Equity enhances digital banking solutions for all its customers

The digital banking landscape keeps evolving, with increased consumer demand for more convenient and efficient ways of accessing banking services and managing finances anywhere, anytime, outside of bank branches.

Equity has been at the forefront of innovation to ensure it provides customers with tailored solutions that simplify lifestyles and meet their needs. In line with the bank’s innovation strategy, it has introduced a new single sign-on digital banking platform that enables customers to access digital banking services via the platform as an App, Web or USSD service. These platforms offer the bank’s customers a seamless experience - simplified customer journeys and enhanced security.

Customers who wish to access services through the App can download the new Equity Mobile App on Play Store or App Store. The App, which is highly scalable, versatile, and efficient, now provides financial, saving and borrowing services. Those that wish to access services via the web can sign up on the bank’s online banking platform – Equity Online, previously known as EazzyNet.

Equity’s newly updated USSD service (*247#) also provides customers with a unified service offering across mobile networks and an enhanced customer experience with simpler customer journeys. Customers in Kenya can now easily access the USSD service on Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom and Equitel. Some of the new features on the platform include:

• Access to instant loans that range from Ksh100 to Ksh3million
• Self-registration or onboarding of both existing Equity and non-Equity customers on the service
• Ability to save or maintain recipient’s bank details, which makes it easy and convenient to do repeat transactions.

The *247# USSD service also enables customers with any mobile device to access bank services regardless of the device's make – feature phones (Kabambe) or smartphones.

Customers can conveniently send money, transfer funds, apply for loans, and print statements, among many other services, on these platforms at the comfort of their mobile phones, laptops, desktops etc, at home, office or anywhere else.

For instance, to get an instant loan through *247# from Equity, a customer can simply dial *247# from any mobile network and follow the simple steps: Borrow > Get Loan > Loan, then follow the instructions. The service also allows customers to check their loan limit, loan status or loan balances, as well as make partial or full repayments for their loans.

To apply for a loan of any amount using the *247# code, one does not need to fill any physical forms or present guarantors or collateral.

Customers can self-onboard on the service by first, simply dialing *247#, then selecting preferred language (English or Kiswahili), linking existing Equity Bank account, entering their Equity account number, their ID number, accepting terms and conditions and setting up their PIN.

As the banking sector transforms due to technology advances, Equity has leveraged this to offer customers digital solutions that are tailored to conveniently meet their needs. This has progressively led to consumers preferring to carry out most of their transactions digitally as opposed to going to the branches.

According to the 2021 Q3 results, out of the 975.1 million transactions processed for the nine months in the year, only 30.1 million transactions or three percent of all transactions were handled by branches and ATMs. The digital bank handled and processed 945 million transactions or 97 percent of all the transactions, with the self-service customers’ own-device mobile channel handling and processing 90 percent of digital transactions.