This campaign is a response by the company to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest being reduced income to majority of Kenyans. The initiative will also empower customers to donate their Bonga Points to those in need as a show of goodwill during this period.
We have seen Kenyans lose some or all of their income as result of this pandemic, making it difficult to meet their needs. This initiative seeks to empower Kenyans to use the points earned from using Safaricom products over the years to pay for their essentials or to donate them to the most vulnerable in the society.
Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom CEO
For the next 30 days, customers will redeem 1 Bonga Point for KES 30 cents, a 50% increase from the previous KES 20 cents per point, at over 140,000 Lipa na M-PESA merchants countrywide. Merchants accepting Lipa Na Bonga will receive a cash equivalent of the points redeemed, making it a normal business transaction.
To redeem or transfer points, customers will dial *126#. Customers can redeem as little as KES 1 via Lipa na Bonga at key merchants including Naivas Supermarket, Tuskys and Eastmatt.
Since the Bonga loyalty scheme was introduced in 2007, Kenyans have enjoyed great rewards on data bundles, airtime and devices for their loyalty. “We are opening this up further for Kenyans to use during this time of need,” added Ndegwa.
The Bonga loyalty scheme allows enrolled customers to accumulate a point for every KES 10 spent on services on the Safaricom network.