Safaricom Launches Fuliza Ya Pochi for 1 Million Traders: How to Qualify and Get Cash

Safaricom has launched Fuliza Ya Pochi, a new overdraft facility designed to help small businesses in Kenya access short-term credit when their Pochi La Biashara wallets run short of money.

The service was unveiled at Makongeni Market in Thika on Thursday, October 22, 2026. It targets eligible traders who need extra funds to purchase stock, pay suppliers and meet daily business expenses without waiting for additional customer payments.

The launch marks another expansion of Safaricom’s mobile money lending services, bringing overdraft credit to merchants who use Pochi La Biashara to receive payments from customers.

According to reports published after the launch, more than one million merchants are expected to qualify for the new facility, drawn from a reported base of approximately 3.3 million Pochi accounts.

How Fuliza Ya Pochi Will Help Small Businesses

Fuliza Ya Pochi is intended to address a common challenge facing small traders: running out of working capital before the next customer payment arrives.

For example, a shopkeeper who needs to replenish essential goods may find that the money in their business wallet is insufficient to complete a supplier payment. Under the new arrangement, an eligible merchant can use an approved overdraft to complete qualifying transactions despite the shortfall.

The facility is intended to support payments for stock, supplier transactions, utility bills and other eligible business expenses.

This could be particularly useful to kiosk operators, market vendors, greengrocers and other entrepreneurs whose businesses depend on frequent, relatively small transactions.

However, the overdraft is a credit facility rather than free money. Merchants will need to repay what they borrow in accordance with the applicable terms and charges.

Eligibility depends on a merchant’s use of Pochi La Biashara and the assessment conducted by the service’s financial partners.

Available launch reports indicate that merchants must have actively used Pochi La Biashara for more than six months to qualify for consideration.

Transaction activity is also important. The amount of credit offered is expected to depend on the merchant’s business transaction history rather than being identical for every account.

This means two traders using the same service could receive different overdraft limits depending on their respective business activity and credit assessments.

Merchants should also check their account status and any outstanding obligations before applying. The final decision on eligibility and the credit limit rests with the service provider under the applicable lending conditions.

Although the launch has been reported as targeting more than one million qualifying merchants, not every Pochi user should assume that credit will be available immediately.

How to Activate Fuliza Ya Pochi Using *334#

Merchants can check for the service and follow the available enrolment instructions using their registered mobile phone numbers.

The activation procedure reported by Pulse Kenya is as follows:

Dial *334# on the phone number registered to your Pochi La Biashara account.

Accept the terms if you agree to the borrowing conditions.

Follow the authentication instructions to complete the opt-in process.

Menu options may change, so merchants should follow the instructions displayed on their phones and confirm that they are enrolling in the intended service.

If Fuliza Ya Pochi does not appear on the menu, the account may not yet have access to the service. Contacting Safaricom through its official customer support channels can help clarify the account’s status.

How to Activate the Service Through My OneApp

Smartphone users can also check for Fuliza Ya Pochi through the My OneApp platform.

The reported procedure involves opening the application, navigating to the Pochi Mini App section and checking whether the Fuliza Ya Pochi enrolment option is available.

Eligible merchants can then follow the displayed instructions, review the applicable terms and confirm their request.

Users should ensure they are using the official application and should never disclose their M-PESA PIN to another person claiming to offer activation assistance.

Successful enrolment does not mean the merchant has unlimited borrowing power. Any approved facility remains subject to the assigned credit limit and the product’s terms.

Repayment is expected to take place automatically through money subsequently received in the merchant’s Pochi La Biashara wallet.

This arrangement allows traders to clear outstanding credit without necessarily making a separate manual repayment every time money becomes available.

For instance, a merchant who borrows to restock a shop may have part or all of the outstanding balance deducted when new customer payments arrive.

Although this can simplify repayment, it also means that incoming business revenue may not be entirely available for new stock purchases or other expenses until the outstanding overdraft has been cleared.

Traders should therefore consider repayment deductions when planning their daily cash flow.

Launch coverage has referred to a repayment period of up to 30 days and warned of possible consequences for prolonged non-payment. However, merchants should confirm the exact repayment deadline and the applicable default provisions in the official Fuliza Ya Pochi terms before borrowing.

What Happens If a Merchant Fails to Repay?

Like other credit facilities, Fuliza Ya Pochi carries financial obligations that merchants should understand before opting in.

Failure to repay may affect future access to credit, depending on the applicable lending conditions. The source report also warns that prolonged default could lead to suspension and possible reporting to Credit Reference Bureaus.

Merchants should verify the exact default rules directly with the provider rather than assume that all conditions applying to other Fuliza products automatically apply to Fuliza Ya Pochi.

Maintaining a clear record of borrowing and repayments can help business owners avoid taking on more debt than their operations can support.

Before accepting an overdraft, traders should establish how much they need, when they expect to repay it and whether their anticipated sales will cover the amount owed.

Pochi La Biashara enables merchants to receive business payments while keeping those funds separate from their personal M-PESA transactions.

The platform is widely associated with informal and micro-businesses, including traders who may not operate conventional business bank accounts.

By linking credit access to transaction activity, Safaricom is extending its digital financial services to businesses that need short-term working capital to maintain day-to-day operations.

The new facility also builds on the company’s existing Fuliza overdraft service, which allows eligible individual M-PESA customers to complete transactions despite insufficient balances.

Fuliza Ya Pochi differs in its focus: it is designed specifically for eligible merchants using the Pochi La Biashara business wallet.

For small enterprises, access to short-term credit could help reduce interruptions caused by temporary cash shortages. However, the actual benefit will depend on the cost of borrowing, the available credit limit and the merchant’s ability to repay.

What Traders Should Check Before Borrowing

While the new facility may provide additional flexibility, merchants should not enrol without understanding the financial implications.

The launch reports reviewed for this article did not establish the complete Fuliza Ya Pochi fee schedule, interest or applicable borrowing charges, or the minimum and maximum credit limits.

Prospective borrowers should therefore confirm the total cost of the overdraft, the repayment deadline, the consequences of default and how repayments will be deducted.

They should also establish whether the service is available to their individual accounts before relying on the credit to complete urgent supplier payments.

Ultimately, Fuliza Ya Pochi offers eligible small traders another potential source of short-term working capital. Its value will depend on whether merchants can use the credit productively while keeping repayment obligations under control.

The launch signals Safaricom’s continued expansion into digital lending for Kenya’s small-business sector, but traders should weigh the convenience of immediate credit against its cost before committing to borrow.

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