Safaricom Reverses The Bonga Points Expiry Plan

KEY POINTS
Safaricom announced that the value of unclaimed Bonga Points has hit 4.5 billion shillings in the financial year ending March 2022 up from 4.2 billion shillings in the previous financial year.
Safaricom has reversed its plan that would have seen its subscribers lose any unused Bonga points obtained before December 2019.
The telco had earlier announced that all unredeemed Bonga points would expire after three years meaning that those accumulated before December 31, 2019, expired on January 1, this year.
“Effective January 1, 2023, all Bonga points older than three years will expire and will be unavailable for redemption …Your Bonga Points will also expire immediately in the event that your line has been deleted as a result of inactivity and in accordance with the terms and conditions for the use of the Safaricom services,’’ Said Safaricom in updated terms and conditions for the loyalty program.
According to Business Daily, the telecommunication giant has disputed reports that it had set Bonga Points expiry. The telco has also pulled down the update from its website.
At the same time, a look-up of Bonga Points balances through the *126# USSD code shows the telco still lists points accrued before 2019 separately from the current balance of points.
Safaricom announced that the value of unclaimed Bonga Points has hit 4.5 billion shillings in the financial year ending March 2022 up from 4.2 billion shillings in the previous financial year.
The telco said setting an expiry date was a business decision aimed at encouraging Bonga point redemption. The move however raised an uproar with consumers arguing that the plan was reached without input from customers.
Nakuru-based surgeon Dr. Magare Gikenyi who sued the telco over the plan said that the move would lead to the loss of 4.5 billion shillings in claims by customers.
“Considering the verse geographical background of Kenya, high illiteracy level in some parts of the country, lack of internet in some areas, and many other factors, many Kenyans will suffer due to the poor administrative action of the respondents,” said Gikenyi.
However, High Court Justice Mugure Thande dismissed the petition, noting that it was filed at the last minute.
The loyalty scheme allows subscribers to earn one Bonga point for every 10 shillings spent on voice calls, short message service (SMS), data, and M-Pesa services. Bonga Points can be redeemed for rewards ranging from Talk-time (Minutes), Data bundles, MMS, and SMS bundles.
PrePay subscribers have the option to redeem for either SMS, data bundles, or minutes while PostPay subscribers only use the points for SMS or minutes.
The loyalty scheme can now be used to pay for various products and services including water, and electricity, among others.
Related Content: How To Invest Your Bonga Points In A Money Market Fund
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