MOBILE LOANS - KCB TO MPESA LOAN PROGRAMME

KCB to MPESA is a product of Kenya Commercial Bank in cooperation with Safaricom to enable registered MPESA users access loans from their mobile phones. Prior to this MPESA users were already accessing Micro loans from Safaricom through Safaricom product known as M-SHWARI.

MSHWARI enabled registered MPESA users to access loans payable within 30days with an interest rate of  7.5 percent or 7.5 Shillings for every 100 shillings borrowed meaning if an MPESA user borrowed 1000 Kenya Shillings, he/she would return the 1000 (Principle Amount) with an interest rate of Shs.7.5 per every 100 shilling borrowed. So with KES1000/= borrowed, Safaricom expects their money to grow to 1075 within 30days.

If you add another KES27 charged when you withdraw the money from an MPESA Agent, You end up paying 1102/= Shilling amounting to slightly 10 percent of the principle amount(The 1000/= Bob you borrowed).

Failure to pay the borrowed amount in time together with the imposed interest rate would amount to penalty where as the borrower your MSHWARI loan would accrue a penalty similar to the interest rate imposed per every 30 days of default.

Since the MSHWARI loan is advanced to you without any security, the interest rate is somewhat favourable and within limits of ordinary mwananchi though more needs to be done to enhance the programme to allow for longer payment period and low interest rate.

That said let  me take you back to the main topic - The KCB MPESA programme. The KCB MPESA system allows registered MPESA users to access soft loans from Kenya Commercial Bank. The programme also facilitates SAVINGS account (As a registered MPESA user you can send money from your MPESA account into your KCB account, Withdraw and also get unsecured loan payable within periods of 1, 3 and 6 months respectively.

To access KCB MPESA Loan dial *844# from your Safaricom line and follow prompts. The KCB MPESA will ask you to set your new PIN and once through with setting your PIN, You will receive a message detailing the loan amount you are eligible to get. You can get access to the cash immediately or later. The choice is yours. Once you account is active, you can request loan anytime of the day (24hrs).

NB: Your loan amount is increased every time you successfully completes they LOAN cycle, meaning you pay your loan in time. This is true about MSHWARI and KCB MPESA.

Mpesa

Mpesa Mobile Money Banking

M-pesa The Best Mobile Money in Kenya

Mpesa is a safaricom mobile banking product that has been so
successful than any other mobile money infrastructure in the history of Kenya.
Mpesa was first introduced as a means of sending money through mobile phone
between two people with access to a mobile phone.

Growing rapidly in the market share of more than 20,000,000
million subscribers, Mpesa has become more than just sending and receiving
money.

 Today registered Mpesa users use their mobile gadgets in
ways never imagined before from sending and receiving money to saving and
accessing loans by means known as Mshwari to enabling subscribers to hold Visa cards
known as visa prepay debit cards with as little as KES250 as deposit. Visa cards
are essential in online purchasing.

Other Mpesa by-products are IMT also known as International
Money Transfer. International Money Transfer is a means to send money from
oversees to someone in Kenya using Mpesa.

The International Money Transfer is a partnership of
Safaricom Kenya and Western Union. Mshwari is a partnership of CBA and
Safaricom Kenya. Both the services runs on Mpesa concept.

Mpesa like any other mobile money transfer in Kenya requires
that the user has at least a mobile phone number and a valid National ID or
passport.

By the end of December 2012, the Communication Commission of
Kenya required that all mobile phone subscribers be registered. Safaricom on
the other hand required that all its subscribers register for Mpesa in order to
comply with the CCK directive.

Mpesa as it stands today has become the most used mobile
banking in Kenya excelling even the most experienced banking institutions in
Kenya.

Using Mpesa also earns Bonga points that once accumulated
can be redeemed

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mshwari best way to save and access loans through your mobile phone

M-shwari and Mshwari: A new way to save and access loans from your mobile phone

Mshwari is a Safaricom product that allows MPESA users to save money and earn interest with the lowest bankable amount being KES1. The product was launched late last year amid protests from faulu Kenya another financial institution in Kenya, who claimed being the inventors. Mshwari also allows existing MPESA users to borrow money and pay back with interest of 7.5% per month.

With Mshwari you can save or withdraw money as often as you prefer without any charges. Withdrawal charges are applicable only when you withdraw money from an MPESA agent or ATM.

To save money to your Mshwari or M-shwari account go to MPESA Choose Mshwari Send TO Bank Enter your MPESA pin and press OK/Call To withdraw money from your Mshwari or M-shwari account , go to MPESA Choose Mshwari Withdraw from Bank Enter your MPESA pin and press OK/call

Information Note that your Mshwari balance earns you interest.

For KES1 to KES10,000 you earn an interest of 2% per annum.

KES10,001 upto KES20,000 you earn an interest of 3% per annum

KES20,001 upto KES50,000 you earn an interest of 4% per annum

KES50,001 upwards you earn an interest of 5% per annum better than any old banking system in Kenya.

With an interest rate of 5% per year, you may double your savings in less than 20 years better than Malipo  ya uzeeni fund.

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save money with Mshwari
Use Mshwari to accumulate wealth
Earn Interest with Mshwari

Why safaricom will always be ahead

Safaricom, is it the best mobile provider in Kenya?

There is no doubt in mind that safaricom Kenya will remain the most unchallenged company in Kenya in mobile telecommunication, mobile money (Mpesa), Data services and any other related product I may not have mentioned. Safaricom Kenya despite complaints from its customers and competitors (from customers because of unreasonable tariffs pricing and from competitors because of unfair games like safaricom subscribers paying more for crossing to the their networks) have been on the lead and may keep the lead in this industry for a considerable amount of time if measures are not put in place to control safaricom menace by competitors in this industry.

Safaricom think tank seems to be aggressive and listening. There many new products have been carefully thought about because they touch the basic needs of every mobile phone user from simplified product application like sambaza (this is a feature that lets subscribers top up other number with ease. It is different from others offered by safaricom competitors. I will draw comparison later in the chapter) to other economy related features. Safaricom also seems to be the first to introduce a product before the rest could follow.

Despite the fact that safaricom controls 70% of the market share in telecommunication industry, safaricom has kept the pace as leaders in this fast growing industry by heavily investing in research that has seen it introduce newer products that will positively affect the economy of Kenya for many years to come. This is so because safaricom innovations seem to be directed at products that before were beyond the reach of many Kenyans and access to these services will bring a revolution in both the banking community and the mobile telecommunication community in Kenya. A revolution because if a common mwananchi who is not employed can have access to a credit card which in the past was only a dream because of pride and lack of innovative mind in the banking sector then that’s a revolution. This revolution is the purchasing power in the hands of just everybody with a mobile phone and a national Identity card.

The following are products I consider the best ever.

1. Top up other number
The ability to top other number with ease, makes operating your mobile phone easier. This is made easy just by dialing *140*amount*phone number# and the specified amount is debited from your credit balance and credited to the phone number you are toping up instead of your Mpesa account which requires a PIN to access. Unlike other networks where accessing this feature requires the user to access the mobile money account instead of the credit balance the safaricom top up other number is simplified.

2. Send money from your MPESA account directly to numbers stored on your phonebook
For along time since the invention of Mobile money transfer, mobile phone users in Kenya had rough time memorizing numbers in their phonebook before sending money but recently safaricom announced the introduction of a new Subscriber Identification Module (SIM card) which was enriched with new features that before required a complicated process to complete among them the ability to search SIM contacts directly from the MPESA menu function. Although this new SIM card had a bug that led to some cases where the new functionality to search SIM contacts directly never worked in some phones, the idea to include it was clever thinking.


3. Send a voice SMS
This function works just like the usual SMS but instead of starving your fingers by trying to locate letters on your phone’s keypad you just need to speak and the message is delivered to the recipient number just like a normal SMS. With safaricom+ (the new name for safaricom menu) you won’t need to memorize your recipient numbers just go to search SIM contacts and you are almost through.

4. Pay bill
This function allows you to pay your bills directly from your MPESA account.
a) To pay your electricity bill:
Go to MPESA menu then pay bill.
In the enter business no. enter 888888 and press OK
In the enter account no. enter your account no e.g. 1000983-01 (the account no. can be found in your electricity bill) and complete the transaction by entering your MPESA pin then confirm to send.

b) To load your VISA card
* Select ‘Pay Bill’ from your M-PESA menu
* Enter the ‘Business Number’ 541 541 (indicated on the back of the card)
* Under ‘Account Number’ enter the 16 digit number of the M-PESA VISA Pre Pay Safari card
* Enter the amount you wish to pay (between KShs. 100 – 35,000)
* Enter your M-PESA PIN.
* Confirm that all the details are correct and press OK
* Your will receive a confirmation SMS from M-PESA immediately. Your M-PESA VISA Pre Pay Safari card will be updated real time.

Note: there are individuals going round sending people messages that resemble the one that MPESA sends to your mobile phone after Any MPESA transaction. To authenticate such messages always check the sender address first it should be MPESA and not any other number. You should also note that any other money is sent to you is deducted from the senders account and sent to you by MPESA and vice versa. You should also check the balance section of the message, the amount sent to you plus your previous MPESA balance must match when added. If you had a balance of kshs100 in your MPESA account and you receive kshs300 from someone then the balance should be kshs400 and not kshs450.
Remember: the most important fields in the message are:
a) sender
b) balance


Question: Is safaricom Kenya in order to send threatening messages to its subscribers that unless the subscriber is registered with Mpesa their lines will be disconnected?
Last year we queued for long hours to beat CCK requirement that all mobile phone subscribers register their lines before June 30th of 2010 or face disconnection.


Mpesa is not why we use safaricom lines, the main purpose towards obtaining a mobile phone is for purposes of communication and not sending and receiving money.

Sending and receiving money is another thing and we want our right of expression and choice be respected by safaricom. Safari .com | Safaricom .com | Safaricom.co.ke |