Co-op Bank reports an hefty Ksh22.6B Profits before Tax for the year 2021

Co-op Bank Group is pleased to report a Profit Before Tax of Kshs. 22.6 Billion for the full year 2021, a strong 59% growth compared to Kshs. 14.3 Billion recorded in Full Year 2020.

This represents a commendable Profit After Tax of Kshs. 16.5 billion compared to Kshs. 10.8 Billion reported in 2020.

Co-op Bank CEO Gideon Muriuki in a past press conference

Key Highlights:
Financial Position:

The Group has registered sustained growth as follows;

  • Total Assets grew to Kshs. 579.8 Billion, a +8% growth from Kshs 536.9 Billion in year 2020
  • Net loans and advances book grew to Kshs. 310.2 Billion, a +8% growth from Kshs.286.6 Billion in year 2020
  • Investment in Government securities grew to Kshs. 184.1 Billion from Kshs. 161.9 Billion in 2020, a +14% growth.
  • Customer deposits grew to Kshs 407.7 Billion, a +8% growth from Kshs. 378.6 Billion.
  • Borrowed funds from development partners stood at Kshs 42.9 Billion from Kshs.46.0 Billion in 2020.
  • Shareholders’ funds grew to Kshs. 100.2 Billion (+10%) from Kshs. 90.7 Billion in 2020 enabling us to continue pitching for big ticket deals.

Comprehensive Income

  • Total operating income grew by 12% from Kshs 53.8 Billion to Kshs 60.4 Billion.
  • Total non-interest income grew by 11% from Kshs 17.5 Billion to Kshs 19.4 Billion.
  • Net interest income grew by 13% from Kshs 36.3 Billion to Kshs 41.0 Billion.
  • Total operating expenses improved by 3% from Kshs 39.4 Billion to Kshs. 38.1 Billion.

Increased Market Dominance

A successful Universal Banking model and the implementation of Sales Force Effectiveness has seen the Group serve over 9 million Account holders across all sectors.

Through our multi-channel strategy, the Bank has successfully moved 94% of all customer transactions to alternative delivery channels, an expanded 24-hour contact centre, mobile banking, 561 ATMs, internet banking and over 26,000 Co-op Kwa Jirani agency banking terminals.

Key focus on digital banking, with the all-telco Mco-op Cash Mobile Wallet continuing to play a pivotal role in the growth of non-funded income with 5.3 Million customers registered and loans worth Kshs 71.2 Billion disbursed year-to-date, averaging Kshs. 6 Billion per month.

Over 144,000 customers have taken up the MSME packages that we rolled out in 2018, and 19,963 have been trained on business management skills.

To date, we have disbursed Kshs. 42.5 Billion to MSMEs through our E-Credit solution.

Our unique model of retail banking services through Sacco FOSAs enabled us provide wholesale financial services to over 464 FOSA outlets.

Proactive Credit Management remains a key focus area supporting Loan Assets growth;

The Credit Risk Adaptation Project dubbed ‘Project Kilele’ supported by a Global consulting firm, now in the implementation phase.

The Decentralization of Loan Portfolio Management to the Branches, Lending Units and Relationship Management teams.

The successful project, aimed at enhancing collection activities, has advanced to Project Connect & Build (CB). The project is aimed at:
Identifying more business opportunities for loan book growth.

Engaging existing & potential customers with a view to establishing/enhancing their needs and co-create solutions.

Increasing customers’ product-holding.
Sustaining the best practices learnt under the Decentralization of Loan Portfolio Management and Project Kilele above.

The Group prudentially provided Kshs. 7.9 Billion in loan loss provisions compared to Kshs 8.1 billion provided in 2020 indicating improving quality of our asset book as businesses and households continue to recover from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

Subsidiaries

Co-op Consultancy & Bancassurance Intermediary posted a Profit Before Tax of Kshs 803.9 Million as at 31st December 2021, riding on strong penetration of Bancassurance business.

Co-operative Bank of South Sudan that is a unique joint venture (JV) partnership with Government of South Sudan (Co-op Bank 51% and GOSS 49%) returned a monetary loss of Kshs 421.7 Million in FY2021 attributable to hyperinflation accounting due to currency devaluation of the South Sudanese pound.

Co-op Trust Investment Services contributed Kshs. 140.4 Million in Profit Before Tax in FY2021, with Funds Under Management of Kshs. 189.2 Billion compared to Kshs. 127.5 Billion in December 2020.

Kingdom Bank Limited (former Jamii Boar Bank) has contributed a Profit Before Tax of Kshs. 512.4 Million in FY2021.

Long Term Financing: MSME, Sustainable Agriculture & Health sectors.

In 2020 the Group secured a long-term financing facility from the IFC (International Finance Corporation) amounting to Kshs. 8.25 Billion for on-lending at affordable terms to MSMEs involved notably in climate-smart projects, sustainable agricultural practices and clean energy.

Partnered in the US$ 300 million IFC-led Africa Medical Equipment Facility and Philips (a leading health technology company) to support Africa’s health sector operators purchase essential medical equipment and strengthen their response to COVID-19 and other medical technology needs.

The Group secured a US$ 10 Million credit line in partnership with Eco.business Fund to finance Sustainable Agriculture.

Corporate Social investment

Co-operative Bank Foundation has continued to provide annually over 650 Scholarships to gifted but needy students from all regions of Kenya.

The sponsorship includes fully paid secondary education, full fees for University education, Internships and career openings for beneficiaries.

The foundation is fully-funded by the bank and has so far supported 8,842 students since the inception of the program.

Accolades
The Group appreciates the recognition and Awards received in 2021, notably the following EMEA Awards (African Banking Awards);

The Best Bank CEO in Africa Award, awarded to Dr Gideon Muriuki, Group Managing Director & CEO, Co-op Bank with the following citation;

The Board of Directors’ bold decision to sustain the same level of dividend payments to shareholders despite the Covid-19 crisis offered a most timely relief, especially to the over 15 Million-Member Co-operative Movement, whose livelihoods would have been severely impaired had the dividend been withheld.

The Bank notably also sustained a relentless focus on Staff Wellness with the unprecedented challenges occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic; notably it undertook a bank-wide analysis to identify and address manpower inefficiencies spurred by the disruption, with a critical focus on staff redeployment/retention other than redundancies.

The Best Bank in Kenya Award, and as Best Bank in Financial Inclusion -Africa, with the citation;

Bank subsidiary Co-optrust Investments Services was named Best Asset Manager in Kenya; now has an Asset Base of over Kshs. 189.2 Billion under management.

Significant sacrifices mama mboga makes that keep us going, things would be different without her

In the midst of the frenetic chaos due to the marauding Coronavirus, I’ve had my heart heavy with guilt.

That rarely happens. A similar feeling befell me once in a matatu, to town. Am sitting on the first seat, next to the door. It’s a semi dark 14-seater van – as loud as they come. There’s a young lady sitting in front – passenger seat – next to the driver. She has a bare elbow on the open window frame.

It’s early, and as chilly as a witch’s tit. To add pepper to an already peppered sauce, chilly wind is blasting through at a hundred miles an hour, straight to my face. (Rongai matatus’ hardly follow the standard Michuki rules).

I lean forward and tap the young lady, on the shoulder. She has earphones on. I need that window wound up, lest my modest foundation is blown dry off my face. Or, Lord Almighty, chip my Rihanna lipstick.

Aside: Dear reader, how does someone use earphones in a matatu blasting thousands of decibels?

Anyways, she ignores my tap. I lean forward and shout in her ear: CLOSE THE WINDOW! She flinches like a girl does at the sight of a roach, but ignores.

I tap her again, on the alternate shoulder. She doesn’t look up – but thrusts a note in my direction, and holds. In the dim light, I can faintly see a crisp 500 shilling note. She had mistaken my tap on the shoulder as the Kenyan Conductor-Speak for ‘Pay up!’

I do three things in perfect sequence: Take the note. Settle back on the seat. Look around. Half the load is napping, or scrolling their phones. I beckon the conductor (who’s mostly hanging half-out of the vehicle) to make a stop. I alight.

Most people riding high on the moral ladder wouldn’t have taken the Kes.500 note. But in my case:

  1. I haven’t lately held a spot on the moral ladder higher than the height of my knee.
  2. This is Nairobi – and the streets are what they are. She’d have done the same, right?
  3. Karma had chosen me, a mere mortal, to serve justice. She was really mean.
  4. It was those Godforsaken dates, when we almost die of financial malnutrition. Mostly.

The guilt had almost killed me that week. I kept reminding myself just how mean the lady had been – I mean, she hadn’t cared if I went down with pneumonia.

Well, I’ve since taken a fairly huge slice of street charity to atone for it.

This week, though, I’ve been guilty for the indifferent manner I’ve been treating Mama Mboga. She deserves better. She’s been instrumental in my survival journey as I make do in this city.

Each morning at 5am, I pick hot Mandazi from her stand. Sometimes, I don’t even pay. Every other evening, I pick assorted boiled foods – Githeri, beans, Nduma – then grab some veggies. Sometimes, she’d be at her stand at 11pm, to feed our drunken bums.

She has aligned herself for the fight against Coronavirus. Other than scolding us to heaven-come to wash our hands at the stand, she declines cash. She prefers that we send money direct to her Co-op Bank account. She adds that it’s free!

I sent money from M-Pesa straight to her Co-op Bank account at NO CHARGE using the Paybill number 400200. I thought its empty talk, but, yes, its free! It’s then that I got to know her real name.

That’s the source of my guilt.

Mama Mboga is actually Rosemary. Just like my mum in the village. All these years, I haven’t known her real name! Ain’t that incredibly messed up?

As COVID-19 effects bite hard, here’s why should have your Visa card with you at all times

The Co-operative Bank has more good news for her customers. It seems the basket of festive goodies is just opening up. This festive season is geared to be a memorable one, as your banking partner continues to roll out services tailored for your needs and plus more pleasant surprises headed your way.

This season will be marked with a lot of movements, celebrations, family-get-togethers and vacations. All of these social events are a prerequisite to lots and lots of shopping. For Co-op Bank customers, they get to enjoy unlimited use of their Co-op Visa Card to pay for goods and services in all points of sale like supermarkets, malls, fuel stations, at the movies, event tickets, travelling tickets and hotel bookings, etc.

What’s more, the Co-op Visa Card has NO additional charges. Yes, that’s right. The client does not incur an additional charges for paying with the Co-op Visa Card.

The Co-op Visa Cards are accepted globally at all Visa merchants. It’s the perfect and convenient way to shop online.

It’s mind-blowing when one thinks of the convenience offered by the ‘No Additional Charges’ proposition. There’s no longer the need or urgency to visit the ATM in the pursuit of cold hard cash when you can swipe away your bills. Furthermore, you are able to manage risks associated with handling, moving physical cash thus shields Co-op Bank customers from the risks associated with liquid cash.

Need to re-fuel? Use the Co-op Visa Card. Need to renew a subscription like utility bills and other recurring bills? Just use the Co-op Visa Card. And it doesn’t attract additional charges. When travelling with friends and family, remember to carry the visa card and stay clear of cold hard cash – lest mugging, and other unfortunate incidents that are prevalent during these festivities. And, furthermore, it’s more convenient to make bookings online from the relative comfort of your homes, offices … easily paid for through the Co-op Visa Card.

Aside: It oozes of knowledgeable class and sophistication. It’s a big deal, for instance, when treating your significant other at a restaurant, how one pays for the meal. Co-op Visa Card is cleaner, sleeker and hassle-free.

Remember to carry along your Co-op Visa Card. It’ll take you places, with no additional dents to your bank balance in the form of transactional fees.

Happy Holidays! Indulge responsibly and stay safe.

This Valentine’s Day, don’t be the same insufferable idiot you were last year. Be smarter!

Well, getting dumped is fairly normal. It’s perhaps, inevitable, now and then. However, getting the axe on Valentine’s Day doubles the pain. What triples is the pain? Getting dumped by another girl on the subsequent Valentine’s Day – for being the same insufferable idiot. Ha!

Some experiences are best read about, not survived. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?

News flash: They lied.

This is a non-official apology letter to my then, long-suffering ex-girlfriend. It’s fraught with a lot of remorse and regret. I no longer hate you, and no longer subconsciously condemn you to eternal damnation in the hottest annals of hell. I understand. If I were you, I’d have left, too.

That Valentine’s date was a disaster, from the start. I made the mistake of taking her out to my local. No offence meant, but it’s hardly a joint that encourages spousal loyalty and self-discipline. It’s full of kinky company and not-so-subtle language, often a favorite hangout for rowdy soccer crowds and gangs keen on settling grudges.

Dear ex, I didn’t know you didn’t like hanging out with the boys. I thought you loved plunging your pretty nails into greasy, steaming platters of kichwa mbuzi, cabbages and potatoes. I naively believed seeing your eyes water from all the pepper in the tumbukiza was mad fun. You were the only girl on our table – none of my boys had a date – doesn’t girls adore harmless attention from mafisi?

Oh, buying your date a red soccer jersey from your favorite team in the EPL doesn’t count as a suitable Valentine’s Day gift. Plus, the team is bang on a losing streak.

In an endeavor to avoid making the depressing statistics “Dumped on Valentine’s day”, I made a sabbatical retreat to gain knowledge. Something akin to a soul-searching trek in the mountains to meditate with reclusive monks.

Fun Fact: A Siberian monk holds the Guinness world record for World’s Most Silent Human Being – dude hasn’t uttered a single word to fellow monks in a whopping 29years.

Wherever you may decide to seek knowledge on Valentine’s Day’s best ideas, kindly ignore the West. Their culture ain’t our culture.

I read of a family of five who wake up at dawn on the Day of Love. Each takes five slips of paper and writes lovey-dovey messages for each of the five family members. So, each one gets 25 slips with love messages – stuck on various points in the house. The bathroom mirror, the salt shaker, etc. Get it?

For instance, a message to Daddy reads: Love you Daddy for always coming to watch me play tennis in school. Message to Mommy: You are the best mom in the world, your pancakes are awesome!

Sounds sweet, right? Well, doesn’t cut out well in our households. First, how many families get up together in the morning for breakfast? Your brother Kevoh didn’t even come in last night!

Oh, you also never play any sports. Lethargic family genes to blame, eh?

Who writes sweet nothings on sticky paper slips? Thank heavens for Whatsapp and Facebook status features. One bland message with love smileys does that. And, anyways, your bathroom mirror wasn’t replaced after Uncle Tosh broke it in a drunken rage last Xmas.

Well, here’s my plan: I’ll splash on my date – a short red or black dress, with high heels. That’s a few days prior. I’ll make a booking at a trendy restaurant in the CBD – and since the city has its usual predatory ways, I’ll avoid cash in my pockets. I’ll use my Coop Visa Card.

In any case, ladies love class. There’s something chic about paying for her wine treat with the Coop Visa Card. It oozes of sheer elegance and confidence.

If you didn’t know those feature high on the endless list of Things-to-look-for-in-my-ideal-man.

Be informed. Don’t get dumped.

 

My college girlfriend saves the day as our first Valentine’s Day date almost turns to complete disaster

Plunging into the world of dating will quickly teach that it’s a treacherous path to navigate. This path is filled with mines. And it’s easier for a battle-hardened marine handling PTSD, than it is for a teen to overcome emotional trauma from an egg-in-your-face experience.

When I joined college, no one gave me a tattered handbook on the do’s and don’ts of dating. I was pretty green, with a background spent in a strict household with a set of Seminarian rules. My mother had banned us in her kitchen, but would keep a running commentary as she cooked. A fair portion of which, indirectly, forbade any ‘un-blessed alliances’.

“Bring me a degree first, Ahmed” She’d intone, peering into a steaming pot of vegetables.

Meanwhile, Dad would throw an occasional sly look my way and return to his cryptic puzzle.

I was, however, right on one front about dating in college. It turns out that things ‘just flow along’. After the hype and excitement that grips the campus once the Freshers’ report, things cool down. In every batch there’s a group who’ve endured mothers threatening to curse and disown, and tend to steer clear of the hallowed, senior comrades’ – and we’d flock together.

That’s how easy it was meeting my first girlfriend. Just hanging out in class as the cool kids went out.

Reality hit soon after – the real work is not in meeting a girl. The real hustle is in keeping one. Dear Lord! You have to be cool. In campus, trends are a huge thing. There’s always cool things happening. For instance, Valentine’s Day came along barely three weeks after reporting.

Aside: If you are into college, be informed she’ll find it easier to forgive you if you miss her graduation ceremony. But thou shall NOT be indifferent to the enigma that surrounds the Valentine’s Day.

My new girlfriend started dropping hints immediately. We’d snuggle up to watch a movie on her laptop in her room, and she’d start to. Do you love red? Chocolate? Do you know my sister is going to Naivasha with her fiancé over Valentine’s weekend? I would naively (and noisily) sip at my Quencher juice and ask for sub-titles.

On the eve, she right up asked if I had plans. Oh, I hadn’t any, but I reckoned it wouldn’t hurt. I still had some money. I didn’t drink then, and I still try to work out where exactly I joined the bandwagon that had us later on teetering on the edge of absolute alcoholism.

I got on my signature black T-shirt, Nike sneakers and blue jeans, but my love was completely doled out in a flashy red satin dress. I knew we wouldn’t hit a flashy restaurant any who, so I wasn’t worried about money. We took one of the loud, pimped out semi-dark matatus plying Thika Road. It was half-filled with rowdy comrades in different levels of sobriety, and it was fun.

My date led me to a modest eatery off Moi Avenue and true to script, ordered the staple preference for typical college girls: fries and chicken. Though most of the tables had couples in seemingly deep conversations, we didn’t have much to talk. We had that easy, laid back, gangsta-love sort of relationship. We chewed on crispy chicken and watched the Lakers thrash the Yankees on a TV perched high on the corner.

Who places TV screens so high up in restaurants? Watch it for a minute, and the neck aches.

It’s a modest eatery, so no much fanfare with the bill. The waitress comes along and places the salt shaker on it. The bill is mine – again, no much tagging on who pays up. Gangsta love, ahem. I started frisking my pockets. No wallet. No money.

It’s then that it dawns on me. I had been robbed in the Matatu ride to town. Well, in this city lessons are served fast and brutally. I had to think fast – I knew my lady in red didn’t have money, but she outright sensed something was off. I had to tell her what had happened.

Believe it or not, she whips out a Co-op Visa Card and passes it to the waitress. I was dumbstruck.

Sweetheart, hii ni Nairobi. Chanuka. Hatubebi doo kwa mfuko” She leans forward, and whispers.

That’s how my first Valentine’s Day would have turned into a complete disaster. Luckily I had a girl armed with a Co-op Visa Card. It turned out to be awesome – and I may have had my first taste of wine on the same day.

 

 

Co-operative Bank education scholarships benefit 7,583 students across the nation

The Board of Directors of the Co-operative Bank is pleased to announce the successful completion of the selection of beneficiaries of this year’s annual intake of 655 gifted but needy students from across the country to join the Cooperative Bank Foundation Scholarship Scheme in 2020.

This year’s intake of 655 Form One beneficiaries stands as one of the largest secondary education scholarship schemes in Kenya today. The program is fully funded by the Bank to the tune of Sh155 million every year.

Of the 655 new scholarships to Form One students, 420 were identified by the bank’s Regional Delegates’ Forums and the remaining 235 scholarships, at 5 per county, awarded by County Governments in all the 47 counties, the bank’s Group Managing Director & CEO, Dr. Gideon Muriuki has said.

Additionally, the bank is educating a total of 177 students, selected from the top performing beneficiaries of the secondary school scholarships, through their entire university education.

Following this year 2020 intake, the Co-operative Bank will have provided full education sponsorship to 7,640 deserving Kenyans, of whom 7,332 will have gone through secondary education and 308 university studies.

The scholarships are awarded on merit to gifted but needy students from all regions of Kenya.

Commenting further on this program, Dr. Gideon Muriuki said, “Our scholarship beneficiaries are selected at the grassroots level by Co-operative Societies across the country through a well-established national delegates system. Co-operative Societies, who are the face of Kenya, identify well-performing students from disadvantaged backgrounds and bring these names into a regional forum where delegates debate and select the most deserving cases. At the bank’s head office, our role is to process payments to the schools and monitor the students’ performance through the four years in secondary school. The top 28 in the Form Four examination each year are granted an additional full scholarship for their university education.”

Commenting on the reason why the bank has chosen education scholarships as its flagship Corporate Social Investment, Dr. Gideon Muriuki observed that education is one of the most expensive items in any household budget and yet has the highest potential to liberate people from poverty.

“Unless corporate institutions and all people of goodwill come together to support initiatives within the education sector, gifted but needy Kenyans will never realize their full potential. Being needy does not mean that one isn’t talented or has no potential. A large number of Kenyans holding positions of responsibility today were educated with loans from the Co-operative Movement.  It is for this reason that the Co-operative Bank, being the premier co-operative institution in Kenya, has taken the lead in this area.”

Co-operative Bank provides full school fees scholarships for the entire four years of secondary education. University scholarships are awarded to the best performing students from each region.

The scholarship program was launched in 2007.

More information on this scholarship program is available from the Branch Manager at your nearest Co-operative Bank branch, or email [email protected] or call 0711 049 475, 020 3276 100 and ask for Co-op Bank Foundation.

 

Easy steps to withdraw money from a Co-op Bank ATM machine without your ATM card and skip long queues at the bank

You may need to urgently access cash from your Co-op Bank account, but situations may dictate that you pursue other means, besides the conventional withdrawal using your ATM card.

The unfortunate loss or misplacement of the Coop Visa Card is not the sole reason.

You may need to withdraw sums of cash higher than the maximum daily amount the bank allows over an ATM machine. Depending on the day and season, an over-the-counter withdrawal may be a headache – long queues – and, sometimes, urgency of the business at hand.

Co-op Bank clients have the liberty to make easy card-less withdrawals at the ATM, by linking their phones in a few steps:

On the MCo-op Cash App:

  1. Access MCo-op Cash by clicking on the app.

(Alternatively, dial USSD code *667# on your phone)

  1. Enter your MCo-op Cash PIN
  2. Select “Withdraw Cash”
  3. Select “ATM”
  4. Choose bank account to withdraw from
  5. Enter Amount to withdraw –

*(Min Kes500 and Max Kes40,000 per withdrawal but up to Kes200,000 a day)

  1. Confirm transaction
  2. An SMS with a one-time PIN will be sent to your phone. This is the PIN you will use at the ATM – *PIN expires in 30 Minutes

On the ATM machine:

  1. Click the “MCo-op Cash withdrawal” button on the top right corner of the ATM screen
  2. Input Telephone Number
  3. Input One Time PIN provided via SMS
  4. Enter amount to withdraw same as input on phone
  5. Receive Cash from ATM Dispenser

Important things to remember during a card-less withdrawal at the Co-op Bank ATM:

  • Minimum withdrawal amount is Kes500 and Max Kes40,000 per single withdrawal transaction.
  • The maximum daily withdrawal amount is Kes200,000. (A client may make multiple withdrawal transactions – but not to exceed the daily maximum amount).
  • The one-time PIN sent to your phone expires in 30 Minutes. This is the PIN you’ll feed to the ATM. (It’s advisable to start the transaction while at the ATM machine’s actual location).

#WeAreYou

 

The bespectacled, mean clerk with a tight hair bun at the local coffee factory did finally retire….

My heart breaks each time I walk past the eternally-leaning, wooden gate to our local coffee factory. The place is deserted. The coffee bean drying terraces are overgrown with weeds, the sorting sheds have leaking roofs. The only thing that works is the gigantic, trusty coffee-weighing machine, albeit dusty and a little rusty around the edges.

But it works just fine. Weight, check your weight!

There’s not even a drowsy watchman in sight. This is a community-owned relic, alright.

What breaks the heart is the change of times. Way back, coffee would revolve around our lives. No, that’s too modest. Coffee used to be life. We’d eternally slave, toil and break our backs for this produce. The family would bond over coffee labor – the folks may fight all night, but unite in the morning for the cherry picking.

If you wanted to find favor in the eyes of your father, learn the basics of coffee farming. The tedious, extremely draining pruning season. Immediately after, break your back hauling sacks of manure for each stem. Oh, the pains of this love stretches from here to Timbuktu!

However, we didn’t have to wait till December – for the annual coffee bonus – to see the fruits of our labor.

School Opening Days.

We didn’t report to school on opening days. We’d spend the first day at the local coffee factory. We’d make a line, almost a mile long, from the clerk’s office. We had to line up to get factory chits to pay our school fees. Somehow, schools then had a fees check off system with the coffee society – based on individual coffee yields – and number of kids in school.

The factory clerk then (now mercifully retired), had heavy horn-rimmed glasses and a mean sense of humor. She enjoyed emotional torture, measured out in painful little doses.

Hii mwaka mliweka mbolea kwa shamba?

Why should I pay your school fees and you always come last in class?

(At this point, you are tempted to remind her it’s your coffee, not hers). But, of course, you do not.

The clerk would punch in numbers on a huge calculator, and lean back on her chair. You’d hold in your breath and wait, a little like Judgment Day – heaven or hell?

Kwenu mko wangapi primary school?” She’d ask.

Your mind is adrift. You are wondering if the tight bun on her hair doesn’t cause some considerable level of pain and discomfort. No worry, she doesn’t need your answer, anyways.

She punches off some more numbers in that huge calculator, then tears off a sheet from her ledger, and hands it over. That’s the chit that pays your school fees. Thou shall not lose, soil, tear, fray or wet it – there wasn’t any back up – save for a faded carbon copy at the mean clerk’s office!

Modern times, things have turned out better, especially for Co-op Bank customers. Paying school fees doesn’t have to be so tedious and, in some cases, traumatizing – not every family had huge tracts of land dedicated to the coffee crop.

Co-op Bank clients get to easily pay school fees direct to a school’s Co-op Bank account, via M-Pesa.

This is the simple process:

  1. Go to the M-Pesa menu, go to Paybill.
  2. Select business number and fill in 400222
  3. For Account prompt, write ‘schoolcode#studentnumber’
  4. Confirm details, and send.

Paying school fees doesn’t have to include lining up at the coffee factory clerk’s office to get produce chits. Pay through Co-op Bank’s M-Pesa Paybill number – faster, safer and more convenient.

#WeAreYou

Did you know that the sound of an ATM machine dispensing cash ranks just below soul music in therapy? Find out now!

Kkkkkkkrrrrrrrr! Kkkkkkkrrrrrr!

If therapy can be wholly packaged in a sound, then that sound would be the metallic sound an ATM machine makes, as it dispenses money. No other sound invokes a more pleasant feeling in a present-day human being. A heady cocktail of feelings -pleasant relief, accomplishment and reward.

It’s a little close to the feeling one gets in a restaurant, when you spot a waitress making her way to your table, with your food. Mighty hard to describe.

Well, turns out the ATM machine has been at it since1967. The first one was inspired by soft drink and chocolate dispensers, and credited to a man called John Shepherd-Barron. It’s clear that the early and subsequent ATM engineers were a brilliant lot – and could have easily figured how to silence the cash machine – yet, they didn’t.

That sound, therefore, is deliberate. Therapy. An entire month spent rising at the crack of dawn to get to work, and retiring late. You deserve this currency – that certainly makes it the sound of therapy. By any means, you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The early ATMs were slow and clumsy, though. Gigantic, and very basic. They could only discharge preset amounts with biscuit-sized, prior coded cards. The concept for the modern ATM card, though, didn’t come from the inventor of the machine.  Adrian Ashfield came up with the basic idea of a card combining the key and user’s identity.

A few decades down, the machine has advanced tremendously. The feelings at the point of use are pretty much standard from the time of invention, but the services have tripled. They are sophisticated, getting smarter – and safer.

Co-operative Bank takes pride and effort to avail their clients the latest and most advanced ATMs across the country.

At all Co-op Bank ATMs, there’s a variety of services clients can access:

  1. The conventional cash withdrawal using the Co-op Visa Card.
  2. It’s easy to check your real-time bank account balance, or if you so desire, get a mini-statement in a few moments.
  3. A client can easily pay utility bills at any Co-op bank ATM. These utility bills include KPLC power bills, water bill, DSTV subscription, et al. It saves valuable time that would be spent lining up for hours in offices.
  4. Co-op Bank ATMs also enable cash withdrawal from M-Pesa using the agent number 472472. This is very useful, especially when travelling. If you may arrive late at a destination to find M-Pesa agent outlets are closed, fret not. The Co-op Bank ATM comes in handy.
  5. All Co-op Bank ATMs also enable card-less withdrawals. In the case that your Co-op Visa Card is not on your person – perhaps forgotten at home or elsewhere – you can still withdraw money using the MCo-op Cash App on your phone.

Aside: It’s the modern version of a tradition in the Maasai tribe. Lanky, fearless Morans would risk their lives to impress the ladies – hunting lions for sport. Take this to the bank: The sound of an ATM sub-consciously endears you to a potential partner. It’s a sign of long term stability, a major plus.

Take advantage of the seamless network of Co-op Bank ATMs in your hood, and further on across the country for easy access to your account funds. Remember you can still do a lot even without your Co-op Visa Card on your person.

Happy festive season, and enjoy responsibly.

 

 

The easiest way to handle random party moments this December, with MCo-op Cash

There’s a reason festive December is the most loved time of the year. This month rolls out unexpected good moments like life depends on it. But, hey, sometimes it may depend on it.

Its December, crazy things happen. One minute you’re minding your own business – picking milk at the neighborhood kiosk, the next you are rolling with your childhood buddy in his new ride. Its party after party, eight in the morning. Pardon the bathroom slippers.

A lot of urban peeps retire to their rural homes. The village ain’t kind to the urban dweller. And that’s how it should be. Our family’s hunter has to return home loaded, after an entire year hunting in the city. Hence, you have the obligation to buy the Billy goat for the annual Christmas feast, besides several chicken.

It’s not lost on you that on the way home, everyone had called you, “….Ukifika Mwea niletee mchele ya Pishori….”

The other workplace tradition: December salaries are paid early. Ahem, need I say more, brethren?

We lose our minds, running riot in town. But its ok, its December. This is the time to bond, to make new friends and re-connect with old acquaintances.

In the midst of this festive melee, it’s a refreshing thought to know you have a friend who’s got your back. The Co-operative Bank mobile banking service – MCoop Cash – has got your back.

You may have left your wallet in the house, but your phone hardly leaves your hand. This is when mobile banking comes in handy. It’s a big party-pooper telling your gang you need to rush home to pick your wallet – reputation is at stake – as they may think you want to bounce.

MCo-op Cash app allows you to conveniently do most of your banking needs via the app, or by just dialing *667#. It’s a simple process to make a withdrawal and treat your family to a dinner, from the comfort and convenience of the dinner table. Its super-fast, discreet and very safe – no one need know you are making a withdrawal.

Besides basic withdrawals, a coop bank clients enjoys a lot more with MCo-op Cash, on his phone. It’s a song to send money instantly to a Co-op bank account via the app. You want to help out a buddy sending you a drunken SOS? Just send directly to his account.

It’s debatable among Co-op Bank clients, on which is most influential among the features available on MCo-op Cash. One feature always wins. The mobile loan feature.

Applying for a mobile loan is easy and fast through the app. Alternatively, one can dial *667# and access the menu. The loan is fast and perfect for emergency situations. This completely snubs out traditional paperwork needed to secure a fast loan.

It’s a tall order outlining the convenience afforded by MCo-op Cash. For instance, paying utility bills has never been easier – power bills, TV subscriptions, water bills, et al. The days of traversing the estate looking for a shop selling power tokens are long gone. Take advantage of MCo-op Cash app.

Are you making a land purchase? Buying a new ride for your family? It’s as easy as ABC to pay for this, via the app. The MCo-op Cash app has a menu which hosts PesaLink. Through PesaLink, one can instantly send money to any account in any local bank. It’s the most affordable and safest mode of money transfer.

Oh, did you know checking your bank account balance via MCo-op Cash app is absolutely free? Now you know.

Have a fantabulous December. Have fun and enjoy responsibly.

 

Enjoying Christmas holidays in the village to the fullest, as Co-op kwa Jirani demystifies banking!

Have you ever wondered why everyone in urban areas crave their rural default setting once Christmas comes around?

Crazy work schedules in town. Long hours in traffic. Difficult bosses. Extreme deadlines. The one thing that keeps most people going from New Year to the end, is the lingering thought of travelling to their rural homes over Christmas.

The Christmas holiday feel is always about family. It’s not so much about travel, gorging on medic-forbidden junk food or splashing on expensive liquor. It’s about re-connecting and bonding with blood, for blood is always red, and thicker than water.

Shaggs is a reality check. Walk around barefoot. Get soaked in rain using banana leaves in lieu of an umbrella. Traditional honey beer with unconfirmed levels of potency. Re-connect with a childhood flame. Flaunting new ‘Christmas clothes’ – it’s a thing in the village.

And, good lord, keep tabs on your fading mother tongue. So much for hilarious memes and threads on Twitter.

Years back, a few days in the village would be a headache. One would lose touch with friends and work colleagues. Sometimes, days would pass before a current newspaper crosses your path. Simple banking procedures would be a hassle involving a day’s travel to the nearest town.

The Co-op Kwa Jirani concept by Co-op Bank has greatly demystified banking. These are banking services yanked from conventional banking halls into an everyday business premise in average market places. Being in your rural village doesn’t need to be a worry when the bank closes in the evening – in a town 50 miles off.

Your favorite grocer can still be your Co-op Kwa Jirani agent. Distributed countrywide, these agents have the ability to offer just about every banking service you’d need in a main bank.

A client can withdraw money. Christmas comes with feasts and treats – you don’t need to carry home sums of money in cash. You can withdraw just the amount you need conveniently at the Co-op Kwa Jirani Agent at the market center.

All other services besides withdrawals: Checking the account balance (especially after word leaks that end-of-year bonuses have been released) is easy enough at Co-op kwa Jirani outlets. The paying of utility bills is straight forward, fast and convenient at the same outlets – power bills, water bills, cable TV subscriptions, school fees, name it.

All of these are available at Co-op Kwa Jirani outlets.

For years, most farmers would receive their annual bonuses for their produce in December. Tea and coffee farmers, especially. In my native Meru, for instance, the annual bonus would be paid a day before Jamhuri – and our folks would receive it in cash at the local factory. Well, a surreal carnival feel would grip the village after that, and most folks would be broke by Christmas.

With a Co-op Kwa Jirani agent nearby, any extra cash chanced upon can be easily deposited – Free of Charge – which deviates unnecessary use or loss. There’s January to contend with, remember. It’s a nice idea to deposit at the outlets for later withdrawal.

Take advantage of the Co-op Kwa Jirani agent near you, and have a memorable, responsible holiday.

Co-op Bank scoops best bank award at EMEA Finance Awards in London

The Co-operative Bank has been named Best Bank in Kenya 2020 at this year’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Finance Awards.

The EMEA Finance Awards recognise financial institutions which, through their client focus and sound leadership, continue to increase profitability, deliver affordable credit to the retail and wholesale markets, and support local and transnational corporations do business.

The award gala was held on 5th December 2019 at The Law Society, London, with Co-op Bank represented by Head of Investor Relations & Strategy James Kaburu and Bank Economist Anthony Muli.

“We are delighted to have been recognised with the prestigious EMEA Finance – African Banking Awards 2019, which vindicates our business model that uniquely combines world-class expertise and capabilities with deep-rooted local experience, enabling us to deliver market leading solutions to our customers in Kenya, said Mr. James Kaburu.

Co-op Bank has lately been on a winning streak, having recently been named Overall Winner of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) 2019 Sustainable Finance Catalyst Award.

The Awards were created to recognize institutions that practice sustainable finance which has a direct positive impact on the financial sector, the economy, the environment and the society at large.

This year has especially been notable, with Co-op Bank winning accolades for strong credentials in Green Finance and sustainability practices. The bank was named as Best Bank in Sustainable Finance in Kenya at the 2019 Energy Management Awards hosted by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers in April, and in mid-November emerged Overall Winner in Environmental Sustainability Report at the 2019 East African Financial Reporting (FiRe) Awards held in Nairobi.

Commenting on the recent accolades, the Group Managing Director & CEO Co-operative Bank, Dr. Gideon Muriuki said, “As a bank that is predominantly-owned by the 15 million-member Cooperative Movement, we are inclusive by design, which has not only enabled us to deliver shared prosperity today, but also helped us build an awareness and prudence to avoid making decisions that may put future generations in jeopardy.”

Co-operative Bank Wraps Up its First Phase of MSME Customers Networking Forums

For the last seven months the Bank has been hosting customer networking forums for its Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) customers. The networking forums were held in selected towns across the country enabling business communities in those towns to network among themselves as learn about business opportunities in Kenya and specifically in their county, from the bank economist and treasurer.

The customer networking forums are a key part of Co-op Bank’s MSME offering, as it is widely acknowledged that MSMEs need the insights and training on economic matters that have a direct bearing on their business, and which they have little or no control over. To address these, the forums featured a detailed presentation by the bank’s treasurer on the opportunities that MSMEs can tap and the ways the bank is working to enable customers to seize them. This was followed by a panel discussion with bank representatives and successful entrepreneurs from the region, concluding with a networking session. The final MSME forum will be held in Kisii later this week.

Co-op Bank recently revamped its MSME offering and now has an arm in the bank which deals specifically with non-financial services for its MSME business banking customers. The bank retooled and refreshed the product offering to make it more responsive to the needs of MSMEs. They have made available a substantial kitty of Sh15.2 Billion for a package of loans that include an unsecured business loan, a first of its kind in Kenya, E-Credit through our MCo-op Cash App where businesses are able to borrow up to Ksh. 2 million via their mobile phone, packaged insurance cover which are handpicked and specifically negotiated to suit various segments under MSME, revised and pre-approved limits on overdrafts and loans. The loans will be supported by trade services that include Letters of Credit, guarantees, supply chain financing, among others. These services are available at all Cooperative Bank branches across the country.

The Bank, through its non-financial services arm, will also be taking customers for the second international business trip this year, from 2nd November to 12th November, 2019; where customers will visit Thailand and China. The trip will enable customers to create linkages for overseas business and build partnership opportunities as well as purchase various items at highly discounted costs which will enable them to pass the discounts to their customers, making their products competitive. The business trip is open to all business customers from across the country, looking to travel to China for business.

The customers will get a chance to tour Thailand and China, specifically Bangkok and Guangzhou. In Bangkok, they will visit clothes factories, multiple spare part shops and busy shopping districts. In Guangzhou, they will get a chance to visit various constructions sites where they will learn the latest building technologies and waste management processes. They will further visits markets for hardware, kitchen ware, tiles & ceramics, furniture, electronic appliances, clothes and leather among others.

Speaking about the upcoming business trip, Co-operative Bank Head of Business Banking, Moses Gitau said, “Earlier this year we took business customers to Shanghai and Yiwu; where they were able to interact and network with business in China. They were able to create linkages for overseas business and partnerships. This upcoming business exposure trip will present similar invaluable opportunities to the customers. The trip is a unique experience where participants get to mix business with leisure.”

The Bank continues to look for more opportunities and develop various programs to build on its vision for MSMEs, which is to grow world class entrepreneurs beyond the Kenyan borders.

 

The Eccentric School Bursar always flying solo, like a combat pilot !

The short steps to the deputy head’s office, who doubled as the official discipline master, didn’t strike as much reverence as a visit to the hallowed bursar’s office.

The bursar at Ikuu High School, in those days, was an eccentric fellow. In the academic years I spent at the institution – in other circles referred to as the ‘Centre of Excellence’ – not once did I hear someone say, “The bursar hangs out with Mr. So-and-So”.

A notable bursar flies solo, like a fighter pilot.

At the bare minimum, he should tick most of the boxes on the Bursar Starter Pack list: Half-moon reading glasses. A dark moustache. A checked, sleeveless sweater, commonly called the wind-breaker. An aged, brown leather satchel common with campus professors and (collapsed) coffee society committee members.

A day after the opening, classes would be paused at midday, and we’d line up at his office. It wasn’t an office appointment, per se, just a peek through a tiny hole on the heavy grill on his office window. Boys be fidgeting all up the line to the last one, clutching at money orders and promissory notes in sweaty palms.

The tiny hole is set a little low, vertically-blessed visitors have to stoop. There’s nothing to ogle at in that sore office. Mountains upon mountains of browning paper files. The mustached, dour bursar sits in a low armchair at the middle of his desk, like an oracle receiving pilgrims on a holy mountain.

No matter how masculine someone felt, all pretenses dropped at this hole. A valid meal card is a powerful talisman to a reputable bullying status at the dining hall, especially on meat days.

‘Hello, Sir.” A boy matters under his breath, stooping at the window.

The bursar stares back with an expressionless look, above his half-moon glasses. No response. The boy thrusts a bunch of notes through the window. The bursar picks and spreads them on his desk. He methodically picks them up, in the ascending order of their value. Oh, the presidential image has to be the right way up.

Long moments as he counts the crumbled notes. Are those wheels and cogs turning in his head? Do I get the coveted meal card?

“You have a tuition balance, from last term.” Says the bursar, in a low voice.

“I know, sir. I told my father about it. Says he shall clear when the tea bonus is paid.” You literally whisper through the hole. You neither want your peers to know tea farming is your families’ only source of income, nor do you want your father getting to know the tuition money had you balling like a rock star at Jam Session.

“You have a week.” Declares the oracle, peering above his half-moon glasses. He proceeds to label and stamp a dining meal card, strictly 7 days. Phew, close call. If, and when it expires, utambana na hali yako.

The next fellow gets his chance at the hole in the window, and throws in a soiled money order. Except, the bursar has left the office, for a smoke and a soda at the school canteen. On the entire breadth of the walk, the sour man doesn’t speak a word to a soul. It’s him (and, his arithmetic), against the world.

He gets back. The boy points to a space on a desk littered with all sorts of paper scraps. Pentium PC’s had still a few years to become a common office feature.

He stares at the apprehensive boy above the rim of his half-moons’.

“Young man, are you sure?” He growls. “I need time to check it out. Next!”

Fast forward to 2019. Paying school fees and other bills doesn’t have to be so hectic. Coop Bank customers with M-Coop Cash app are already registered to PesaLink. It’s easy to transfer money from one account to another on very affordable terms. Paying school fees, paying rent, paying for new supplies at a business, is easy and flexible with PesaLink.

#CoopPesaLink

Have you had the sorry tragedy of losing your school fees and getting eternally grilled for it?

In modern times, back-to-school days are less stressful for the parent. In the days of yore, parents would have lots of choices to make on such days. Do they have to skip work to accompany their kids to school, specifically to pay school fees? Can I trust my wayward son whose seemingly sole ambition in life is ‘to be cool?’

It was akin to playing poker, and the roll of the dice sometimes came short.

A traumatising episode in my early high school days still haunts me. I was blessed with noble parents, but I doubt they’ve let it go, to this date. Take a seat, grab some popcorn.

Oh, this story involves your favorite salad fruit, the avocado. Did you know Mexican recipes refer to the avocado as the ‘guacamole’?

On the material day, it was decided that I would be reporting back to school unaccompanied. None of my parents or elder sibling had a day to spare. I was a strapping lad of 15, with a brimming cauldron of teenage hormones. I was glad my folks had finally given me an ‘adult-stamp’, despite a turbulent few weeks of holiday.

I received the crumpled bundle of notes from my dad, with the solemnity of Biblical Moses receiving The Ten Commandments. Then, my pocket money in an assortment of coins neatly tied up in an old handkerchief. My dad then said it was my second term’s fees in full. It was a little over five thousand, but I broke out in a hot sweat. It had the weight of the national treasury.

At the time, I was also a budding entrepreneur in school. On opening days, I would pick a pack of fresh avocado from home to hawk off to my classmates. I had to boost my pocket money. I had a dilemma: where do I hide my treasury? The bag didn’t seem a good idea – in those days, brats from neighbouring schools would often mug their counterparts for the-hell-of-it.

I chose to hide my school fees in my socks.

At the bus terminus, there is the usual shoving and pushing for the few matatu available. In the midst of it, my school bag had the misfortune of bursting at the seams. I hadn’t factored in the weight of my avocado stock. It also didn’t help, that the terminus has a gentle slope. My guacamole salad started rolling down the hill on the tarmac.

It was mighty embarrassing sprinting after avocados, in my school uniform. In the melee, my Cash-In-Transit socks lost their elasticity, and dropped their cargo. I tasted Murphy’s Law before they taught me about it. To date, my folks haven’t believed I lost my school fees chasing avocados down the hill.

No need for that nowadays, with PesaLink. All Coop Bank customers with MCoopCash app, for instance, are already registered to PesaLink. This allows any parent to easily and safely pay school fees to multiple schools from the convenience of their homes. Coop Bank customers can access PesaLink by dialling *667# on their phones, or via MCoopCash app.

Even Non-Coop Bank customers can still send money instantly to a Coop Bank account via PesaLink. All they need is the details of the school’s Coop Bank account, and pay school fees directly.

Discerning business people use PesaLink to conveniently pay their suppliers instantly into their bank accounts, at very affordable rates. For other personal business transactions, Coop bank customers can send money instantly to any local account at very friendly rates – like, Ksh.10 up to Ksh.200,000 at an extremely low cost between Ksh.0 to Ksh.152 – depending on the amount due for transfer.