Tala, M-Kopa Among Those Approved By CBK To Operate In Kenya

By Soko Directory Team / Published March 17, 2023 | 12:40 pm

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Inventure Mobile Limited (Tala), Jumo Kenya Limited, Letshego Kenya Limited, MFS Technologies Limited, and Umoja Fanisi Limited were also approved. CBK further listed Natal Tech Company Limited, Ngao Credit Limited, Pezesha Africa Limited, Umoja Fanisi Limited, and Zanifu Limited as new entrants.

On Friday, March 17, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) issued a new round of approvals to 12 players in the lucrative digital loans market.

In a statement, according to the CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge, M-Kopa Money Kenya Limited, Mycredit Limited, and Tenataka Enterprises Limited were listed as the new entrants to the digital credit market.

“It is notified for information of the general public that in the exercise of the powers conferred by Regulation 5 (1) of the Central Bank of Kenya (Digital Credit Providers) Regulations, 2022,” read the notice in part.

Under the new rules, the lenders are supposed to furnish the regulator with a Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum, and Articles of Association of the applicant and any significant shareholder.

Directors, CEOs, senior officers, and significant shareholders are also required to undergo a fit and proper test from the regulator which also required disclosure on the source of funds and pricing models.

In the strict consumer protection rules introduced by the Digital Credit Providers Regulations 2021, CBK is keen on ensuring mobile loan borrowers no longer get pestered by intrusive phone calls to their friends and family when they default.

The digital lenders will also be required to disclose the total charges for their loans, including interest rates, late payments, and rollover fees, before disbursing credit to customers.

The new law also gave CBK powers to revoke the licenses of firms that send information about loan defaulters to third parties in name-and-shame tactics meant to recover the money.

According to data from the Digital Lenders Association, 66 percent of urban dwellers take loans from digital credit providers. “35 percent of Kenyan digital borrowers use digital credit to meet day-to-day household needs while 37 percent borrow for business.

Related Content: 25% Of Tala Customers Are Borrowing To Save

About Soko Directory Team

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