Telecommunications firm Safaricom’s chief executive officer Peter Ndegwa has announced that the business will remove 4 million customers who it has listed on Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).

These customers will be delisted from the CRB by the end of November. They will then be given access to new loans.

“Today we have reduced Fuliza costs by 50 per cent on average. We are also working with NCBA and KCB as our banking partners, and they are going to be repairing four million customers that were previously listed on the CRB,” said Ndegwa.

“We will be taking them off the listing in the CRB so that they are able to access new loans; it will be 4 million additional new customers who will be free to access Fuliza and other lending products out there.”

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According to Ndegwa, these 4 million customers have been listed on CRB for defaulting on the firm’s M-Shwari and KCB M-PESA mobile loans.

Ndegwa acknowledged that the mega delisting of customers will impact Safaricom, KCB and NCBA.

However, Ndegwa cited that delisting customers from the CRB will mean that they will be allowed to re-borrow. This will in turn increase the use of Fuliza and other money lending services, and lead to recovery of any losses from the delisting.

“Yes, Safaricom and banks will lose a lot of money, and a reduction in the revenue that we earn. Since we reduced the cost, we have seen an increase in numbers using Fuliza, more frequency of customers using Fuliza and higher amounts using Fuliza,” he said.

“We expect over time the revenue will be recovered through the additional usage by customers. We believe that if the product is more sustainable and affordable, it will be better for the future of this product and its customers.”