Customers of Fuliza who borrow between KSh. 100 and KSh. 1000 will receive a 40% discount on the daily maintenance cost as of October 1.
The announcement comes just a month after Deloitte and data firm DataEQ released a joint analysis revealing that the majority of Kenyans on Twitter are dissatisfied with the cost of the overdraft option.
“Despite acknowledging the convenience offered by M-Pesa, Kenyan consumers expressed unhappiness around how quickly the fees and related charges add up and developed workarounds,” an excerpt from the report reads.
For customers drawing below KSh. 100, there is no maintenance fee but for those seeking an overdraft of between KSh. 101-500 will now pay a fee of KSh. 3 down from KSh. 5 while those who intend to draw between KSh. 501-1000 will pay KSh. 6.
Fuliza, which is owned 40 per cent each by Safaricom and NCBA and 20 per cent by KCB Group, has quickly grown in popularity since it was launched in early 2019. It now has more than 1.7 million active daily users.
According to Safaricom, Fuliza users that drawdown KSh. 1,000 and below shall enjoy a waiver on daily maintenance fees for the first three days.
All users with 1001-1500 effectively pay KSh 18 receiving a 10 percent discount while those who draw KSh. 1500-2500 will in effect pay KSh. 20.
Those who seek to draw KSh. 2500-70,000 will also enjoy a 16.7 per cent discount and pay a daily charge of KSh. 25.
All customers who already hold a Fuliza loan by the start of the new charges will continue paying their loan using the old tariffs.
The new tariffs will start once you have fully settled your debt.
In the six months to June this year, Kenyans had borrowed KSh. 288 billion up from KSh 220.38 billion in the same period last year.
The short loans have become a preference for many Kenyans as they fight the nail-biting economic hardships.
Safaricom, NCBA, and KCB Bank Kenya Limited introduced Fuliza. The overdraft enables Safaricom M-Pesa customers to send or pay for goods and services up to a certain amount beyond their account balance.
