Is Loop By NCBA Bank Kenya Worth The Hype?

By Juma / Published January 31, 2023 | 8:09 am

KEY POINTS

For small and medium businesses, Loop lets users get a Personal Loan of up to 3 million shillings and an overdraft of up to 100, 000 shillings without any paperwork. The fact that the cash is approved within minutes is something to be hailed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For those who love living the spirit of Harambee, there is a new surprise within Loop where individuals can now do harambees through the “Money Pool” feature. There is also a Buy Now Pay Later feature, but not active at the moment. It would be interesting to watch that feature.

Every commercial bank in Kenya currently has a digital banking service either through a USSD or a mobile banking app. Many are striving to leave the traditional brick-and-mortar and concentrating their services on mobile.

As the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Dr. Patrick Njoroge once put it, digital banking is not just banking having an app. It is about security, convenience, the services being offered, and the human aspect of all the operations.

The Soko Directory team has been analyzing various mobile banking apps, with Loop by NCBA Bank Kenya being one of them. We ventured out to find out whether the digital banking service was worth the hype for both existing and potential customers.

First things first; Loop is a digital banking service by NCBA Bank Kenya that lets customers manage their money by providing all the banking experiences at a go. The platform offers a whole banking experience through both mobile and web.

In terms of operations, we found out that the app is lite. It is 15MBs but runs faster than other lite apps on most androids. With over 10,000 downloads, the mobile app has become a go-to banking platform for customers.

The Pluses of Loop

The first interesting thing that we found out about Loop is that a customer can open an account in under 4 minutes and start transacting immediately. After opening an account, the platform offers an opportunity to secure their data and banking experience through a fingerprint.

Talking of poor spending and poor savings culture among Kenyans, Loop lets users keep track of what they have got. It allows them to budget for their monthly spending, and track and analyze their expenses easily.

It also lets users make payments to mobile money or to a bank. One can pay bills or pay merchants through Pay Bill, Till, or with their Loop card. I know you will say every bank has this but the experience and affordability will put Loop ahead.

Another interesting feature is that one can set up a Loop Invest with as little as 1000 shillings and get competitive interest rates on their investment or they can simply set up their various goals and track each of them as they go.

The revamp

We also noticed that the app has some new features that were not available when it was first launched. NCBA Bank Kenya seems to have added these features towards the end of 2022.

The feature to Link bank accounts safely, allows one to make payments from a primary linked bank account. Customers will have a feature that allows them to connect their bank accounts to Loop.

Feature to Link cards on LOOP, making it easier and more secure to move, manage and pay money between accounts. This makes it easy for users to transfer money between accounts, pay bills, move money to friends and family, and so on.

The feature to manage and redeem accumulated LOOP Points for rewards and offers. These accumulated points can then be used to redeem rewards or special offers. The feature allows users to view and manage their points balance, and redeem their points for rewards such as discounts, gift cards, or merchandise.

Surprises within the app

Something many don’t know is that there are two types of “Loop”; LOOP Pro and Loop Lite. Loop Pro is for bank account holders, and Loop Lite is for everyone else, with a limit of 300,000 shillings.

The bank has also introduced something that might shift how other banks revamp their apps. A customer or Loop user can now send and receive money using QR Codes as well as adding multiple mobile money phone numbers, which can be used when making payments.

I will talk about Loop Cards in another story but with the recent revamp, one can now have both physical and virtual LOOP cards with 3-year validity for physical and 6-month validity for virtual cards. What is more, Loop now has a LOOP Till Number.

So, is Loop worth the hype? The verdict is YES.

Related Content: 10 Reasons Why NCBA Is The Bank To Watch In 2023

About Juma

Juma is an enthusiastic journalist who believes that journalism has power to change the world either negatively or positively depending on how one uses it.(020) 528 0222 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com

View other posts by Juma