There are now more than 20 digital credit offerings in Kenya, as new services keep launching every day. The opportunities these products could offer has increased thehype among Kenyans, some of which include increased household liquidity, to small business loans for entrepreneurs. Many users appreciate the convenience and speed of accessing a loan from their phone, and digital credit can be a safer option than informal moneylenders.
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A look at the Digital Credit products
Digital credit in Kenya comes in different types of models, including those that use mobile phone apps, mobile money wallets, and payroll lending, as well as through a range of provider types, including banks, mobile network operators, and even savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs). Many of these lenders are unregulated, lending outside the purview of current regulation. The services generally offer small-value, short-term loans. Most people use the customer’s mobile phone-based data, such as call and SMS records, mobile money transaction history and social media data, to determine a credit score and loan amount.
Mshwari
M-Shwari is the most well-known among these types of digital credit lenders, providing both a savings account and loans from Commercial Bank of Africa by way of the M-Pesa platform. Others take different approaches. To access Branch loans, for example, users download an app from the Google play store, link the app to their social media accounts (e.g., Facebook) on their phone, and grant permission for the app to use social media data, GPS data, SMS and call logs, contact lists, and handset details from their phone.
Branch
Branch app is a brand of by Branch International, a micro finance lending firm which begun its operation in Kenya. Branch loan has expanded to India, Tanzania, Mexico and Nigeria and had 10 million installs.
You can borrow from Kenya shillings 250 to Ksh 70,000. Loans limit increase when you have a good repayment history. Branch Interest rates do vary depending on the amount you borrow. The interest rates range from 10% to 27%.
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Branch international uses data generated from machine learning algorithms to determine your credit score and whether you are eligible for a loan or not . Factors that affect your branch loan limit include repayment history, Handset details, sms logs, GPS Data and contact lists.
All you need to get a branch loan is a smart phone, a national ID number, and a safaricom line registered with Mpesa (for Kenyans).
You can access Branch app by downloading it from Google play store on your android smartphone.
Tala
Tala uses technology to provide loans to people with a smartphone. Most of the time, loans are given based on someone’s formal lending history through a bank. Tala skips that formal history by looking at data from your smartphone, in order to trust you with a loan. We also learn about you through our very simple loan application. Our technology looks at your data and your loan application to help us determine if we can offer you a loan. We look at patterns associated with good borrowing behavior to determine if and how much we offer our customers.
Tala is committed to keeping your data safe and secure. Your data is yours and we will never share that with anyone.
KCB-Mpesa
KCB-Mpesa is a mobile based account exclusively offered to MPESA customers who have used their Safaricom line for a period of 6 months or more among other terms and conditions. Like M-Shwari is a paperless banking service that gives loans and allow for deposit making through MPESA.
