Safaricom has indicated it may raise the credit limits for millions of users of its Fuliza overdraft service, a move that could expand access to short-term financing for its vast M-Pesa customer base in Kenya. The announcement comes as the telecommunications giant, through its M-Pesa Africa unit, is concurrently piloting a separate initiative with Visa to test stablecoin-based cross-border payments in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Fuliza, integrated directly into the M-Pesa mobile money platform, allows customers to complete transactions even when they have insufficient funds in their main wallet, with the shortfall covered as an instant overdraft. The service, launched in 2019, has become a significant revenue stream for Safaricom and a ubiquitous financial tool for many Kenyans. A potential increase in individual credit limits would directly affect the spending power and financial flexibility of its users.
The hint of a limit increase was noted in a customer communication, though specific new thresholds or a rollout timeline were not detailed. In response to the announcement, some customers expressed frustration online, citing the cost of the service's daily facilitation fee. Others welcomed the prospect of greater access to emergency funds, highlighting the service's role in a market where formal credit remains out of reach for many.
This development in Kenya's domestic digital credit landscape is unfolding alongside an international experiment in digital currency. Separately, Visa and M-Pesa have launched a pilot program in the DRC to test the use of stablecoins for cross-border money transfers. The pilot, which began in June 2026, leverages the Solana blockchain and the USDC stablecoin to potentially reduce the cost and increase the speed of international remittances.
The stablecoin pilot involves a select group of merchants and consumers in the DRC who can receive USDC directly into a digital wallet, which can then be converted to local currency via the M-Pesa platform. The initiative aims to address the high cost of cross-border transfers within Africa, a persistent barrier to trade and financial inclusion. Visa's role is to provide the network connectivity between blockchain and traditional financial rails.
These parallel initiatives by Safaricom—one focused on deepening domestic credit penetration and another on streamlining international settlements—illustrate the dual trajectory of Africa's fintech evolution. Companies that built scale through foundational services like mobile money are now layering on more advanced financial products, from credit to cross-border solutions, to capture greater value and meet diverse customer needs.
The Fuliza service is a cornerstone of Safaricom's financial services strategy, having processed trillions of Kenyan shillings in overdrafts since its inception. Any adjustment to its limits carries significant weight in Kenya's economy, where mobile money is deeply entrenched. Meanwhile, the Visa-M-Pesa stablecoin pilot represents an early foray into integrating blockchain-based settlement with one of the continent's largest mobile money ecosystems, testing a model that could be replicated elsewhere if successful.
Analysts observe that while the two projects are distinct, they both aim to reduce friction in the movement of value. Fuliza addresses the friction of a lack of immediate liquidity for daily transactions, while the stablecoin pilot targets the friction of expensive and slow international transfers. The outcomes of both will be closely watched by regulators and competitors across the continent.