Mobile Banking Service Turns Into a Reliable Source Of Salary Loans

Life has become unbearable for many Kenyans these days. The cost of living – driven up by increased prices of fuel and other commodities – has gone through the roof. It is a vicious race between often stagnant incomes and growing expenses.

Hardest-hit are working class Kenyans who find themselves between a rock and hard place. On one side they are pummeled by inflation – which has eroded the purchasing power of their salaries – and a wobbly economy, on the other, that has either kept salaries constant or cut them in some cases.

Ms Agnes Muhuyi says life is harder now and she’s had to make several adjustments for her household budget to survive. The mother of two, who works as admin assistant in Nairobi, is among millions of Kenyans experiencing financial distress due to the economic slowdown brought about by Covid-19. “Everything has gone up,” she says. “Transport, food, and even rent, yet incomes remain the same.”

This group of Kenyans rely on financing from various sources including friends, relatives, mobile apps as well as shylocks and mainstream banks. Yet the friends and relatives ‘bank’ is drying up because of low incomes and trust issues.

Ms Muhuyi, 32, who has been relying on mobile apps and conventional bank loans recently discovered a more reliable source of credit that she can tailor to meet her needs and boost her salary:  MCo-opCash.

A mobile banking service offered by Co-operative Bank, MCo-opCash offers access to a variety of banking, money transfer, payment services and even loans.

Ms Muhuyi has been a beneficiary of MCo-opCash Salary Loan, available to those who receive their salary through a Co-op Bank account. The loan arrangement is between the customer and the bank without involving the employer.

A customer can apply for up to twice net salary as received in the Co-op Bank account and the amount ranges from Ksh1,000 up to a maximum of Ksh500,000.

The loan amount is deposited in the MCo-opcash account and the money can be transferred to their Co-op Bank account or withdrawn at any Co-op Bank ATM or Co-op Kwa Jirani Agent. You can also send the money directly to your M-Pesa or someone else’s M-Pesa.

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Those with existing MCo-opCash loan are allowed to top-up after repaying at least one installment. Loan repayments are automatically deducted from the salary account when they’re due.

A customer can apply for the loan as many times as possible, but can only qualify for one MCo-opcash loan at a time.

Like Agnes, James Karanja has found MCo-opcash loan helpful when it comes to raising credit. “When schools reopened recently I took up a loan of Ksh40,000 to pay school fees and now replying the loans without pressure from school,” says Mr Karanja, who runs an electronics shop in Nairobi. “I plan to take up another MCo-opcash loan to expand my business because their interest rates are very favourable.”

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