With a national lockdown on, banks busy soliciting business

Police officers barricade Waiyaki-Kangemi Road to stop vehicles from accessing the Nairobi  CBD during Gen Z anniversary protests on June 25, 2026. [David Gichuru, Standard]

I received unsolicited advice from two financial institutions on Thursday, which means they were busy at work while the rest of the country was on lockdown. The early morning text from Safaricom invited me to join M-Shwari for “unexpected expenses.” A pretty attractive ceiling was offered. There were no details about interest rates.

The last time I used the facility was years ago, but I recall being pissed off by the constant flow of texts reminding me to pay up or risk higher interest rates!

The second piece of advice came from my “relationship manager.” Banks are so crafty, judging from the way they craft these job titles. Almost all my relationship managers have been women with very good voices. This one called to follow-up on the money market fund that I was told is fully operational online, earning a competitive annual interest rate of 8.6 per cent.

One can always withdraw their investment within a day’s notice, she said, which means the interest garnered could be calculated from the days served.

I have no strong feeling for either product, but I do feel strongly that there should be full disclosure of the daily and annual interest rates that apply to the two products. Reading online, it is purported that M-Shwari does not charge an interest rate, only a facilitation fee of 7.5 per cent, plus 1.5 per cent excise duty.  That works out to nine per cent per month.

By comparison, my Sacco, charges an interest of 12 per cent per annum for borrowing, which is one per cent monthly. And they won’t bother me when the country is on lockdown…