Mobile banking apps have greatly transformed how Kenyans access loans, and consumers no longer need to fill out lengthy forms, pledge guarantee or undergo vetting by a mean- looking credit officer to fill you for that simple loan you wants. Mobile payment technology even opens up the possibility of alternative credit scoring. With no banking infrastructure there is no way of credit scoring anybody, but a mobile phone account, with a record of transactions, offers the potential to give individuals credit, based upon their history and ability to pay. M-Shwari, launched in November 2012, M-Shwari now has 16 million customers in Kenya with 80,000 users borrowing on the platform daily. This has seen some Sh106 billion disbursed in the region as M-Shwari loans remain unaffected by the capped interest rate. The loans are payable within 30 days and attract a 7.5 per cent fee. KCB M-Pesa was launched in March 2015. The platform allows registered customers to save up to Sh1 million, earning up to six per cent in interest. Account holders can also access up to Sh1 million in instant loans, accessible on the M-PESA menu. The loan can be repaid in up to 180 days KCB M-Pesa has disbursed a total of Sh10.3 billion in loans to its customers since 17 months of operation, indicating a growing appetite for short-term loans. The platform has been advancing between Sh25 million and Sh30 million in loans daily over the past 17 months of operation. Branch, a Facebook-linked mobile application that allows users to borrow and repay micro-loans via mobile money platform M-Pesa. Users need to download Branch from Google Play, log-in with their Facebook accounts and can begin applying for small loans at a one-off fee of between six per cent and 12 per cent depending on loan and repayment period. A customer downloads Tala answers a few questions and gives permission for the app to scan the phone for information points that help decide if someone is eligible to receive a loan. If the person is eligible, the app shows them how much they can borrow and the repayment schedule. If they accept, the money is sent to their M-Pesa within minutes.The PIN is used to identify individuals when entering the app, and repayment works through M-Pesa. Tala is proud of providing instant service, and though we can be used to top-up a payment for different merchants, our work is providing fair loans that help customers build credit–we even send positive reports to the CRB when someone pays on time! The Android apps awards users a credit score by remotely analysing information such as calling patterns, mobile money transactions and Facebook behaviour.
