You know those rare feel-good moments that you get when the stars align and everything feels right in the world again, even for just one second, either when you take a bite of your favorite home-made food or you hear that song that always brings a smile on your face. Well, that happened to me recently when I installed Stash. With millions and millions of Android apps in the Google Play Store, only a handful of applications that really invoke that feeling in the user and Stash is one of them. Now that I have your attention, let me tell you why Stash makes me feel all good inside.
For starters, it is Kenyan made, suited for our market and made by young brilliant minds who met at Egerton University studying Computer Science. Secondly, its a life saver. You now those pesky USSD codes that crop up almost daily and they expect you to have some kind of database in your head to remember all of them, or those pay bill numbers that drive you in panic mode since you cant remember and your DSTV subscription is up and you know you wrote it down somewhere but can not remember where and when you try going online to search for it, you realize you don’t have bundles and you cannot remember the USSD code to buy bundles because you are using a new line! Stash is here to save the day.
A pilot Android application created by a startup called Chowders Loft, Stash is designed to bundle up all your common USSD codes into an easy to use application. Not only is it simple and user friendly, it actually works! It saves you the obvious hustle of searching, remembering and the best part, dialing the codes yourself.
User Experience
This is a very easy application to use. Once installed, all you need to do is choose your preferred network operator and all the current USSD codes used in the network are instantly made available for you. If you have more than one line however, you can still view the USSD codes of any other network from the application’s menu.
One thing that I absolutely appreciate about the application is that it is beautifully designed. The developers kept material design in mind, making the application feel modern and relevant. The colors work well together and there is fluidity as you move from page to page.
Furthermore, there are no ads in this application, as it is 100% free, making the experience clean and devoid of distractions from ad pop ups.
Features
This is an application that does what it says on the box. On the home page, you get a list of services usually accessed by USSD codes with a small description of the same. Selecting one of the services automatically runs the code for you as you would have done on your dial pad, and a response is received as it usually is. For codes that prompt the user to choose more options, a simple pop up customized for each of the codes allows the user to input data.
Other than the storing of codes, there is a tab called services. This has a list of some accounts that use pay bill numbers for payment. These range from paying for your DSTV subscriptions, paying your electricity bill or buying the prepaid tokens. Once you choose a service, it gives you a pop up with a detailed step-by -step process on how to pay for the service. Long gone are the days that you have to remember each and every pay bill number for different services, which I have to admit can be frustrating if you don’t have the sharpest memory.
There is one other feature that I am not too sure about but in my own interpretation, I can add the USSD codes that I frequently use with my own descriptions for, again, faster access. I set the application in such a way that when I open it, this page comes up first and I can immediately run my desired USSD code, other than going to the home page and scrolling through the list entire to get the service I want. Very convenient.
Conclusion
This is a wonderful application, period! It does what it says it will, and does it beautifully and efficiently. It is such a simple idea, executed brilliantly. One thing that I may have mentioned and it is important to note is that this application is completely FREE. No ads, no premium version, no subscription, nothing, 100% free. When asked, the developer says that they did this just to show everyone what they are about. They wanted to show people that quality applications can be developed in Kenya without their being a catch, and I commend them for this. Sometimes, its not all about the money.
Seriously, if you haven’t tried out your multitasking skills by downloading the application right after you started reading this, then you are too slow. Get it from the play store here it’s currently only available as an Android app.
