Have you ever tried to send money using M-Pesa or pay for goods/ services only to realise you didn’t have enough funds? This is where Safaricom’s new product, Fuliza comes to the rescue. If you are a regular M-Pesa user, you might have come across the term Fuliza.
Fuliza is simply an overdraft service from Safaricom that allows M-PESA customers to complete their M-PESA transactions when they have insufficient funds in their M-PESA account.
To be able to use Fuliza, you’re only required to be a Safaricom M-Pesa subscriber who actively uses the service. Depending on how regularly you transact and the volume of your transactions, you can qualify for a Fuliza amount of between Kshs. 1 to Kshs. 70,000.
Registering for Fuliza Service
As an M-PESA registered customers with an active Safaricom line, dial *234# and select Fuliza M-PESA to opt in.
After successful registration, you will receive a message from M-Pesa confirming your registration. The message will also contain the charges in brief and you Fuliza limit.
You can opt out of Fuliza at any time provided you don’t have any outstanding debt.
Fuliza Charges and repayment
In addition to the normal M-Pesa charges incurred in sending or paying for bills, you will be charged 1% access fee and a maintenance fee on the outstanding balance.
The maintenance fee depends on the amount borrowed as shown below.
Any funds received or deposited in your M-PESA account will automatically be used to clear your outstanding Fuliza M-PESA. That’s why you might have some people telling you not to send money to their M-Pesa as it will automatically be debited to pay their outstanding Fuliza dues if any.
If you go for 30 days without paying your Fuliza dues, you will be barred from accessing the service until you clear everything.
You cannot use Fuliza to withdraw money you don’t have.