Kenyans React As Safaricom Limits Free Reverse Calls To 2 Per Day: "You Will Be Billed"

• Safaricom has limited the number of free reverse calls to two per day, after which a charge of KSh 0.50 will be applied for the third reverse call
• The telecommunications company confirmed that while the reverse call service will still be offered, users will no longer have unlimited free reverse calls
• Safaricom made the announcement in response to a customer's query on X, clarifying that users will incur no other costs beyond the KSh 0.50 for the third reverse call

Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than three years of financial, business, and technology research expertise, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends.

Safaricom has informed customers that they will be billed for their third reverse call each day.

The telecommunications giant announced that the reverse call service will still be offered, but users will now be limited to two free calls per day.

This means that customers can no longer make free unlimited reverse calls.

In a response to a customer on X, Safaricom Care said:

"Hi Dr Dena, sorry you will now be billed Ksh 0.50 on the 3rd reverse call request of the day but will not incur any other costs while using the service for the rest of the day."

"Hi ndika_palmer, you will now be billed Ksh 0.50 on the 3rd reverse call request of the day but will not incur any other costs while using the service for the rest of the day," Safaricom Care responded to another customer.

How Kenyans reacted

This has drawn various reactions from Kenyans, as sampled below:

@Gregorymutisop2 said:

"Safaricom why did you make a decision to interfere with reverse call seriously."

@Franc_KDF said:

"But @SafaricomPLC hii ni double charging of the same transaction.. the recipient will be charged once the phone goes through, the caller will pay KSh 0.5 on the other hand for the same. On top of that, will it be an okoa, since most make reverse calls due to 0 balance."

@eugeneochieng39 said:

"All I just wanna know is how and why you doing this ....just a clear information so that we as the customers might understand the rolling out of this."

@chat_political said:

"Safaricom Slashes Reverse Call Freebies: Get Just Two Free Calls Before They Hit You with Charges. Safaricom PLC has shocked users by slashing its reverse call service to just two free calls a day. Since 2019 it has been a must-have for many, but now, it’s time to pay up!."

How many Kenyans use reverse calls?

In other related news, Safaricom revealed the number of customers using Fuliza airtime and reverse calls in its 2024 annual report.

During the period under review, Safaricom's voice revenue dropped from KSh 80.9 billion in the financial year 2023 to KSh 79.5 billion in the financial year 2024.

The telco disclosed that over two million customers used reverse calls, while one million subscribers borrowed airtime from Fuliza.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke