Coop Prepaid Card: “Hey mum, calculator yangu haifanyi kazi na tuna mtihani kesho. Tumia mwalimu Ruben Sh. 2,000 kwa number hii aninunulie. Amekubali kuninunulia na ni mwaminifu!” This is a common message that parents have been receiving lately. It is the work of scammers out to defraud unsuspecting parents. In any case, it is disguised as a distress call, and an easy trap to fall for, especially at a season when examinations are around the corner.
Catherine Muyumbu who has a daughter in Form Four recently fell for it. She sent some Sh. 2,000 not knowing that her hard earned cash would not benefit her daughter at all. “I was alarmed when I got the message. I couldn’t bear the thought that my daughter could do badly at school simply because she lacked a calculator,” says Muyumbu. She only found out recently that she had been scammed when she dropped by her daughter’s school in Ruthagati, Nyeri. “I was in Nyeri when I decided to drop by and find out how my daughter was performing. I was embarrassed and shocked to find out that she never sent the distress call. I had been scammed,” she says.
Co-op Bank scores another first with all paperless account opening
These types of scams act as spoilers, even where an honest distress call is made. “It is hard to send your child money at school nowadays. You don’t know if what she is saying is actually true or whether it is the work of scammers,” says James Muiruri who has a son in Form Three at Njabini in Nyandarua County.
While Ms. Muyumbu says that she will hardly send money to her child at school via mobile phone again, she wishes that there was a secure and convenient way she could come through for daughter whenever need arises. “It would be a relief if there was a way to beat the scammers,” she says.
This is the prayer that the Co-operative Bank has answered with a new prepaid card that is designed for parents who have kids at boarding schools. The bank has scored another first in Kenya by unveiling the Coop Prepaid Card. This is a prepaid visa card that will allow parents to securely meet their kid’s shopping needs while they’re at school. By using this card, your child will be able to pay for goods and services in school. In addition, you will be able to load it up remotely and monitor how money is spent.
Interestingly, it is not mandatory for you to be a customer at the Co-operative Bank to get the card for your child. You can still get and use this card regardless of where you bank. You will be able to load money into this card at any Co-op Bank branch or Co-op Kwa Jirani agent. Alternatively, you will be able to do a funds transfer from your Co-op Bank account to this card using the MCo-op Cash mobile app.
