The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) stopped Safaricom’s zero-interest credit program for the purchase of products just hours before it was set to launch last year.

Millions of Safaricom members will be able to purchase items up to Sh100,000 and pay for them later interest-free as part of Faraja’s aim to upend the mobile loan industry.

According to media invitations, Safaricom had loaded the product’s terms and conditions and the product was set to launch on July 6 of last year. However, the CBK halted the event.

The CBK mandates that regulated businesses disclose product characteristics, customer terms of agreement, fees, and evidence of risk-mitigation techniques prior to launching a product.

There are further requirements about the product’s viability, tax implications, and proof that it won’t contravene any laws or prudential regulations. The telco that established M-Pesa in 2007 has been extending the platform’s capabilities beyond sending and receiving money.

Another M-Pesa-related feature is Fuliza, an overdraft facility that enables users to complete transactions when their mobile money wallets are empty.

Fuliza ya Biashara, a technology released by Safaricom earlier this month, enables business owners to acquire unsecured loans from Sh1,000 to Sh400,000 by overdrawing on M-Pesa business tills in order to bridge short-term cash flow gaps.