Millions of Kenyans are increasingly relying on Fuliza to get through daily expenses, with new figures showing that borrowing on the mobile overdraft service rose to a record Sh1.46 trillion in the financial year ending March 2026.
The latest data released by Safaricom shows the amount borrowed through the facility grew by 49.3 per cent from Sh981.6 billion recorded the previous year, underlining the growing dependence on short-term credit by households and businesses facing financial pressure.
Fuliza enables M-Pesa users to complete transactions when they do not have enough money in their mobile wallets. The overdraft service is operated jointly by Safaricom, NCBA Bank Kenya and KCB Bank Kenya, with the banks taking responsibility for the lending risk.
The increase in borrowing comes at a time when many households are struggling with rising living costs, slow salary growth and reduced spending power, forcing consumers to turn to quick mobile loans for essential needs such as rent, food and healthcare.
At the same time, some customers have embraced Fuliza as a convenient way of making payments without first transferring money between accounts or depositing cash into their M-Pesa wallets.
Industry trends also show that borrowers are increasingly moving away from loans meant for development projects and business expansion and instead seeking smaller facilities to cover immediate needs.
“There has been less borrowing for capital expenditure. We are seeing more borrowing just for survival. People are borrowing to spend on short-term needs as opposed to long-term investments,” said John Gachora, managing director of NCBA Group.
Economic data further points to shrinking purchasing power among workers despite slight improvements in wages.
Real earnings adjusted for inflation increased marginally to Sh56,566 last year from Sh55,450 in 2024. However, workers are still earning less in real terms compared to 2020 when wages stood at Sh62,256, reflecting an erosion of Sh5,690 over the six-year period.
Safaricom linked the rise in Fuliza borrowing to increased customer limits and a sharp growth in the number of people using the service.
The telecommunications company recently increased customer limits in January 2026, allowing users to access larger overdraft amounts.
The number of customers using Fuliza more than doubled during the review period to 17.7 million from 7.9 million previously.
Even with the rise in users, the average amount borrowed dropped to Sh217.90 from Sh241.20, suggesting that many customers are taking smaller loans more frequently to meet everyday expenses.
Revenue earned from Fuliza also increased strongly during the period. Safaricom generated Sh6 billion from the service compared to Sh4.1 billion the previous year.
Borrowers on the platform pay a one per cent access charge and later incur a daily maintenance fee beginning at midnight the following day.
Charges range from Sh3 for loans between Sh101 and Sh500 to Sh30 for amounts between Sh2,501 and Sh70,000, with the tariffs inclusive of excise duty.
According to Safaricom, customers who regularly use M-Pesa services and repay their overdrafts continue to qualify for higher borrowing limits.
“We enhanced our credit limits as part of our response to customer needs. This drove higher utilisation, with volumes and values increasing,” Safaricom said in its 2025 annual report.
“This is an area with great potential for growth as we work together with our partners to meet the needs of our customers.”
More than one million users also benefited from improved limits after the company introduced artificial intelligence tools for credit and behavioural assessment.
Safaricom has continued expanding its digital lending services beyond individual consumers. In 2023, the company launched Fuliza ya Biashara together with KCB Bank Kenya to support small businesses with short-term credit.
“Our strategy is to go beyond collecting payments by providing business owners with tools to manage and grow their businesses. Fuliza ya Biashara caters especially to small businesses by providing instant, affordable credit of up to Sh400,000, empowering them to respond quickly to their business needs,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom Plc chief executive officer.
Despite concerns about rising borrowing levels, repayment performance on Fuliza remained stable over the year. The repayment-to-disbursement ratio stayed unchanged at 101.5 per cent, indicating that most users are still repaying the loans.
Safaricom also offers other lending products through KCB M-Pesa, M-Shwari and Timiza, though the three platforms recorded lower disbursements compared to Fuliza at Sh73.8 billion, Sh95.1 billion and Sh28.5 billion respectively.
Beyond lending, the company has widened its financial services portfolio to include savings, investments and insurance products under the M-Pesa ecosystem.
Its Ziidi Money Market Fund more than doubled its active customer base to 2.2 million users, while assets under management grew to Sh21 billion. The investment platform generated Sh140 million in revenue for the company.
Safaricom also facilitated the issuance of 94,400 insurance policies through the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo smartphone financing programme covering 4G and 5G devices.