Kenyans will now enjoy zero daily maintenance charges for the popular Fuliza overdraft facility for transactions below Sh1,000 in the initial three days of borrowing from October 1.

This is after Safaricom, NCBA, and KCB, the three companies behind the overdraft, revised the Fuliza charges in an effort to encourage more Kenyans to utilize the credit facility.

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“For the first three days, customers will not have to pay a daily maintenance fee, which they pay today,” said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa on Wednesday.

Safaricom also announced an interest reduction of 50 per cent for transactions below Sh1,000, with daily fees also slashed for transactions between Sh1,000 and Sh70,000.

Peter Ndegwa. 

According to Ndegwa, the tariff revisions announced by Safaricom, NCBA and KCB will result in a 50 per cent overall reduction in the Fuliza tariffs to rope in more people into the service.

According to the new tariffs, daily charges of loans up to Sh1000 have been brought down to Sh6 per day from Sh10 per day.

John Gachora.

Safaricom and its partners in the venture Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and NCBA are also looking to reduce daily charges on loans below Sh500 from Sh5 to Sh3.

Customers using the Fuliza overdraft facility to access loans between Sh2,500 to Sh70,000 will now enjoy a 16.7 per cent reduction from Sh30 per day to Sh25 per cent, according to the changes announced by Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, KCB Group CEO Paul Russo and NCBA Group MD John Gachora.

Patrick Njoroge, Peter Ndegwa and Njuguna Ndung'u. PHOTO/PSCU

President Willam Ruto, who also attended the media briefing, said he had been sent by the customers of the three companies, who needed their services to be more consumer centric.

“I was actually planning to come to you to have this meeting with you. I have been sent by your customers. The people who cannot make it to your offices or the negotiating table. The people want a mutually beneficial relationship, win-win out of this relationship,” said Ruto.

William Ruto. PHOTO/PSCU

Fuliza, which was launched by Safaricom, NCBA and KCB in 2019, allows M-Pesa subscribers to withdraw more than their account balance to complete a transaction during a purchase.

The credit facility has since gained more subscribers and has edged out other Safaricom-linked mobile loan products such as KCB MPESA and Mshwari.

More than Sh1 million people have signing up for the service over the past 12 months.