Defaulters of Kenyan mobile loan service M-Shwari have reached above 100,000 people, according to the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and telecoms giant Safaricom.

But despite the risk associated with the service, these two companies are upbeat about M-Shwari having notched up $2.35 million in daily deposits from six million users.

M-Shwari, which was launched less than two years ago, has also recorded customer savings of over Ksh 24 billion over the same period, with Ksh 7.8 billion loaned to users at an average disbursement rate of 30,000 loans per day, according to the CBA and Safaricom.

These figures were revealed by CBA’s chief executive Jeremy Ngunze and Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore at a press briefing on Thursday.

But the two heads were; however, quick to note that the number of credit defaulters of the service is high, with KSh 241 million or 3.1% of the total facility owed by debtors as defaulted loans.

M-Shwari customers open and operate their loan accounts via mobile money service M-Pesa.

“It is not a surprise because when we started we knew some people would think they could steal from us. Now we have them marked,” said Safaricom chief executive officer Bob Collymore.

The two companies say they have forwarded the loan defaulters’ names to Kenya’s Credit Reference Bureau for blacklisting, with the most recent blacklisted number standing at 140,000 borrowers.

“Listing with the CRB is the last resort; we usually have to go through other channels such as reminders and moral persuasion,” CBA chief executive said while defending their action.

Customers are expected to repay their loans within 30 days since the lending date, together with a 7.5% interest on the amount.

Failure to pay within these days attracts another 7.5% charge for another 30 days, after which the borrower is blacklisted if they fail to repay the loan.

However, the company officials say that the non-performing loan rate of 3% for M-Shwari is lower than the average banking sector non-performing rate of 5%.