Mobile banking and loan apps are they new norm, and their growing adoption has mostly been attributed to ease of use that requires zero paperwork. Specifically, Equity Bank’s Equitel/Eazzy Banking app provides the same services to customers. Functionally, the app is robust and bundles some services that are not found in the mobile toolkit menu, which has been improved with visual overhauls and additional core services like PesaLink.
While it is subjectively misplaced to question Equitel/Eazzy Banking’s offerings, at least, for now, there’s need to look into the impact of some of the bank’s decisions regarding mobile lending. A couple of weeks ago, Equity Group’s CEO Mr. James Mwangi mentioned that new banking laws would make it more difficult to lend money especially to high risk customers.
Launched in 2015, mobile loans aka EazzyLoan offered a 30-day loan of up to KES 200,000. A year later, the amount was increased to KES 3 million with a flexible repayment period of up to 12 months. At the moment, the bank has disbursed more than KES 57 billion in mobile loans.
It turns out that these laws have not affected the growth of mobile loans as the product is gaining popularity among its users. However, the bank has tightened its grip on how it determines loan limits, which varies based on a user’s bank activities, credit history, loan facilities with other mobile lenders and how fast they are repaid.
Provided your credit record is good, you can still access these loans using the app or the STK menu, be it unsecured or otherwise.
“As such, channelling all incomes into a single Equity Bank account increases the chances of a higher loan limit. Algorithms also look at the borrowing history of the user, both within the bank and those with other lenders. Punctual payment of loans increase chances of higher loan limits while late payment of loans reduces loan limits. Failure to repay loans can result in user details being shared with the Credit and Reference Bureau (CRB) which could halt access to EazzyLoans,” reads a statement from the bank.
The bank processes 36 percent of mobile loans outside branch banking hours, with the most active time being from 8AM to 4PM.
Access is based on a monthly limit, and users can take a maximum if two loans at a time within that limit. Say you have a limit if KES 1000, you can take two loans of KES 500 each or a single loan of KES 1000. On the bright side of things, users are not tasked to have a specific minimum amount in their account for qualification.
