When the phone rings at around midday on the 20th of every month, I know I am in for a class on new developments in technology, especially on the KCB Mobile Banking App. And so, when the phone rang last Sunday, I knew it had nothing to do with Harambee Stars playing Morocco.
“I have seen that KCB is bringing a new app. Tell me what is new,” my mum says just after saying hello to me. Her voice sounded curious.
Let me tell you a little about my mother before you judge her. She is quick to adopt new technology if it means making her life easier. She has no university education, but she has a master’s degree in the school of life.
My mother is one of those chill investors. She is financially sound and has been in chamas all her adult life. And it will come as no surprise to you that she has made vast investments over the years. But one thing that keeps her awake is consolidating payments made over the month by her five matatus.
These matatus that operate in Nairobi make daily deposits of Ksh8,000 to her KCB Bank account. To manage the vehicles, she has to pay for licences and repairs for each vehicle, and hence, balancing the books for each bus becomes an accounting class.
Without a degree in accounting, she has learnt to rely on her KCB Mobile Banking App as a trusted partner to track her businesses. Since its launch, the app has enabled her to effortlessly pay mechanics, NTSA and Nairobi County licences, and SACCO fees, all from the palm of her hand, with transaction messages in the app and on SMS acting as receipts.
Over the years, she has established an effective system. She uses her app to pay bills, make monthly deposits to her four chamas, and send money to her elderly mother in Eldoret. That’s her Chill Mode, stress-free banking without leaving the comfort of her living room.
I once jokingly told her, “Mum, you will forget your M-Pesa pin.” She looked at me and said, “When it works, it works.”
So, when she called on Sunday, I knew she wanted to know one thing: what the New KCB Mobile Banking App had in store for her.
I was excited to explain how the revamped app will give her even more freedom. I told her she could now set up payments and standing orders without walking into a branch and keep better track of her inflows and outflows. That’s her Investor Mode, staying in control of the money from her matatus and investments.
“Mum, imagine you can now register yourself and start banking instantly, all in the app,” I said. The self-onboarding means someone new to KCB can be up and running in minutes, but she reminded me with a laugh, “I’m already a member.”
“Well,” I told her, “now you can pay your utility bills like KPLC Post-paid, DStv, GOtv and Nairobi Water directly from your account without queuing.”
She liked the sound of that. I added that she could top up airtime in seconds for herself or anyone else, which is handy for sending credit to her driver mid-route, and send money to any KCB account, other banks, and mobile wallets like M-Pesa and Vooma without the back-and-forth.
Ohh…and with the new app, she can now easily pay school fees for my two siblings. She simply inputs their names and admission numbers to send fees directly to the school.
KCB has over 10,000 schools nationwide on the system.
And when she needs an extra boost, maybe to cover a matatu repair or a chama investment opportunity, she can get quick KCB Mobile Loans straight into her account, without the paperwork.
For her, the New KCB Mobile App isn’t about shiny features. It’s about living life on her own terms.