Instant payments : Fast approval and payment times from Unifi transform credit in sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa’s credit services provider, Unifi, enables its customers to apply for short-term personal loans and have the money in the bank within minutes. This incredible speed puts Unifi way ahead of similar products in the industry and makes life easier for customers in underserved markets.

‘While all of our customers are formally employed, like most households around the world right now, they struggle to stretch their salaries from one payday to the next. Our fast and easily accessible loans give them a welcome boost when there are unexpected and additional expenses,’ explains Graham Crawford, Director of Operations at Unifi Africa.

With 40 branches across Zambia and Uganda, Unifi will soon be opening its first branch in Kenya. It offers an in-person loan application at its branches for customers applying for their first loans, after which customers can pay their instalments or apply for their next loans on a self-service basis using the Unifi USSD app, Uniapp. Unifi also offers a 100% digital offer in South Africa.

Via Unifi’s website, customers in the South African market can apply for a short-term personal loan by filling out an application form and automatically sharing proof of income through a secure online portal. The smart Unifi system then performs an automatic affordability assessment and can approve the application on the spot, with the funds immediately transferred to the customer’s bank account.

Unifi customers in the rest of Africa, meanwhile, benefit from Unifi’s centralised loan management system, which allows the company to process and approve a customer’s application in 20 minutes in branches, and even faster when applying on the Uniapp app, where the loan can be paid instantly via mobile money. This is an incredible turnaround time that demonstrates Unifi’s commitment to its customers.

‘Simplicity is key, and one of the ways we live up to our motto of ‘making life easy’ is by making our customers’ journey as quick and seamless as possible. This provides a solution for customers in markets where access to credit has not always been quick or easy. We are proud to reduce paperwork and waiting time, and to be able to approve credit at the point of contact through outstanding customer service, data analytics and technical innovations.’

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In the future, Unifi sets its sights on providing instant credit facilities to one million customers by 2025, having already helped 300,000 customers in South Africa, Zambia and Uganda.

Concludes Crawford: ‘We are proud to offer financial facilities within minutes, and we are excitedly looking forward to the future and offering faster solutions to more customers across Africa.’