This week saw the launch of what is likely to be a revolutionary mobile phone product called
M-Shwari. It comes from two long term partners - Kenyan mobile company Safaricom, well known for it’s world famous mobile money product - MPesa, and a local bank, the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) who have been custodians of M-Pesa funds for years?
M-Shwari is a savings and loan product that is immediately accessible to the 15 million users of Safaricom’s MPesa. It gives them access to banking services – savings and loans without having to walk into a bank hall or fill out a single form. It allows them to save as little as 1 shilling (earning interest of between 2-5% a year) or borrow as little as 100 shillings (Kshs 100 is equivalent to about $1.17) and attracts no account maintenance fees or transfer fees. It will be a great product for people who run informal businesses and take money home at night in pockets or blouses, or envelopes to stuff into mattresses, as they now have a simple tool which they can use to instantly and simply save by clicking into their phone SIM menu.
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