Kenya: Prime Bank enters mobile loans business

Prime Bank has entered the mobile lending business with short-term loans, seeking to grow its customer base in the mass market.

Borrowers will access loans from Sh5,000 to Sh150,000 with repayment periods between 30 days to three months.

The lender launched the services on Monday dubbed PrimeKopa and mobile app PrimeMobi.

Mobile banking has become the cornerstone of serving the masses, enhancing convenience to customers while reducing the need for banks to expand their brick-and-mortar branches.

The Managing Director for Prime Bank, Bharat Jani said “PrimeKopa seeks to provide customers access to mobile loans with flexibility in terms of repayment in a seamless, paperless, and digital manner. We believe PrimeKopa will offer customers a differentiated digital banking experience.”

The bank says customers will enjoy instant disbursement of funds after approval and will be allowed to make partial and early payment of loans.

The lender joins Equity, KCB, NCBA, Absa and Co-operative earning billions of shillings in fees and interest from this lucrative mobile loan business.

Prime Bank held a 2.44 percent market share with Sh88.59 billion customer deposits and Sh44.53 billion loan book as at December 31, according to data by the Central Bank of Kenya.

The shift to digital banking followed the Covid-19 disruptions that hurt customer traffic in banking halls, despite increased default of mobile loans amid repayment distress.