Users of Fuliza, Safaricom’s M-Pesa-based overdraft facility, are now able to withdraw cash at M-Pesa agents and other such outlets.
The development, which has been live for a few weeks but hasn’t, yet, been made official by Safaricom, expands the abilities of Fuliza users.
Fuliza users had hitherto been limited to buying airtime, sending money and using Lipa na M-Pesa services like Buy Goods and Paybill.
Before the ability to withdraw cash was added, Kenyans had found a cheeky workaround: one would send money to another person (without Fuliza) who would then withdraw from their M-Pesa mobile wallet and hand them the cash.
Fuliza, which was started in 2019 to complement M-Shwari, Safaricom’s main mobile savings and credit product, has grown to eclipse it and become the go-to for Kenyans looking for quick top-ups when purchasing products and services using M-Pesa, Safaricom’s popular mobile money service. Others, presumably the majority, have turned it into their main loan product, outgrowing the product from its overdraft origins.
In the first half of 2022, Fuliza borrowings had grown by 30% year-over-year to stand at a whopping Kshs 288 billion, signalling the increased usage and popularity of the service.
In October, Safaricom revised Fuliza charges downwards, cutting charges for advances below Kshs 1,000 by 50% and introducing a 3-day grace period.
President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition rode to victory on the promise of freeing Kenyans from the shackles of high-interest mobile loans and facilities such as Fuliza. Since coming to office, his government has introduced the Hustler Fund, meant to offer an alternative to M-Shwari, Fuliza and other such products, with lower interest rates and no risk of listing with credit reference bureaus (CRBs).
