Why you are not eligible for M-Shwari loan despite being long-time Safaricom subscriber

Atuti Tiberius, a Safaricom customer, recently took to social media to express frustrations over his zero M-Shwari loan limit.

In a Facebook post, Atuti revealed that he has been unable to access M-Shwari loans for years after his previous loan, which he delayed repaying by two days.

“I delayed my M-Shwari loan by two days, paid it off, but now it’s been years with a zero limit and zero Fuliza limit. How can someone opt out of these services forever?” he wrote.

Responding to the matter, Safaricom explained that M-Shwari is a social collateral service that allocates a loan at a bank’s discretion, adding that loan limits are based on the customer’s M-Pesa usage, M-Shwari savings, as well as borrowing and repayment history.

Safaricom, in an exclusive interview, revealed that NCBA Bank is its partner in offering the loans and has the authority to assess and adjust these limits.

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“Loan limits are automatically reviewed by the system and are at the discretion of the bank. This depends on how regularly you’ve been saving, repaying your loans (including Okoa Jahazi) on time, and using other Safaricom services like voice, data, and M-Pesa,” Safaricom said.

M-Shwari is a savings and loan service designed for M-PESA customers, providing an easy and flexible way to both save and borrow.

Users can save as little as Sh1 and earn interest of up to 6.3 percent on their savings balance.

The facility also allows customers to access loans of between Sh1,000 and Sh1 million, with a 9 percent fee, which includes a 7.5 percent loan fee and a 1.5 percent excise duty.

The loans are instantly approved and credited directly to the customer’s M-Pesa account. To qualify for an M-Shwari loan, Safaricom advises customers to be active on M-Pesa for at least six months, save regularly on M-Shwari, and avoid late repayment of loans.

Additionally, customers are advised to actively use other Safaricom services, such as voice calls, mobile data, and transacting through M-PESA.