Standard Chartered Bank recently launched a short-term lending mobile app for its clients. Known as SC Juza, the bank says the app aspires to meet the growing demand for short-term unsecured loans that are easily disbursed through mobile wallets.
Standard Chartered now joins other Kenyan banks including KCB, ABSA, Equity Bank and NCBA looking to reap big from the Kenyan digital lending market.
For now, the app is only available for Android users. Standard Chartered says it should be rolling out the app on Apple Store in the coming months. To access loans, users will have to download the app, register, and create their own personalized PIN. Once they’re done with this, they can go ahead and apply for loans.
Also, to register on SC JUZA, the bank will require your personal details and Safaricom mobile number. Currently, the app only supports Safaricom subscribers registered for the MPESA service. Basically what this implies is once you take a loan via SC Juza, the money will be sent to your MPESA number.
Anyone can sign app for the loan so you don’t have to necessarily be a Standard Chartered Bank customer.
SC Juza Interest rates and repayment period
The processing fee for each approved loan application is set at 5.5%, which means, for instance, a loan of KES 1,000 will incur a processing fee of KES 55. Additionally, the interest rate on loans is 1.6% per month, translating to a monthly interest of KES 10.80 on a KES 1,000 loan.
To further assist borrowers, the loan tenure is 60 days (approximately two months), providing an extended period for consumers to fulfil their financial obligations without the stress of immediate repayment.
Notably, the service fee is applied only after the first 30 days, adding a layer of flexibility for early repayments. Moreover, interest is accrued daily, meaning that each day adds a small, calculated interest amount to the individual’s outstanding balance, ensuring that the cost of borrowing is clear and accumulative.
The minimum loan amount one can apply for is KES 1,000 while the maximum amount is KES 100,000.
Other benefits
With SC Juza you can also track your transactions and view your mini statements conveniently whenever you want.
The app also helps you manage the costs of the loans by showing you your total loan amount and the cost of the loan. It also features a fully digitised chat support platform.
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