Safaricom Plcand KCB Bank Kenya (KCB) have rolled out an overdraft facility that will enable business owners to borrow up to Sh400,000.
Dubbed “Fuliza ya Biashara” the product will apply when making transactions from a Lipa Na M-Pesa business to other till numbers and pay bill numbers, when sending money to an individual, and when withdrawing to the nominated number or at an Agent.
The service will advance an overdraft of up to Sh400,000 with a 24-hour interest-free period.
“We launched Lipa Na M-PESA as a way for businesses to conveniently receive cashless payments through their mobile phones, whenever they are,” Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said.
“With more than 538,000 businesses accepting payments through the service, our strategy is to now go beyond collecting payments by providing business owners with tools to manage and grow their businesses,” Ndegwa added.
“Fuliza ya Biashara caters especially to small businesses by providing them with instant, affordable credit of up to KSh. 400,000, empowering them to rapidly respond to their business needs.”
The overdraft is automatically repaid from incoming till payments with amounts outstanding beyond 24 hours and charged at a two percent daily access fee for up to 29 days.
In 2020, Safaricom introduced the Lipa Na M-Pesa business till ill and M-Pesa business app, enabling businesses to make payments from tills and providing simplified cash flow management through the app.
More than 390,000 businesses have downloaded the M-Pesa Business App with over 50 per cent of business transactions on M-Pesa being made through the app.