KCB and Safaricom have launched a new mobile banking product with the most comprehensive features yet in the market.
KCB-M-PESA Account will enable customers to get loans on mobile phones of up to Ksh1 million, at a flexible repayment period ranging from one month to six months.Loan interest will start from as low as 2% per month. Customers will also have the option of two fixed savings options, a fixed deposit account and a target savings account.
“This is a new frontier in the evolution of the mobile money journey for both institutions that will match up the best of what East Africa’s most successful mobile operator and leading bank have to offer,” said Mr Joshua Oigara, CEO, KCB Group. “This product is a crucial answer to our country’s effort to empower millions of Kenyans by availing credit conveniently through their mobile phones.”
KCB M-PESA Account will see both Safaricom and KCB deepen their strategic partnership in an area where their collaboration is already paying off. In the last one year, said Mr Oigara, KCB has seen its customer transactions with M-PESA triple to Ksh125 billion, while the volume of transactions has grown from 10,000 a day to 100,000.Now, with a dedicated product with the most comprehensive offering, the partnership will widen the possibilities of what customers can do using their phones.
“Mobile technology has greatly transformed our lifestyles in the 21st century. It is increasingly making it more convenient for customers to pay utility bills, withdraw or deposit money in their bank accounts as well as borrow by the click of a button,” said Safaricom Chief Executive Officer, Bob Collymore.
Mr Collymore added that with nearly 20 million customers, M-PESA has been recognised as the single-most largest contributor towards bridging the financial inclusion gap in the country. “We have collated lessons from our experience as the leading bank in the region, and insights from the market to develop this proposition.
With technology, customers can now enjoy credit facilities from as low as Ksh50 to as high as Ksh1 million instantly on their mobile phones an innovation of branchless banking as our next frontier,” Mr Oigara explained.
The customer’s loan limit will be determined by a number of factors, including the amount of savings that the customer has, the customer’s usage of M-PESA, and their savings on other KCB platforms. Kenyans paid bills worth Ksh1 billion through M-PESA to KCB, deposited Ksh59 billion and withdrew a total of Ksh66 billion.
Safaricom and KCB Group entered into the strategic partnership in June, last year, and launched their first joint proposition, Biashar@Smart, which offers a suite of technology and financial solutions, geared at enabling SMEs to grow to the next level
