The facility will allow customers to complete transactions even with insufficient balance in their M-PESA wallet.
Kenya’s largest privately owned bank Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) in partnership with Safaricom are pleased to announce the launch of a new feature on the M-PESA wallet dubbed FULIZA, to complement the existing 30-day term loan, currently offered as M-Shwari.
This new service is designed to help the customer complete M-PESA transactions that would have otherwise failed or postponed due to insufficient funds. This is aimed at solving the current rate of failed mobile money transactions performed daily due to insufficient funds which currently stands at 58 percent.
“Our continued collaboration with Safaricom aims to drive financial inclusion in a digital economy. With our technological innovation and responsible lending principles, we will advertently bring more people into the financial system, encourage more transactions, more savings and, ultimately achieve stronger economic growth,” said Isaac Awuondo, CBA Group Managing Director.
With Fuliza, a customer whose Lipa na M-PESA transaction (Buy goods and Pay bill) value is greater than their M-PESA wallet balance, can complete the transaction with the benefit of the Fuliza limit for an Access fee of 0.5 percent.
A maintenance fee of 0.5 percent per day is then applied each day that the wallet remains overdrawn. Whenever you receive an inflow into your M-PESA wallet, the over drawn position is regularized. During this period that your M-PESA wallet is overdrawn, one shall still have access to their M-Shwari limit.
Fuliza is targeted at all Safaricom’s M-PESA customers that have been active for at least the past 6 months and maintain a good M-Shwari credit performance history. The service will be offered on the M-PESA Sim Toolkit (STK) Application and My Safaricom App.
To subscribe (opt-in) to this service, a customer shall dial *234# and agree to the presented Fuliza Terms and Conditions. One does not necessarily have to be an existing M-Shwari customer in order to opt-in to this service. Once you have opted in, proceed to perform Lipa na M-PESA transactions.
Fuliza comes on the back of success on M-Shwari which was introduced on November 27, 2012, and so far has over 25 million customers (59% male and 41% female). The two offerings; M-Shwari, and Fuliza, present two alternative forms for smoothening of a customer’s cash flows.
