How Co-op Bank salary advances are employees survive hard economic times
Flexi Plus Salary Advance allows salaried clients to borrow between Sh10,000 and Sh500,000 with a recovery period of four to 12 months
With the biting high cost of living, most salaried employees in Kenya rarely manage to get through the month without facing one financial crisis or another.
As a result, most employees, including those in the middle class, are turning to short-term loans to see them through their next pay day, enabling them to meet basic needs and other obligations or dealing with emergency situations.
One of the based facilities available in the market is Co-op Bank’s Flexi Plus Salary Advance, which allows clients to borrow between Sh10,000 and Sh500,000 with a recovery period of four to 12 months.
To access the facility, one is required to open a salary account with Co-op Bank and provide KRA PIN details.
In addition, you will need to have a minimum of two guarantors with at least one being a colleague and operated salary accounts for at least three months.
Other features include negotiation of 3 per cent and a competitive interest rate plus government levies.
Co-op Bank data indicated that salaried workers took Sh44.56 billion in salary advances in the nine months to September last year, highlighting how the facility has come to the rescue of its clients in a struggling economy.
During the Covid-19 pandemic when most salaried workers were exposed to financial struggles as a result of containment measures such as lockdowns, salary advances topped Sh106 billion.
Employees with salary accounts at Co-op Bank can also borrow through the MCo-opCash Salary Loan facility, which allows them to apply for up to 1.5 (& 2) times their net salary as received in their Co-op Bank account, from a minimum of Sh1,000 up to a maximum of Sh500,000.
There is no need for your employer to have an MOU (prior agreement) with the bank.
To apply for the loan is required to Dial *667# download the Mco-opCash app on Google Play store or App Store.
The loan amount is deposited in your MCo-opcash account, less the fee of 8 per cent for one month loan, 10 per cent for two months loan, and 12 per cent for three months’ loan that is deducted upfront.
Also deducted upfront is the insurance fee of 0.034 per cent and an excise duty of 20 per cent. You can transfer the money to your co-op bank account or you can withdraw cash at any Co-op Bank ATM or Co-op Kwa Jirani Agent. You can also send the money directly to your Mpesa or someone else’s Mpesa.
