Equity has updated its USSD service, which now offers a unified service across mobile networks as well as a better user experience. Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom, and Equitel customers in Kenya can now use the USSD service (*247#).
Some of the other new features on the platform include; access to instant loans that range between Sh100 and Sh3million and self-registration of both existing Equity and non-Equity customers on the service.
Individuals and businesses are swiftly adopting the usage of technology to overcome the challenges and risks posed by the pandemic in order to stay afloat and continue to service their clients since the Covid-19 strike.
During the release of the 2021 Q3 results, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, James Mwangi, said that Covid-19 has acted as a tailwind to the adoption of digital banking making them transform into a Big Tech in the financial services sector.
“The Group is increasingly shifting from its legacy brick and mortar model of branches and ATMs to self-service model of client’s own electronic devices or third-party infrastructure as more customers opting for cashless transactions,” he said.
Advancements in technology continue to transform the banking sector and Equity has leveraged this to give customers choice and freedom to access and operate their accounts.
This has led to consumers preferring to carry out most of their transactions digitally as opposed to going to the branches.
According to the lender’s 2021 Q3 results, out of the 975.1 million transactions processed for the 9 months in the year, only 30.1 million transactions (3 per cent) were handled by branches and ATMs with the digital bank handling and processing 945 million transactions(97 percent) with the self-service customers’ own device mobile channel handling and processing 90 percent of digital transactions.
