Key considerations for me when picking an app for my unique financial needs

When I want an app that will meet all the financial needs of my current stage in life (the 40s), among my top considerations is the ease of access to loans in the palm of my hand.

I will also consider the convenience of paying my loans, utilities and other bills, as well as executing my personal tasks on my mobile phone, where I run most of my financial tasks.

The interest rates on loans I access will definitely be top of mind, right alongside the safety of my savings, interest earnings and easy access to my money when I decide to withdraw.

Since I run a small business on the side, call it a side hustle, I will also be interested in finding out what kind of loan limits the app offers as well as other benefits like insurance solutions.

If I decide to save my money with the app I download, I would be keen to get the best offer in the market and also get a guarantee the app would offer stability for all my transactions.

How easy is it for me to deposit my cash to the wallet through my mobile phone and what kind of rewards would I enjoy for early repayment, good transaction behavior and loyalty?

More importantly, I would want to know how user-friendly the application process and terms are after I download the app, whether I want to access personal or business solutions.

In my fact-finding mission, I would also want to learn whether the bank or entity behind the app is interested in my financial well-being and in enabling me to realise my financial goals.

Well, based on these factor that matter most to me, and given in my fourth floor I am more obsessed with achieving my legacy, I decided to dig deeper into what Timiza is offering me.

For me, the Absa Bank product checks most boxes due to convenient access to mobile loans by customer and non-customers, sending money, paying bills, buying airtime among others.

With an interest of 5 per cent per annum, the Timiza Savings Account can enable me to save and earn decent returns while enjoying better loan limits compared to its competitors.

In my interaction with the good people at Absa, I learnt that I can deposit funds into my Timiza wallet via M-Pesa and get rewards for repaying my loans early, maintaining good transaction behavior and remaining loyal, which are mouth-watering if you ask me, added to a facility fee of 5 per cent.

Data I collected from various sources shows that the number of individuals and SMEs using the innovation by Absa has grown exponentially since it was launched in mid-March 2018.

I’m enthralled that the Safaricom full year results for 2023 showed the value of loans advanced via Timiza grew by almost 40 per cent to Sh22.4 billion, the fastest on M-Pesa.

In the same year, Absa expanded the transaction limit on the financial app to Sh250,000 from the previous Sh150,000 after getting an approval from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

This means that I can access a Timiza mobile loan of up to Sh150,000 and repay within 30 days, or my “small” business can access up to Sh1 million, which I can repay in 12 months.

In a single transaction, I can move Sh250,000, while the app has set my daily transaction limit at Sh500,000, and I can access these amounts through my M-Pesa or my Absa ATM.

Timiza had advanced more than Sh65 billion in loans as at September 30, 2023, issuing up to Sh14.8 billion in loans in the first nine months of 2023, which is about Sh54.2 million daily.

Absa Bank Kenya Head of Digital Banking Steven Omamo recently whispered to me that more innovative features are loading and that Timiza had realized some pretty impressive numbers.

“Timiza provides financial access to small business owners who were previously excluded from formal financial services and has reached nearly five million users since its launch,” he whispered to me while exuding confidence at a recent event held by the bank in Nairobi.

Last year, Absa hinted at evolving it into a standalone mobile-only financial services business to facilitate savings, loans, payments, and insurance services, but has kept us guessing since.

But don’t take my word for it, try it out for yourself by dialing *848# or Download Timiza App from Google PlayStore or IOS App store to open a Timiza account and start transacting.