M-Pesa users who default on their fuliza loans will not have access to their funds in M-Shwari and KCB.
How many times have you used Fuliza? in case you’re still not aware on what it is, Fuliza is a service that allows M-PESA customers to complete their M-PESA transactions when they have insufficient funds in their M-PESA account.
The service comes in handy especially when you’re strapped for cash and you have an emergency, but the thing is, not everyone uses it for emergencies as many people rely on Fuliza as an extra source of “income”, forgetting that it’s actually a loan service. This has become a major issue to Safaricom as a business. As a way of dealing with defaulters people who keep their money in KCB and M-Shwari will not have any access to their money until they pay their Fuliza loans.
The new terms.
The saved money will be used as collateral and in addition the new terms charge Fuliza a 1.083 percent interest rate, whereas the service previously charged a facility fee of the same amount.
The modified conditions, according to Safaricom, are not new, but rather a standard for financial products. In response to questions, Dennis Mbuvi, a communication officer at Safaricom, said the new conditions explain the fact that Fuliza is given across various M-Pesa products.
He added:
“As a financial service, Fuliza is offered by KCB and NCBA as licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) hence the lien clause which is standard for banking products and also there in the current terms,”