Mobile Lending Apps In Kenya That Encourage You To Save

Mobile lending might just be the new ‘cash cow’ venture owing to the increasing number of new apps popping up each day.

While most of these lenders may be vindicated as modern shylocks with an appetite for hefty interest rates unbefitting of their short repayment periods, a few of these lenders have strayed from the norm of ‘TAKING’ and have decided to inculcate a long lost culture of SAVING to their users.

Below are the top 3 lending apps that actually care about your finances.

  1.  TIMIZA

Timiza is a mobile loan service offered by Barclays accessible to both account holders and non-account holders.
In order to qualify for a Timiza account, you must:

– Be a Kenyan national with a valid national ID.
– Be a registered Safaricom subscriber.
– Have an active MPESA line.

To register for the service, you need to download the app via https://bit.ly/2phKfY0 and follow the in-app prompts to install.

Once installed, opening the app will direct you to the app’s home screen where you will be able to access the various in-app services. However, in accordance with this article, our main point of interest will be the Zidisha service.

Zidisha as per their FAQ is a

“Cross transactional account offered on Timiza that offers higher returns based on behaviour, customer balances and earns rewards for balances from KES 100.”

To access Zidisha, click on ‘Go to my Zidisha’ located at the 3rd menu bar.

How it works.

Once you deposit any amount from KES 100,
– You will earn a base reward of 1% and a bonus reward of up to 6% for customers who do not exceed 3 withdrawals per quarter.
– The rewards are earned daily and paid quarterly to the customer’s account.
– You will be allowed only one free monthly MPESA withdrawal from the user’s Zidisha accounts.

2.  SAIDA
Saida is a product of GreenShoe Capital launched in 2015 with the aim of assisting people to access loans easily by growing beyond loans to other areas of savings, investments, bill payments and more!

In order to qualify for the service, you must:

– Be a Kenyan national with a valid national ID.
– Be a registered Safaricom subscriber.
– Have an active MPESA line.
– Not delete your SMS messages from your phone.

To register for the service, you need to download the app via https://bit.ly/29Uq7W7 and follow the in-app instructions to complete the installation.

Once installed, opening the app will land you on the home screen.

However, to access the savings option, click on the 2nd tab marked ‘SAVE’ which will, in turn, direct you to the screen below.

How it works
– You need to deposit a minimum of KES 100 via the ‘Top Up Money’ option
– You will earn an interest of 12% per annum
– It will cost you KES.11 to withdraw your deposits from the savings ( Faida ) account.
– To access your statements, click on ‘See My A/C Statement’

    3.  CBA LOOP
Loop is a digital banking service released by CBA in 2015 with the tagline ‘Unbank yourself’.

In Order to qualify for the service, you need to have the following:

– Possess a national ID, Kenyan/Other passport, Alien ID or Military ID
– Be a registered Safaricom subscriber.
– Have an active MPESA line.
– Valid email address
– KRA pin.

To register for the service, you can download the app via https://bit.ly/2lT5H6K or via their website https://bit.ly/312iDrU . You shall be fully registered to the service once you obtain the loop card from the various loop store outlets.

Once you open the loop app, you will land on the home screen below. However, to access the savings options, click on the ‘Growth’ tab located at the bottom of the screen.

You will be directed to the screen below whereby our main focus will be on the: ‘Loop Goals’

How it works.
– Click on New Goal
– Fill in the required fields.
– Once done. SAVE!

You can't be late until you show up.