Saturday 16 January 2016

How to Buy Tokens Using Okoa Stima Service

Okoa Stima is the new service that was introduced by Safaricom in attempt to reduce the disruptive nature of the pre-paid electricity tokens by KPLC. 

Let's be honest, if you are truly Kenyan and have been using the pre-paid meters for a while, then you have been caught out once or twice already, right? Well, I have had to use the Safaricom Okoa Stima service one too many times already. As expected, this service is only available to Safaricom subscribers only.

Only one thing to make sure, to repay your stima loan in time (within 7 days of purchase), as you do not want to be blacklisted from the service. And if you are like me, that is not a good thing, as you may need to use it again sooner. But don't worry about forgetting the due date, Safaricom does a good job of reminding you.

So lets go through how to Register on the Okoa Stima Service.

  • Dial *885# on your safaricom line and accept the terms and conditions
  • Enter your National ID Number
  • Set your secret PIN after which a confirmation is required.
  • A confirmation message will be send via a text message
  • Choose "continue" to register meter/account
  • Select "register new" then
  • Select either "Prepaid" or "Postpaid" depending on your KPLC meter account.
  • Enter "meter" or "account", and choose the transaction you would wish to have

How to Okoa Stima for your Prepaid Electricity Meter
·         Dial *885# and enter PIN
·         Select pre-paid
·         Select Okoa Stima
·         Select ‘request emergency top up’
·         Select the Meter
·         Select preset Okoa amounts and confirm 
Note: My limit for the last six months has been Kes. 300, meaning, Safaricom sends me tokens worth 270, if i exhaust my limit. They charge me 10% fee. This is a loan, I assume. Of course, Safaricom sio mama yangu :-) 

How to buy KPLC Tokens on the Okoa Stima Service
·         Dial *885# and enter PIN
·         Select pre-paid
·         Select the meter you want to buy token for
·         Your M-PESA account will be deducted
·         You’ll receive a confirmation message
NB: Once, I used this system to buy tokens and had to wait a very long time to get my tokens. I would recommend you use the normal 888880 paybill number when buying your tokens, especially if you do not fancy staying in the dark for long hours.

How to repay Safaricom Okoa Stima on pre-pay
·         Dial *885# and enter PIN
·         Selects pre-paid
·         Select Okoa Stima
·         Select ‘repay okoa stima’ (If there is an outstanding loan)
·         Select: full payment or part payment

How to pay your KPLC Electricity Bill on the Okoa Stima Service (Post- paid)
·         Dial *885# 
·         Enter your PIN
·         Choose "Post-Pay"
·         From registered accounts, select the account you want to pay for, (outstanding bill will be displayed)
·         Select pay bill via M-Pesa
·         Either choose full or part payment, enter the amount and submit.
·         A confirmation message will be sent

How to Okoa Stima for your Postpaid Electricity Meter
·         Dial *885# and enter PIN
·         Select post paid
·         Select the account, the bill on the account will be automatically displayed

·         Select Okoa Stima and follow steps

Friday 15 January 2016

Mpesa Rates, Charges 2016

See below Mpesa Withdrawal Rates and Charges applicable in 2016. 

Mpesa charges (Applicable in January 2016)

Min. (Ksh)
Max. (Ksh)
Transfer (Registered User)
Transfer (Unregistered User)
Withdraw (Mpesa Agent)
10
49
1
N/A
N/A
50
100
3
N/A
10
101
500
11
66
27
501
1,000
15
66
27
1,001
1,500
25
66
27
1,501
2,500
40
66
27
2,501
3,500
55
88
49
3,501
5,000
60
105
66
5,001
7,500
75
143
82
7,501
10,000
85
171
110
10,001
15,000
95
220
159
15,001
20,000
100
237
176
20,001
25,000
110
275
187
25,001
30,000
110
275
187
30,001
35,000
110
275
187
35,001
40,000
110
N/A
275
40,001
45,000
110
N/A
275
45,001
50,000
110
N/A
275
50,001
70,000
110
N/A
330

Mpesa Charges for ATM Withdrawal (Applicable in January 2016)
Transaction
Min. (Ksh)
Max. (Ksh)
M-pesa Charge
200
2,500
33
2,501
5,000
66
5,001
10,000
110
10,001
20,000
193

Note: According to the Safaricom website, the maximum withdrawal amount via the ATM is Kshs. 20,000, not a single shilling more (using the mpesa rates calculator)

Other Mpesa Transaction Charges (Applicable in January 2016)
Transaction Type
Amount (Ksh)
Change M-PESA PIN
22
Check Balance
1
Buy Airtime
0/FREE
All Deposits
0/FREE
Register for M-PESA
0/FREE