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Is Loop By NCBA Bank Kenya Worth The Hype?

BY Soko Directory Team · June 23, 2023 06:06 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 has a digital banking service either through a USSD or a mobile banking app. Each year, many lenders in the country are striving to leave the traditional brick-and-mortar and concentrate their services on mobile.

But when it comes to what lies behind just the banking app, many lenders fail the test. To many of them, a banking app is just a tool where customers deposit and withdraw cash. Many have overlooked the real customer experience which should be the first goal in setting up the app in the first place.

Interacting with Loop by NCBA Bank gives a different kind of vibe. Loop by NCBA is a digital banking service by NCBA Bank Kenya that lets customers manage their money by providing all the banking experiences at a go. It offers a whole banking experience through both mobile and web.

The platform is one of the most seamless platforms I have interacted with and will try to break some of them down. At a time when cybercrime is a major concern globally, especially in the banking sector, Loop puts the safety of both the data and money of the customers ahead of anything else.

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. This also means that your phone does not struggle to operate due to the limited space of heavy apps running in the background.

The Pluses of Loop

One of the most interesting operation features that caught my eye was that a customer can open an account in under 4 minutes and start transacting immediately. This cuts on the waste of time when a customer had to walk to the nearest branch to set up an account.

After opening an account, Loop offers an opportunity to secure data and banking experience through a fingerprint. This means that only the owner of the phone will have access to the app, preventing important banking data from landing in the wrong hands.

Access to fast and affordable credit has been a major challenge for most small and medium businesses (SMEs) in the country. With Loop, users can get a Personal Loan of up to 3 million shillings and an overdraft of up to 100, 000 shillings without any paperwork.

There has been talk about Kenyans being among the poorest when it comes to spending habits and savings. No other banking app lets one keep track of what they have got on their bank account. It allows them to budget for their monthly spending, and track and analyze their expenses easily, hence knowing where and how to spend their money.

Many businesses around the country are moving away from dealing with hard cash. Many have embraced the use of mobile money through Paybill and Till Numbers. Loop lets one make payments to mobile money or to a bank. One can also pay bills or pay merchants through Pay Bill, Till, or with their Loop card.

Investment opportunities are some of the most asked questions among Kenyans, especially the youth. With Look, one can set up a Loop Invest with as little as 1000 shillings and get competitive interest rates on their investment. One can also simply set up their various goals and track each of them as they go.

New Additions

The feature to Link bank accounts safely: It allows one to make payments from a primary linked bank account. This interesting feature allows them to connect their bank accounts to Loop.

Feature to Link cards on LOOP: This makes it easier and more secure to move, manage and pay money between accounts. Users can 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:

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 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.

Read More:

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.

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

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory