Safaricom Launches Fuliza Ya Pochi for Pochi Merchants

In Short

Safaricom has launched Fuliza Ya Pochi, extending M-PESA’s credit ecosystem to qualifying Pochi La Biashara merchants in Kenya.

It gives over one million qualifying merchants access to an overdraft facility, which is a short-term credit line that lets you complete payments when your wallet balance is not enough.

What Happened: How Fuliza Ya Pochi Works For Merchants

Safaricom said Fuliza Ya Pochi is designed to give micro-businesses “financial flexibility” based on their everyday business activity.

Safaricom said qualifying Pochi La Biashara merchants can use the overdraft to pay suppliers, make Buy Goods purchases, send money, and settle utility payments.

Peter Ndegwa, Group CEO of Safaricom PLC, said micro-businesses in Kenya face daily cash flow gaps that can lead to missed sales, delayed stock purchases, or postponed supplier payments. He added that “as merchants transact and grow on M-PESA, they create a pathway to greater financial opportunities.”

Safaricom said the product is available to merchants who have actively used Pochi La Biashara for more than six months. Merchants can access it through the Pochi Mini App on My OneApp or via USSD, which is the short dial code menu used on feature phones, by dialing *334#.

Safaricom said that after enrollment, qualifying merchants receive a Fuliza Ya Pochi limit based on their business activity. Repayments are automatically made from future payments into the merchant’s Pochi wallet.

Why It Matters: Credit Built On Daily Payments

Safaricom is pushing credit further into everyday merchant workflows on M-PESA, using transaction activity to determine limits and automate repayment.

The company positioned Fuliza Ya Pochi as an extension of Fuliza, which Safaricom introduced in 2019 to help customers complete M-PESA transactions when they do not have enough balance. It later extended this to businesses through Fuliza ya Biashara for qualifying Lipa na M-PESA merchants.

Safaricom also pointed to recent measures for Pochi La Biashara users, including zero-rating customer payments up to KES 200 and reducing charges by 50% on customer payments above KES 200, capped at KES 50, for a period of three months.