M-PESA Loans Compared 2026: Fuliza vs Mshwari vs KCB

For a small emergency, Fuliza is cheapest (1 percent access fee plus a daily band fee, auto-repay on your next M-PESA top-up). For KES 1,000 to KES 50,000, M-Shwari costs 9 percent total for one month (7.5 percent facility fee plus 1.5 percent excise). For KES 50,000 to KES 1,000,000, KCB M-PESA costs 8.93 percent as a facility fee. Fuliza Biashara covers M-PESA tills up to KES 400,000. Halal Pesa is currently suspended for new customers.

Side-by-side comparison

Attribute	M-Shwari	KCB M-PESA	Fuliza (personal)
Minimum loan	KES 1,000	KES 100	No minimum (overdraft)
Maximum loan	KES 50,000 (Safaricom also lists KES 1,000,000 elsewhere, disputed)	KES 1,000,000	About KES 70,000 (varies per user)
Total cost, 1 month	9% (7.5% facility + 1.5% excise)	8.93% facility fee	1% access + daily band fee + 20% excise on daily fee
Savings interest	Up to 6.3% per year	Up to 6.3% per year	None
Repayment window	30 days	30 days	Auto on next M-PESA top-up
Eligibility gate	6 months active on Safaricom, M-Shwari savings history	6 months active. Passport-registered users blocked	6 months active. Foreign passports blocked
USSD code	*334#	*334#	*234#
Bank partner	NCBA Bank Kenya	KCB Bank Kenya	NCBA and KCB jointly

Which one should you use?

Scenario 1: emergency under KES 5,000, repay within a week

Use Fuliza. The 1 percent access fee on KES 5,000 is KES 50. Add three days of daily fee at the KES 2,501 to KES 70,000 band (KES 25 per day, plus 20 percent excise) and you are at roughly KES 140 in total finance charge. A 30-day M-Shwari loan on the same KES 5,000 would cost KES 450 (9 percent). Fuliza auto-repays from your next M-PESA credit, so you do not have to remember to close the loan.

Scenario 2: mid-range KES 5,000 to KES 50,000, need 30 days

Use M-Shwari. At 9 percent total for 30 days, M-Shwari is cheaper than an equivalent Fuliza balance sitting outstanding for the full month (daily fee accrues every day). It is also cheaper than most app lenders. Dial *334#, pick Loans and Savings, M-Shwari, Loan.

Scenario 3: KES 50,000 to KES 1,000,000, need 30 days

Use KCB M-PESA. It is the only mobile-menu product with a published ceiling this high. The 8.93 percent facility fee on KES 200,000 is KES 17,860 for 30 days. If you are registered on Safaricom with a passport, KCB M-PESA will decline you (bank policy), and you will need a formal bank loan instead.

If you run a business till

Personal Fuliza does not cover business tills. Use Fuliza Biashara instead. It goes up to KES 400,000, charges 2 percent per disbursement plus a daily band fee, and is repayable in 30 days. Miss 91 days and the business is listed on CRB. Dial *234# from the till's registered phone number.

If you need a Shariah-compliant option

Halal Pesa is currently suspended for new customers. Existing users can only repay. See our Halal Pesa explainer for the current status and alternatives (SACCOs and other Islamic banks).

Costs the comparison table hides

Rollover on M-Shwari and KCB M-PESA is a new loan. A second 30-day period is a fresh facility fee, not compound interest. If you cannot repay in 30 days, you effectively pay the fee twice.
Fuliza compounds daily. The KES 25 per day band fee (before excise) is trivial for 3 days and material for 30 days. A KES 5,000 Fuliza held for a full month costs about KES 950 in fees. That is worse than M-Shwari for the same amount over the same period.
Excise is on top of every headline. Kenya's Excise Duty Act applies 20 percent to fees on financial services. Every number above already includes it where stated; if a lender quotes a fee without mentioning excise, add 20 percent of the fee to get the true cost.

Why your limit might be zero

The four common reasons are: (1) you have been on the Safaricom network for less than 6 months, (2) you registered with a foreign passport (blocks KCB M-PESA and Fuliza), (3) low M-PESA transaction volume, (4) a prior default with the same bank. Full diagnostic in why your M-PESA loan limit is zero.

Sources

Safaricom PLC. M-Shwari product page and terms at safaricom.co.ke/main-m-pesa/m-pesa-services/credit-and-savings/m-shwari-mobile (verified 30 August 2026). Note: the published maximum is inconsistent across the same site.
Safaricom PLC. Fuliza M-PESA product page and terms at safaricom.co.ke/main-m-pesa/m-pesa-services/credit-and-savings/fuliza-mobile.
Safaricom PLC. Press release, Safaricom, NCBA and KCB Restructure Fuliza with free daily fees (safaricom.co.ke/media-center-landing/press-releases).
KCB Bank Kenya Ltd. KCB M-PESA product terms at kcbgroup.com.
Excise Duty Act, 2015 and Finance Act updates. 20 percent excise on fees on financial services.

FAQ

Which M-PESA loan is cheapest?

For a same-day or next-day emergency under KES 5,000, Fuliza is cheapest because the 1 percent access fee plus a small daily band fee costs less than a full 30-day facility fee. For a 30-day loan between KES 1,000 and KES 50,000, M-Shwari is 9 percent total (7.5 percent facility fee plus 1.5 percent excise). For KES 50,000 to KES 1,000,000, KCB M-PESA charges 8.93 percent as a facility fee.

What is the biggest M-PESA loan I can get?

KCB M-PESA has a published ceiling of KES 1,000,000 for established users. Safaricom currently displays two contradictory M-Shwari maximums (KES 50,000 in some places, KES 1,000,000 in others); the conservative KES 50,000 is what most users actually see. Fuliza tops out at about KES 70,000 as an overdraft, and Fuliza Biashara reaches KES 400,000 for M-PESA business tills.

Do I dial the same USSD for every M-PESA loan?

For personal M-PESA loans (M-Shwari, KCB M-PESA, Fuliza) dial *334# and use the Loans and Savings menu. For Fuliza Biashara (business tills) dial *234# from the phone registered to the till.

Which M-PESA loan skips CRB?

None fully skip CRB. Personal Fuliza has historically not CRB-listed for missed overdraft repayments directly. M-Shwari (NCBA), KCB M-PESA (KCB) and Fuliza Biashara all report to CRB after 90 days of non-payment.

Can I have both M-Shwari and KCB M-PESA at the same time?

Yes. They are separate bank facilities (NCBA and KCB respectively) and Safaricom does not restrict holding both. Your combined mobile debt does not cross-subsidise between them; each is scored independently.