NCBA Fuliza customers increased by 16.8 million in the year ended December 2022 compared to the 17.1 million recorded in a similar period in 2021.

According to the new report, the NCBA has attributed the rise to Kenyans' preference for short-loan facilities.

Customers using Fuliza, the biggest credit service for NCBA, are charged a one per cent fee of the amount disbursed and an extra Sh36 every day when the loan is not repaid.

M-Shwari was first unveiled in 2012 by Safaricom and NCBA. It later partnered with KCB to roll out Fuliza seven years later.

Borrowers' rise came at a time when Safaricom, together with KCB Group and NCBA, reduced fees charged on the platform.

On October 20, 2022, daily fees on the overdraft facility were Kes1,000 and Kes1500, reduced from Kes20 to Kes18.

In the three months ending March this year, NCBA’s profit after tax grew by 49 per cent to Kes5.1 billion, attributed to higher operating income.

While operating income increased 18 per cent to Kes15.5 billion, credit loss provision declined 23 per cent to Kes2 billion.