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On July 14, 2024, Jasan Waweru lost Sh690,000 through a well-orchestrated mobile banking fraud. He had been waylaid by three individuals on his way to work who claimed that they wanted to erect a mobile transmitting booster at his farm in Nyandarua County.
“I was just leaving the gate when they approached me and said that they were associates of a certain local bank. They were well dressed in suits and had a bunch of documents in files. They had come in a double-cabin pickup that had the bank’s logo on the hood and the doors,” he says.
Waweru, who is 60, says that at the time, there was nothing suspicious about them. After all, the trio had the hallmarks of banking staff that is synonymous with rural areas: respect, good suits, good English, a branded vehicle and documents.
“They said they were scouting the local area for the purposes of leasing a portion of a farm where they could erect a booster to enhance network and connectivity. The lease would be for a period of ten years with the option of renewal, and a monthly payment of Sh30,000 to the farm owner. It was easy for me to believe them,” he recalls. Waweru thought it was a good deal that could boost up his passive income, and when they asked if he would be interested in signing on, he dived nose first, not knowing that he had jumped into a scam-infested river.
“They asked for my personal details, and then requested if they could install a program in my phone using their bank sim card to test what they termed as network catchment beacons around my farm,” says Waweru.
Unknown to him, as they took him in circles at his farm, testing for make-believe network catchment beacons, the passwords he had saved on his phone had been broken and money in his bank account was being siphoned from through that bank’s mobile banking platform. Within about 45 minutes, they made away with Sh690,000. “I only knew that I had been scammed three days later when I visited that bank to withdraw money to buy dairy meal for my cows. I was shocked to be told that I had insufficient balance,” he says.
Waweru says that he had not been notified of any withdrawals from his account and neither had the bank raised a red flag after noticing out-of-the-ordinary withdrawals. “They were very dismissive. They said they couldn’t do nothing with an “its-not-our-fault” you got scammed attitude,” he says. “I left that bank shattered; I closed down my bank account with them and have never looked back again,” he says.
Since then, Waweru has been building up a fresh portfolio at KCB Bank Kenya. And even though he had vowed to never entertain mobile banking again, he says that he has recently started banking through the New KCB Mobile App.
“It’s the security features that have won me over. I am sensitive about mobile banking security since I lost my money,” he says. “However, the multi-layered security, alerts and notifications, and the mandatory two-factor authentication features have eased my fears.”
The icing on the cake is the instant, low-interest loans that he is able to access and fund his dairy farming business. “I have been building from zero, which is not easy at my age. After losing my money, it was a struggle maintaining a decent operating capital to run the farm with, but this has eased off with the loan limits I am getting, which are rising higher and higher with every timely repayment,” says Waweru.
Waweru’s experience prompted Bizna Kenya to examine and analyze the New KCB Mobile App and the features that have set it bars above the rest in the mobile banking market. We found out that with the new KCB Mobile app, you can register and begin to bank instantly wherever you are and at any hour during day or night without the need to visit a physical branch.
“This new app reflects our continued commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. We have listened to our customers, understood their needs, and invested in a platform that brings banking closer to them in the safest and most convenient way possible. It is part of our promise to make banking better, simpler, and more accessible for everyone,” says Angela Mwirigi, KCB Bank’s Director of Digital Financial Services.
At the same time, the new app enables you to access your bank account balances, transfer cash from your bank account to your mobile wallet and to also bank money from your mobile wallet to your bank.
READ MORE: Historic dividend unlocks new era of wealth for KCB Group shareholders
If you have the need to send money from your KCB account to another bank account, you will no longer need to queue at a physical bank for an electronic transfer. You can now do a bank-to-bank transfer from this app and your money will reflect instantly. Interestingly, the new App has taken away the need to carry cash money around when doing regular daily or weekend shopping. In place of hard currency, the new App will now allow you to pay for goods and services, and cushion you with instant soft loans that you can access in the event of an emergency.
Take for example family shopping at the supermarket. You have filled up the largest cart available to the brim and queued up at the teller. However, as the customer service attendant tallies your items, you realize that you have blown over your budget. Behind you is a line of agitated customers. You are on the verge of embarrassment and you can feel a cold shiver running down your spine. If the customer service attendant is considerate enough, she may ask you to pay for what your money can afford. But there is always that risk of being shamed and being instructed to stock back the items you are unable to pay for in their respective shelves. After all, did you not know that you don’t have money?! As you walk from the teller in shame, faces of other shoppers judging you harshly, you may wish for the ground to open up and swallow you.
But you in such an event, you can avoid the shame and harsh judgments by simply leaning on the New KCB Mobile App. This new App has been remodeled in such a way that it would cover your shame with an assuring sheet of dignity. With just a few taps, you can transfer some funds from you bank account and pay directly to the supermarket till or paybill, and if you are short on cash, apply for a top up loan and pay off without raising an eyebrow or broadcasting your financial distress to all and sundry.
Weeks after relaunch, the new app has seen a huge uptake from Kenyans. This has been mainly driven by the versatility on offer and the provision of solutions to consumer needs. Take 47-year-old Catherine Atieno who is a senior human resource practitioner in Nairobi. She says that the financial convenience that is being offered through mobile apps such as the new KCB mobile app is a major relief.
“My mom was involved in an accident a while back and I send her money every week for physio sessions in Nakuru. I also have a chama where I am a treasurer. I need to consistently monitor member contributions, payout bi-weekly beneficiaries, as well as contribute,” she says. “It has now become possible for me to track transactions in real time, make transfers for our chama as well as pay for my mom’s physio sessions through this app.”
Quick takeaways
The services you will get on the New KCB Mobile App include:
- Paying rent.
- Paying school fees.
- Paying bills such as Kenya Power, Water Bills, Netflix, DStv and GOtv.
- Transferring money to and from your bank account and your mobile wallet.
- Processing of bulk payments
- Applying for affordable loans.
- Checking your bank balances and getting statements.
So how can you access this new App? Well, the new KCB Mobile Banking App is available for download on both the Google Play Store, Apple App Store and HarmonyOS.
