Fuliza Shield
See the real cost of your Fuliza usage — sessions, fees, effective rate, and what-if scenarios.
TL;DR
Fuliza Shield shows you the true cost of using Fuliza (Safaricom's overdraft service) — not just the total fees, but the effective annual rate, how many days you've been in overdraft, and what you'd save by reducing usage.
What it is
Fuliza Shield is a dedicated analysis of your Fuliza overdraft usage, built from your M-Pesa transaction data. Most users who use Fuliza regularly have never seen the full picture — the sessions add up, the fees compound, and the effective annual rate is often much higher than it appears on any single transaction.
Navigate here via MORE → INTELLIGENCE → Fuliza Shield.
How to use it
Check your current status
The status badge at the top shows your current Fuliza health — whether your usage pattern is under control or flagged as a concern.
Review the cost breakdown
The COST_CENTER // FULIZA_FEES section shows a breakdown of your Fuliza fees over time — how the total is composed across sessions.
Read your behaviour metrics
The BEHAVIOR_METRICS // PATTERNS panel shows four numbers:
- SESSIONS — total number of Fuliza sessions and average session duration in days
- EFFECTIVE_APR — the effective annual interest rate based on your actual usage pattern
- DAYS_IN_FULIZA — how many days out of the tracked period you were in overdraft, and the percentage
- COST/100 — how much you pay in fees per KES 100 borrowed
Check insights and what-if scenarios
If Jijenga detects patterns in your Fuliza behaviour, they appear under INSIGHTS // PATTERN_DETECTION. The WHAT_IF // SCENARIO_ANALYSIS section shows how much you'd save by reducing your Fuliza usage.
Review individual sessions
The session list at the bottom shows each Fuliza session individually — when it started, how long it lasted, and the fee paid.
What to look for
- EFFECTIVE_APR — this is the number most Fuliza users have never seen. The annualised rate on frequent short-term overdraft usage is typically far higher than any savings product or loan would charge
- DAYS_IN_FULIZA percentage — if you're in overdraft more than 30–40% of days in a month, Fuliza has become a structural part of your cash flow, not an emergency tool
- COST/100 — tells you exactly what you pay to borrow KES 100 via Fuliza
- Insights flagged — if a pattern is detected (e.g., Fuliza usage spiking at a specific time of month), it will surface here
Tips
- Each card in Fuliza Shield can be flipped to read an explanation of how that metric is calculated — tap the card to flip it
- If your EFFECTIVE_APR is high and your DAYS_IN_FULIZA is rising, use the Operating Statement to find the fixed cost or category that's causing the cash gap at the end of each month
- The what-if scenarios show the direct savings from reducing usage — use this to make the case for building a small buffer in savings
See also: Velocity Lab · Operating Statement