Fuliza Charges in Kenya 2026: Daily Fees, Limits and Why Yours Is Zero

Fuliza charges have two parts: a one-off access fee of 1% of whatever you borrow, and a daily maintenance fee that climbs with your outstanding balance — from nothing on balances under KSh 100 up to KSh 30 a day (fee plus 20% excise duty) once you owe more than KSh 2,500. That's the current tariff on Safaricom's official Fuliza page, checked in October 2026. If your Fuliza limit shows 0, it's almost always because you've been on Safaricom for less than six months, or you registered M-Pesa with a foreign passport — Safaricom excludes both groups from the service entirely.

What Fuliza actually costs you

Fuliza isn't a loan in the legal sense — Safaricom calls it a continuous overdraft, meaning it tops up a shortfall on an M-Pesa transaction rather than paying out cash to your wallet directly. You can use it to send money, pay a till or paybill (Lipa na M-Pesa), buy airtime, or withdraw at an agent, as long as you're within your allocated limit.

Two charges apply:

• A one-off access fee of 1% of the amount you borrow, charged the moment you use Fuliza.
• A daily maintenance fee, charged just after midnight, based on how much you still owe — plus 20% excise duty on that maintenance fee.

Fuliza daily maintenance fee by balance

Both the tariff and the three-day grace period on the two lowest bands are confirmed on Safaricom's own Fuliza FAQ. KSh 70,000 is the ceiling for Fuliza altogether — nobody is allocated more than that, however long they've used it.

Worked example: say your M-Pesa balance runs out and you use Fuliza to pay a KSh 2,000 Pochi la Biashara bill. You're charged KSh 20 straight away (1% access fee). If you clear the whole KSh 2,020 the same day through your next deposit, that's all you pay. Take three days to repay instead, and you add three days in the KSh 1,501–2,500 band at KSh 24 a day — KSh 72 — for a total of KSh 92, or about 4.6% of what you borrowed.

To see what Fuliza has really cost you, run your M-Pesa statement through our M-Pesa statement analyzer: it adds up your Fuliza fees and M-Pesa charges on your phone.

Why your Fuliza limit is 0

Safaricom allocates a Fuliza limit only to customers who've been active on the network for at least six months, based on how that line is used. If you've opted in but you're newer than that, your limit sits at zero until the six months pass — this is stated as policy, not a fault on your account.

Two other things shut you out:

• Foreign passport registration. M-Pesa accounts registered with a foreign passport cannot opt into Fuliza at all, only national ID, Kenyan passport, or military ID holders can.
• Low M-Pesa activity. Even past six months, Safaricom says the limit is "based on their line's activity" — a SIM used mostly for voice and airtime, with little M-Pesa movement, scores lower than one used for sending, paying bills, and topping up regularly.

How to increase your Fuliza limit

Safaricom reviews every Fuliza limit every three months. Two things move it, by Safaricom's own account:

1. Use Safaricom and M-Pesa regularly — sending money, paying bills, buying airtime and data.
2. Repay what you borrow on time, by topping up your M-Pesa line so the outstanding balance clears.

There's no form or customer-care request that overrides this — the review is automatic, and it can move your limit down as easily as up if your usage or repayment slips. Dial *334#, select Fuliza M-Pesa, and you can check your current limit, balance and mini-statement at any time.

What to watch out for

• Fuliza doesn't wait for you to pay it back. Any money that lands in your M-Pesa line — salary, a transfer from a client, a deposit at an agent — is used to clear your outstanding Fuliza balance automatically, before you can spend or withdraw it.
• Go 30 days without clearing it, and you lose access. Safaricom's FAQ says you won't be able to use your Fuliza limit again until you've paid the balance in full, after which access is restored.
• A wrong paybill or till number doesn't save you the fees. If you use Fuliza to pay the wrong number and the funds get reversed, the amount itself can come back, but the access fee and maintenance charges you already paid are not refunded. If that's happened to you, see our guide on reversing M-Pesa sent to the wrong paybill or till.
• It sits on top of normal M-Pesa charges, not instead of them. The transaction itself (sending, paying a till) still carries its usual M-Pesa charge — Fuliza's fees are extra, for the overdraft part only.
• Treat it as a short-term plug, not a cushion. If you're using Fuliza every week just to get by, a small buffer in a digital savings app earning interest will cost you far less than repeat access fees and daily charges.

Before you borrow, it's worth running the numbers on what the transaction itself will cost through our M-Pesa charges calculator — Fuliza's fees come on top of that.

Frequently asked questions

Is Fuliza a loan?

No. Safaricom classifies it as a continuous overdraft service, not a loan product — it covers a shortfall on an M-Pesa transaction rather than paying cash into your account. The distinction matters for how it's charged: daily maintenance fees apply only to what you still owe, not a fixed loan term.

How much is Fuliza interest per day?

It depends on your outstanding balance: nothing under KSh 100, KSh 3 a day (after a 3-day grace period) between KSh 101 and KSh 500, up to KSh 30 a day once you owe between KSh 2,501 and KSh 70,000. Each figure already includes Safaricom's 20% excise duty on the maintenance fee.

Why is my Fuliza limit 0?

Most often because you've had your Safaricom line for under six months, you registered M-Pesa with a foreign passport, or your M-Pesa activity is too low for the automated scoring to allocate a limit. Opting in doesn't guarantee a limit — it only makes you eligible for one.

How do I increase my Fuliza limit?

Keep using M-Pesa and Safaricom services regularly, and repay any Fuliza balance on time. Safaricom reviews limits every three months based on usage and repayment history, and there's no manual override or customer-care request that can raise it outside that review.

What happens if I don't repay Fuliza?

Any money that reaches your M-Pesa line is used to clear your outstanding Fuliza balance first, automatically. If you go 30 days without clearing it in full, you lose access to Fuliza until you repay everything, after which it's restored.

Can I opt out of Fuliza?

Yes. Dial *334#, select Fuliza M-Pesa, and you'll find an opt-out option alongside your limit, balance and mini-statement. You'll need to clear any outstanding balance before opting out takes effect.