Last week Barclays Bank of Kenya launched Timiza, a mobile-based virtual account that enables customers and non-customers to access banking services directly from their phones. According to the bank, this is just part of their implementation of the virtual banking strategy.
A survey of 2,600 banking customers in six African countries released by McKinsey in February showed that a majority of customers (53%) across the economic segments prefer either internet or mobile channels, compared to 26 per cent that prefer the branch. Thus this product primarily targets young entrepreneurs (hustlers and young professionals) who need quick access to capital in order their business going.
Barclays Bank Managing Director Jeremy Awori said the launch of Timiza marks an important milestone in the lender’s wider virtual banking strategy which targets to recruit at least five million new customers in the next five years.
“As a business, we are on a transformation journey where our focus is to use innovation and technology to develop products that are more relevant to the emerging needs of our customers. The launch of Timiza today is a clear demonstration of this commitment,” Mr. Awori said.
Not Just For Barclays customers
Both Barclays customers and non-customers will be able to access Timiza by dialling the USSD code *848# and putting in their name, ID number and Date of Birth. Customers then receive a PIN instantly and are immediately pre-qualified for a specific loan amount.
In terms of how much you can get as a loan, their loan qualification takes almost the same approach that M-Pesa uses based on your credit score and also how fast you repay – which kinda makes sense to me. With a repayment period of up to 30 days, customers will access instant loans of up to KES150,000 depending on their individual credit score.
A Look into the App
I downloaded the app on Saturday morning to get and test out how it is. It only took me seconds since they only need your Safaricom number and National I.D
The setup is neat with a basic home menu that shows your loan limit, how to send money, pay bills and buy airtime. There’s also a little umbrella on the bottom left that houses the insurance option and the Little KE Cab icon on the right that allows you to request for a cab from the Timiza app then the fare amount is debited automatically after trip.
As a first in the market, the Timiza account allows one to sign up for a last expense and personal accident cover of up to KES40,000. The app also comes embedded with a taxi hailing option in partnership with LittleCab.
Customers will also be able to deposit funds into their Timiza account through MPESA, pay utility bills, send and receive money directly to other Timiza users.
There are plans to expand the app capabilities in the future to include a virtual pre-paid card which will enable customers make online payments.
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, for the period between July to September 2017, active mobile money transfer subscriptions and agents stood at 28.1 million and 184,537 respectively. In addition, a total of 537.2 million transactions (sending and withdrawals) were made during the period which was valued at KES1.65 trillion.
The period also saw 352.4 million mobile commerce transactions made with KES714.3 billion spent in buying goods and services person to person transfers amounted to KES544.1 billion.
The bank is seeking to leverage this rising adoption of digital platforms with most consumers now expressing a strong preference for mobile and internet banking over the traditional in-branch transactions.
