Taking a loan has become a straightforward affair. Days when loans were nearly inaccessible to the common man are behind us as mobile money apps sprout to replace the rigorous requirements by traditional banks. Conditions are friendly and everytime you pay a loan advanced to you by these apps you qualify for more. Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), a bank owned by the Kenyatta family, in conjunction with Safaricom pretty much pioneered the mobile banking by giving Kenyans the popular Mshwari loan app. Then came other players like Tala Mkopo and Okash, a fast growing new entrant in the market.
OKash Entry Into The Kenyan Market
The mobile loan app was officially launched in Kenya on 12, March 2018. Opay, the FinTech company part of the Opera Group, made the announcement on their website investor.opera.com as they assured users of “a safe, easy and flexible way to apply and access credit loans for their everyday life expenses.”
How to downloading Okash
You simply need an android powered phone. Download the app on Google play and set up your account using your M-Pesa account. Fill the questions and you will get response on your loans status within minutes. Repay loans by clicking on the repayment button and process it through the M-Pesa STK push service.
What You Need To Know Before Taking A Loan From OKash
Read the terms and conditions before you apply for a loan. This will save you from embarrassment as OKash representative will send messages to your contacts when you fail to repay the loan. One of the conditions that many users of OKash are not aware of reads:
“We may contact you and or your emergency contact..”
“You also expressly authorise us to contact your emergency contact to verify your information or when we are unable to contact you or when we have not received repayment…”
Loan Amounts And Interest Rates
Loan Amount: KES2,500 – KES50,000
◉ Loan Term: the shortest tenor is 91 days, the longest is 365 days
◉ Interest rate (maximum): 24% per year
◉ As a peer to peer micro lending and borrowing platform, OKash will charge different origination fees according to the product you choose, which is used for credit score assessment, account management, and M-Pesa payment cost.
Okash Customer Care Contacts
Okash Customer Care Phone Number: 020 7658888
OKash Facebook Page: @OKash
Okash Email: help@o-kash.com [When emailing Okash customer care enter your Mpesa Number as the subject]
Owners of Okash
As stated above, Okash is owned by Opera Group. Opera, founded by Norwegian-Icelandic programmer and businessman Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy, was bought by Chinese investor in 2016 from Otello Corporation for $600 million. Qihoo 360-led consortium bought its mobile and desktop browser operations, its performance and privacy apps and its tech licensing.
Here are the shareholders:
| File Date | Form | Investor | Opt | Prev Shares |
Current Shares |
Change (Percent) |
Prev Value ($1000) |
Current Value ($1000) |
Change (Percent) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-03 | 13F/A | IFP Advisors, Inc | 200 | 200 | 0.00 | 15 | 15 | 0.00 | ||
| 2019-05-14 | 13F/A | Jump Trading, LLC | 6,230 | 0 | 420 | 0 | ||||
| 2019-05-14 | 13F/A | Jump Trading, LLC | Put | 9,100 | 3,400 | 614 | 194 | |||
| 2019-05-14 | 13F/A | Jump Trading, LLC | Call | 4,200 | 5,800 | 283 | 333 | |||
| 2019-04-26 | 13F | BNP Paribas Investment Partners S.A. | 216,710 | 0 | 16,372 | 0 | ||||
| 2019-04-17 | 13F/A | Allianz Asset Management AG | 5,955 | 0 | 435 | 0 | ||||
| 2019-04-12 | 13F/A | Aperio Group, LLC | 30,656 | 0 | 2,239 | 0 | ||||
| 2019-04-09 | 13F | HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK | 1 | 0 | 0 |
