Mukuru has upgraded its app and added a new self sign-up feature to its WhatsApp offering. The new app – available on Android and IOS – will allow users to send money to 12 countries including Botswana, Bangladesh, DR Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Both channels are expected to enable customers to sign-up and conduct important transactions from home.
“Our customers have been asking for a Mukuru App, and we have made sure to develop and present a solution that empowers our customers to send money back home to their families in an even safer and more convenient way. Mukuru has always given its customers the ability to transact when and wherever they need to through our existing USSD and WhatsApp offerings – the Mukuru App adds a richer experience and more control for a customer to manage their profile,” says Andy Jury, CEO of Mukuru.
“Our mission is to meet customers where they are most comfortable transacting – and our technical expertise and innovation continually reflects Mukuru’s commitment to empowering and supporting the end-user. Importantly, this is a journey and not a destination – and we continue to innovate across all of our platforms, which is highlighted by the fact that we are one of the few financial services providers in Southern Africa to give customers a choice of transacting via an app, USSD and/or WhatsApp. These new capabilities reflect our commitment to the financial freedom of our customers, and making life easier no matter what circumstances they face.”
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By signing up for Mukuru via WhatsApp, users will be able to bypass the onerous task of submitting Know-Your-Customer (KYC) documents to an agent or Mukuru branch in person. Instead, they can submit documents directly to Mukuru’s verifications team.
Mukuru will then provide timely feedback via WhatsApp as to whether a prospective customer’s ID documents have been effectively verified or not (and if the customer needs to take further steps).
“Our customers already use WhatsApp extensively to create money transfer transactions (comprising more than 30% of our total monthly transaction volume in SA) so we are naturally extending self sign-up services on this channel,” says Jury.
“This capability removes key barriers for our customers and increases accessibility to important financial services in South Africa and across our network. By harnessing our technology expertise and ability to innovate around customer pain points, we are boosting financial inclusion by allowing customers to submit their own KYC documents and gain access to higher limits.”
