Safaricom subscribers will now be able to buy airtime using the company’s overdraft facility, Fuliza. The feature will allow users to access higher amounts of airtime credit compared to Okoa Jahazi.
Fuliza was launched two years ago in 2019. Since then it has grown to be one of the most profitable products for Kenya’s largest telco.
It will enable users to access significantly larger airtime amounts than they currently can through Okoa Jahazi.
Read: How to Use Fuliza Overdraft Service by Safaricom
Okoa Jahazi allows users to borrow credit at a 10 percent fee once their airtime value goes below Sh5. Fuliza already allows subscribers to send money, shop and make payments using the overdraft facility.
During Safaricom’s half-year earnings call released this month, the company reported a 62.4 percent increase in the usage of Fuliza. The company reported that it had disbursed Sh242.6 billion in the period, compared to Sh149.4 billion in the same period last year.
This translates to about Sh1.32 billion disbursed daily for subscribers borrowing about Sh375 each on the facility.
Read: Safaricom Rolls Out Free Data Campaign for Subscribers
Fuliza’s repayment rate is also one of the most impressive, at 99.0 percent. This is due to the self-regulatory nature of the service, where monies deposited into mobile money wallet ,M-Pesa are automatically deducted to settle any outstanding Fuliza debts.
The opt-in facility which currently has 1.7 million active users earned Safaricom Sh2.8 billion in income revenue in the six months, a 32.2 percent increase from Sh2.1 billion reported in the same period last year.
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