Safaricom’s overdraft service, Fuliza, saw the number of active users rising 22.2 percent to 9.1 million in the six months to November 2025, up from 7.5 million in a similar period last year.
According to Safaricom’s half-year financial results released on Thursday, Kenyans borrowed a total of Sh629.2 billion through Fuliza, an increase of 39.8 percent from Sh450 billion last year.
The average loan size also grew by 7.8 percent, from Sh236.20 to Sh254.60, amid consumer reliance on short-term digital credit.
Launched in 2019, Fuliza allows Safaricom customers to complete transactions even when they have insufficient funds in their M-Pesa mobile money wallets, provided it is within one’s assigned limit, which is determined by their M-Pesa activity and history.
The optional service is run in partnership with NCBA and KCB Bank, who act as underwriters, and covers the shortfall for services like person-to-person cash transfer, withdrawal at M-Pesa agents, making payments, or purchasing airtime.
Funds received in the account are then automatically used to repay the outstanding Fuliza amount with interest and fees.
Safaricom charges a one-off one-percent access fee and a daily maintenance fee from Sh5 for loans between Sh101 and Sh500, up to Sh30 for amounts between Sh2,501 and Sh70,000.
However, a majority of Safaricom’s customers have still not opted into the service, as the latest figures represent 17.8 percent of the company’s 51.12 million 90-day total active customers.
Safaricom’s mobile savings and lending platform, M-Shwari, recorded strong customer growth but weaker loan performance.
The number of monthly active M-Shwari users rose 17.6 percent to 7.9 million, up from 6.7 million last year.
However, the average loan size declined 9.7 percent from Sh10,170 to Sh9,186, while total disbursements dipped 1.8 percent to Sh48 billion, down from Sh48.9 billion a year earlier.
Overall, revenue from M-Pesa rose 14 percent to Sh88.1 from Sh77.2 billion last year.