Insecurity, inconvenience and unreliability. These are the three things that kept Ruth Nyamai away from applying for a payment card for years. The 36-year-old entrepreneur based in Nairobi had previously owned four cards, some within one year.

“It became so frustrating that I decided to avoid them altogether,” she says. “Whenever I got a card, I wouldn’t last two months of shopping without the card getting blocked over security breaches.” She says that she felt financially insecure.

“I was afraid that one of these attempts might go through and I might lose my money. I also loathed that my purse was accumulating so many cards that I couldn’t use,” says the mother of two.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back was when she travelled to South Africa, and her card was declined at a popular shopping mall in Cape Town.

“We were on vacation with my family. I took the kids to the mall and we loaded up the largest trolley only to be embarrassed at the counter because my card could not complete the payment despite having sufficient funds,” she says.

“We stepped aside and spent the next thirty minutes with our faces in our hands in shame as we waited for my husband to come and bail us,” she says. Nyamai says that the moment she stepped back home two weeks later, her first order of business was to cancel her card.

That was three years ago. In August this year, though, a brand-new visa card found its way into her purse. Curiously, we wanted to find out why she had changed her mind.

“Yes, I have a visa card,” she says with a smile as she reaches into her purse to show us her new card. “But this is not one of those cards that I previously had problems with.” Nyamai holds up a LOOP Visa card. “This one I will keep. I recently travelled to New Zealand and Australia via South Africa for business and I had no problem transacting or making payments in those three countries,” she says.

According to Jackson Mwenda, a Nairobi-based cyber security expert who specializes in digital payments, the LOOP Visa card is one of the most advanced in terms of security and convenience.

“My review suggests that this visa card is a boon for the growing base of consumers looking for safer payment solutions both physically and technologically,” says Mwenda.

He adds that the LOOP Visa card comes in both physical and digital forms, which is a convenience at a time when Kenya’s digital financial evolution is on high gear.

To get a detailed insight on why making a switch to a LOOP Visa card will be a good financial move for you, we sat down with Mwenda and reviewed some of the features that are a cut above the rest in the payment cards market. According to Mwenda, the features you will get from the LOOP Visa card include:

Security: LOOP Visa cards come with prioritized security features that will protect your money from fraud.

Flexibility: You will finally be able to have convenience, reliability, and efficiency all under one card when using your LOOP Visa card. For instance, you will now spend even less time at the counter with the built-in Tap-to-Pay feature on your LOOP Visa card.

Global reach: The LOOP Visa cards are widely accepted across the world and will work at thousands of merchants. This means that when you travel outside the country, you will not need to worry that you won’t access your money or carry out transactions because your previous cards couldn’t work beyond the borders.

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Voucher rewards: This is the icing on the cake. Migrating to the new LOOP Visa card comes with free gift vouchers. For instance, when you apply for a LOOP Visa card and activate it, you will be rewarded with a Sh. 1,500 voucher that will be delivered to you within 24 hours.

At the same time, if you have an existing card and switch to the LOOP Visa card, you will receive a voucher of Sh. 2,500 in addition to discounts on flights and meals paid for using this Visa card.

For instance, until November 30, 2024, you will be able to enjoy discounts of up to USD170 (equivalent to about Sh. 22,000) on your Emirates flight bookings when you pay with your LOOP Visa card.

To get this discount, you will need to visit Emirates and use the code KEVISA1 when paying for your booking.

How to switch

Traditionally, you need to go to a physical bank branch or outlet to acquire a card. With the LOOP Visa cards, this hassle has now changed. Bizna Kenya’s review shows that you can now request and get a physical visa card in less than 30 seconds using the LOOP App, which is available on the Apple App Store and Google Playstore.

The steps you need to request your LOOP Visa card are as follows:

i). On your LOOP App, tap on Manage to open ‘My Wallet’.

ii). Tap on ‘Cards’ and then Tap on ‘Apply for Bank Card’.

iii). Choose the preferred delivery method and the Choose preferred delivery location or preferred pickup location.

iv). Review application fees and choose the preferred source of funds.

v) Enter your PIN and Confirm successful card application.

Interestingly, the LOOP Visa cards will also give you the option of applying and getting a virtual visa card from the comfort of your LOOP App. To get your virtual visa card, follow these steps:

i). On your LOOP App, tap on Manage to open ‘My Wallet’.

ii). Tap on ‘Cards’ and then Tap on ‘Apply for Virtual Card’.

iii). Confirm your details and accept the terms and conditions.

iv). Review application fees and choose the preferred source of funds.

v) Enter your PIN.