Piece by: Dennis Milimo

28 September 2022

• At the same time, Safaricom, NCBA and KCB said they have reduced their daily charges on overdrafts by 40 percent.

• The Head of State was speaking during a joint meeting that had brought together Safaricom, NCBA Bank, KCB Bank, and other stakeholders.

A total of 5 million Kenyans will be taken off the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) blacklist by the beginning of November, according to President William Ruto.

The Head of State was speaking at a joint gathering that included representatives from Safaricom, NCBA Bank, KCB Bank, and other interested parties.

“During my campaign, Fuliza was a very popular word and today you have made a very good statement on the same. I am happy knowing that between 4-5M Kenyans will be out of the blacklist by the beginning of November,” Ruto said.

The President continued by saying that his administration does not oppose credit listing or CRB facilities.

“The government of Kenya is not against credit listing or CRB facilities, in fact, we support CRBs as a mechanism of instilling financial discipline in our financial sector. We do not want credit listing to be an all-or-nothing engagement,” he added.

Ruto went on to say that he had intended to attend the meeting at Safaricom because he had been sent by their clients.

"I was actually planning to have this meeting with you, Safaricom & banking partners. I have been sent by your customers. The people who cannot make it to your offices or the negotiating table. The people want a mutually beneficial relationship, a win-win,” he said.

At the same time, Safaricom, NCBA and KCB said they have reduced their daily charges on overdrafts by 40 percent.

“We have continued to assess the evolution of consumer behavior and economic conditions to identify ways in which we can further enhance the utility of our digital financial services,” Fuliza said in a statement.

Adding that; "Towards this end, we are introducing a new discounted tariff of up to 40% on Fuliza."

In the changes, borrowers between Sh101 to Sh500 will be charged a daily fee of Sh3, down from Sh5.

Any overdraft above Sh501 to Sh1, 000 will attract a daily fee of Sh6 down from Sh10.

The new tariff takes effect on October 1, 2022