Nairobi, Jan. 13 -- Airtel Kenya plans to roll out a digital overdraft service as it eyes a share of the short-term mobile loans market, which rival Safaricom dominates with its Fuliza feature.

Safaricom is currently the only telco with the service locally, and Airtel plans to challenge it with a similar offering on Airtel Money. Kenya's second-largest network carrier has hinted at cheaper interest rates for the offer.

"We are currently in advanced stages with various stakeholders in regard to approvals," an Airtel spokesperson told the Business Daily via email. The company has said it plans to launch the product early this year.

Overdrafts enable a network's customers to complete mobile money deals even when they have insufficient fun...