Users encounter challenges with new Absa virtual lending app

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 5 – Absa bank has been under pressure in the past few weeks from a section of its clients over its mobile banking platform dubbed Timiza.

The app currently serves over five million customers since its launch in 2018. Following reviews from some users on the Google Play store, the lender may need to get back to the drawing board to improve user experience in order to attract more customers.

Shifting through the reviews on the Google Play Store, the complaints range from difficulty in access to hiccups on loan repayment which they say takes time to reflect.

“The new app needs a lot of debugging. Please restore the USSD service as you work or correcting issues with the new app. 1. New app takes long to start. 2. The new up is not showing the updated balance. 3. It is not able to trigger an Mpesa transaction as is the case,” writes Carole Kyalo.

Another user Robert Kimani in his review notes that the app is not working well, it keeps on crushing. Eunice says she has issues with accessing her funds and the current upgrade makes it hard for one to check and repay their loans.

“Hi timiza people, what is going on? I have been trying to log in to my account since 27th but no success. I have called customer care but they are telling me they are working on it. Kindly resolve the issue asap,” wrote Caroline Joseph.

According to the reviews, problem started after app’s upgrade and its takeover from a Kenyan software company following Barclays rebranding to ABSA.

Timiza product is Absa bank’s virtual banking strategy to extend its growth and services to the mobile space.

The launch in 2018 came after two other banks NCBA (through M-Shwari) and KCB Group extended virtual services over Safaricom and M-Pesa to reach millions more digital customers and borrowers.

Timiza is immediately available to all M-Pesa customers who are either the bank’s customers or non-customers seeking access to credit. The minimum loan amount is Sh50, and maximum Sh1 million, though it’s really up to 150,000 (~$1,500) depending on one’s credit rating and funds are immediately sent to one’s Timiza wallet (not M-pesa).

When the bank first launched its digital app known as “Timiza” — Kiswahili for “Achieve” — in March 2018, it attracted 300,000 customers.

By the end of the year 2018, it had 3 million users, with lending standing at 10 billion Kenyan shillings.

“We have seen our app grow in leaps and bounds. We are now roughly under 5 million [Timiza] customers, and we really are looking forward to growing that number in the future,” Awori told a news conference previously.

Absa Kenya’s profitability in the first half of this year grew more than nine-fold to Sh5.6 billion on increased repayment and aggressive cost management.

In the first six months of 2020, the lender recorded a profit after tax of Sh600 million as it set aside a huge chunk of its revenues as insurance against possible loan defaults.