Over the past few years, we have been inundated with banking apps as almost every other bank jumped onto the wagon. Admittedly, today’s customer values convenience and that is what these app offer by enabling us access services without having to visit banking halls. However, these apps tend to have the same basic offering, that is deposit, withdrawal, buy airtime and loans. This was until the Finserve Africa launched mKey earlier this month.
mKey is a digital banking service that combines social, financial and lifestyle aspects. This basically means that mKey allows you to do everything without leaving its ecosystem, from chatting with your pals, paying bills, taking loans and even saving.
I took the app out for a spin and here are my thoughts;
User Experience
A lot of the banking apps currently in the market have not invested in user experience. This means that they have basic functionalities and one only opens the app when they absolutely need to and exit as soon as your transaction is done. However, with mKey they seem to have taken the time to ensure that you enjoy using the app so much that you would want to stick around. It’s pretty easy to use and other than the kawaida functionalities like loans, pay bills, buy airtime, they also have interesting content on fashion, sports, business, events among others. The localized Yetumojis also enable one to communicate in a way only a Kenyan can. In short, the app has been made as fun and interesting as possible.
Customer Service
A lot of times, what frustrates customers the most is unresponsive customer service agents. You might have a simple query but the lengths you have to go through to get a response makes you question whether you actually need the service/product. What many businesses don’t get is that a when you have good customer service you create goodwill with your clients which enables you to weather any storm. In my case, I hadn’t quite figured how to access the group account feature. A quick look at the FAQ’s didn’t give me a satisfactory answer so I decided to chat the peeps at Finserve and in a few minutes I had the answer to my query. Not only that, I also got an email with the chat messages for future reference.
Group Account
Adulting in Kenya means that one has to be a member of at least one group or chama. This group or chama can be for the purposes of investing, saving, travel, charity among others. Kenyans seem to have figured the benefits of pooling funds together hence the proliferation of chamas over the years. Sometimes depending on the objectives of the group, it does not make sense to open a bank account. This has in some instances meant that a treasurer is the one to keep the money in his/her account till the day it is needed. However, in some cases this has had disastrous outcomes when such an individual decides to use the money for their own personal needs.
With mKey, this hustle is a thing of the past as it has a group account that enables members to save up for say a trip. The group can hold at least 10 members and one can be a member of as many groups as one would like. To enhance accountability, when making withdrawals from the group wallet, every member is prompted to give their consent for the transaction. Should a member decline to give approval, the transaction will not go through. My pals and I are planning a trip early next year, our challenge has been how to save the funds together, with the mKey group account our problems have been sorted.
Loans
Given how our economy is currently set up, we all need a helping hand at one point or another to sort out an urgent bill or fund our biashara. mKey, other than just being a fun app also lets you borrow from as little as 300 bob up to Ksh. 1 Million at the touch of a button. The maximum amount that one can borrow is dependent on an individual borrowers credit score and repayment history,transactions among other factors. The loans are charged an interest rate of 9%.
Reward System
When was the last time you were rewarded for using a service or products? In my case, I can’t even remember. mKey is set up just like the Candy Crush game where you earn points the more you transact on the app. These rewards come in the form of airtime and other amazing prizes. I have not won anything yet but I am keen on winning something for a change.
In my opinion, the mKey app is a breath of fresh air among financial services apps. Because not only does it sort you financially but it also takes care of the social aspect as well making it fun to use. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, click here and start enjoying the awesomeness.