Mobile banking apps are the next frontier in the field of banking that will make business runs smoothly and conveniently. Gone are the days when you had to queue at the banking halls to do simple transactions like Money transfer from one account to the other. Now you can even purchase airtime directly from your bank account without leaving your couch. As more Kenyans move towards using smartphones that run Android, IOS or java, banks are capitalizing on this trend by developing Mobile banking applications to ease the activities such as printing bank statements, checking balance etc. Unless you are still leaving in the analogue age, you don’t have to go to a bank to queue to check your balance. I remember some years back you had either to use your ATM or walk directly to the counter provide your account number or ID to get your balance. These are some of the popular mobile banking applications that our banks use in Kenya;
Eazzy 247 – Equity bank is one of the biggest banks in Kenya in terms of customer volume.Eazzy247 app is their version of mobile banking app that you can download to your smartphone to do simple transactions such as checking your balance, requesting a statement, pay your utility bills , transfer funds etc. As a customer with the bank I have experienced the use of this application especially when transferring money between accounts. I can say confidently this application is very effective. The only thing that you need to know before using the app is your Customer ID which is issued at the bank. After reading most reviews on Google play store most people complained of the app activation that has to be done specifically by visiting the Bank. I think that’s the only drawback. But if you need the app so badly you can just visit their branch, they are everywhere.
Mfukoni by Chase Bank – The first thing that struck me with the application is the self register menu. Just like the other apps it can be used to check balance, deposit cheques online, make money transfers internationally, airtime top up, access you’re MPESA and other services securely. The good thing is after installing the app, verification of the account is done via your mobile number. The service works can also be accessed by dialing *275# on a Non-internet enabled phone. According to the reviews on Google play most of the customers are satisfied with this app.
KCB Mobi-bank – Kenya commercial bank is one of the biggest banks in Kenya. The bank has developed the application for all platforms Mobile phone platform starting with Java, Android and IOS. Customers need to visit the following link to download the respective app for their phone. The application has features such as transferring money from MPESA to bank account, sending money to any mobile number from your KCB account, direct money transfer between KCB accounts, Paying utility bills and many others. Note transfer from account to MPESA is 55ksh.
NIC now mobile app – NIC now is a new application by NIC bank Kenya that borrows from its name by bringing you the services NOW instead of making trips to the bank. The bank had in mind a strategy to bring most of its services to its client such as opening online accounts, online cheques deposits, balance enquiry and funds transfer in real-time. It’s available to its current account holders with the bank via their smartphones. Just like the eazzy247, NIC now uses the Customer ID and password to log in to the app interface.
Barclays bank mobile app – This app is designed to carry out simple tasks to manage your Barclays Bank account. You can view your statements, manage multiple accounts, Monitor you credit card transactions, and finally check the nearest branch network in Kenya. I think Barclays bank avoided more features that access your bank account such as buying airtime and paying utility bills for security reasons. As part of security measure this app will not work on a rooted phone. Forget the app if you have rooted your phone. Also many users reported the app being very stable with no bugs.
Other major banks such as Co-operative bank, National bank, CFC bank and Family bank have mobile banking services that can be accessed via USSD and have not yet come up with apps to do the job. The only problem with USSD is the mobile companies charge unnecessary cost to run those commands.
To crown it all most of these services would not be a success without the invention of M-PESA and as you can see most of them have the service built into the application. With proper security more apps will be developed and evolve to become the next modern way of banking.
Eazzy 247 – Equity bank is one of the biggest banks in Kenya in terms of customer volume.Eazzy247 app is their version of mobile banking app that you can download to your smartphone to do simple transactions such as checking your balance, requesting a statement, pay your utility bills , transfer funds etc. As a customer with the bank I have experienced the use of this application especially when transferring money between accounts. I can say confidently this application is very effective. The only thing that you need to know before using the app is your Customer ID which is issued at the bank. After reading most reviews on Google play store most people complained of the app activation that has to be done specifically by visiting the Bank. I think that’s the only drawback. But if you need the app so badly you can just visit their branch, they are everywhere.
Mfukoni by Chase Bank – The first thing that struck me with the application is the self register menu. Just like the other apps it can be used to check balance, deposit cheques online, make money transfers internationally, airtime top up, access you’re MPESA and other services securely. The good thing is after installing the app, verification of the account is done via your mobile number. The service works can also be accessed by dialing *275# on a Non-internet enabled phone. According to the reviews on Google play most of the customers are satisfied with this app.
KCB Mobi-bank – Kenya commercial bank is one of the biggest banks in Kenya. The bank has developed the application for all platforms Mobile phone platform starting with Java, Android and IOS. Customers need to visit the following link to download the respective app for their phone. The application has features such as transferring money from MPESA to bank account, sending money to any mobile number from your KCB account, direct money transfer between KCB accounts, Paying utility bills and many others. Note transfer from account to MPESA is 55ksh.
NIC now mobile app – NIC now is a new application by NIC bank Kenya that borrows from its name by bringing you the services NOW instead of making trips to the bank. The bank had in mind a strategy to bring most of its services to its client such as opening online accounts, online cheques deposits, balance enquiry and funds transfer in real-time. It’s available to its current account holders with the bank via their smartphones. Just like the eazzy247, NIC now uses the Customer ID and password to log in to the app interface.
Barclays bank mobile app – This app is designed to carry out simple tasks to manage your Barclays Bank account. You can view your statements, manage multiple accounts, Monitor you credit card transactions, and finally check the nearest branch network in Kenya. I think Barclays bank avoided more features that access your bank account such as buying airtime and paying utility bills for security reasons. As part of security measure this app will not work on a rooted phone. Forget the app if you have rooted your phone. Also many users reported the app being very stable with no bugs.
Other major banks such as Co-operative bank, National bank, CFC bank and Family bank have mobile banking services that can be accessed via USSD and have not yet come up with apps to do the job. The only problem with USSD is the mobile companies charge unnecessary cost to run those commands.
To crown it all most of these services would not be a success without the invention of M-PESA and as you can see most of them have the service built into the application. With proper security more apps will be developed and evolve to become the next modern way of banking.