According to statistics, Kenyans borrow approximately 1.2billion per day on Fuliza. For those not conversant with the service, Fuliza is an overdraft facility provided by Safaricom that allows M-PESA customers to complete their M-PESA transactions in the event that they have insufficient funds in their M-PESA wallets.
Another product provided by Safaricom that also competes with the above statistics of Fuliza is Mshwari which is a credit facility that also doubles up as a savings platform.
Although they are products from the same parent company, there are subtle differences that drive their autonomy in fulfilling their intended functions.
Below are examples of such variations between the two services.
| Mshwari | Fuliza M-Pesa | |
|---|---|---|
| Launch date | November 2012 | January 2019 |
| Purpose | Loans and Savings facility | Overdraft facility |
| Activation Procedure | Navigate to Safaricom menu via Sim toolkit, select ‘M-Pesa’ then ‘Activate/Wezesha’ | Dial *234# and select ‘Fuliza M-Pesa’ to opt in |
| Fee charged | One off 7.5% fee | One off 1.083% fee and a daily administrative fee on outstanding balance ranging from Ksh5 – Ksh30 per day |
| Repayment procedure | Manually make repayment through ‘Mshwari’ menu, select ‘Loan’, select ‘Pay loan’ and follow the procedure. | Deducted automatically when funds are deposited into M-Pesa account. |
| Multiple usage | No, unless you repay the initial outstanding loan and apply for another. | Yes. As long as the amounts are within the Fuliza limit. |
| Withdrawal | Yes. Navigate to the ‘Mshwari’ menu, select ‘Withdraw from Mshwari’ | No, unless through a separate mobile number |
| Check balance | Dial *334# | Dial *234# |
With the above distinctions in mind, it is therefore possible to make use of the two services simultaneously.
Categories: Fuliza
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