx have collaborated to launch Faraja, a service that will allow customers to buy goods from businesses on credit through the Lipa Na M-Pesa.

Faraja will see the more than 32 million customers enlisted on the platform make purchases from Sh20 to Sh100,000 at zero interest fee and complete their payments within 30 days.

EDOMx CEO Julian Kyula says the company plans to expand the product to other countries after Kenya to deepen financial inclusion and boost creativity in the digital financial sector.

“In researching the global merchant and consumer industry, it was evident there is a substantial digital community that will appreciate our product offering including our zero-interest initiative, plus much more in enhancing loyalty and customer focused programs,” said Kyula.

He added, “There is no doubt the global digital financial frontier is shifting, and we believe that we have much to offer the world from our Kenyan digital innovation culture.”

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Customers can access the new service at businesses which offer Faraja by dialing *799# to opt-in or make a payment, or by selecting the Faraja mini-app on the M-Pesa Super App.

They can also make multiple purchases simultaneously through Faraja as long as they are within their assigned credit limits.

Safaricom Peter Ndegwa says the deal is part of ongoing efforts to innovate M-Pesa to empower businesses with different tools and solutions to run better and expand faster.

“Many businesses lose out on sales when a customer would like to make a purchase but lacks money at that point,” said Ndegwa.

He added: “We are glad to partner with EDOMx to offer Faraja empowering any business to grow their sales by enabling their customers to buy now and pay later.”

Faraja says it is seeking to empower business owners to increase their sales and businesses by enabling their customers to make purchases at the point of need then pay for them later.

Businesses on Lipa Na M-Pesa can sign into Faraja at farajacredit.com or by contacting EDOMx while customers can use the service at any Lipa Na M-Pesa outlet that offers Faraja.

The new service is available at a number of merchant stores among them all Naivas Supermarkets, Goodlife pharmacies and City Walk.

Businesses on Faraja will get paid in full for a product or service as soon as a customer makes a payment through the service.

EDOMx will offer the Faraja service to more than 606,000 businesses on Safaricom’s Lipa Na M-Pesa at a negotiated facility fee payable by the business.