Back in October, we reported about a little nifty addition that Equity Bank added to its Eazzy Banking mobile app. Using the app, Equity Bank account holders can send money to their friends on WhatsApp, a messaging app that is becoming ubiquitous among Kenyan smartphone owners.
As I was doing my usual rounds in the app, I recently noticed that the Eazzy Banking app has added support for more social networking apps. Similar to WhatsApp, the banking app now lets you send money to friends and family via their Facebook or Twitter accounts.
In a mobile money market that is dominated by Safaricom’s MPESA, Equity Bank is clearly thinking outside the box with these additions. It was recently reported by Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) that WhatsApp commands a user base of about 12 million while Twitter and Facebook have 1 million and 7.1 million followers, respectively. If anything, Equity Bank is trying to take advantage of these ever-growing user bases.
Sending money to someone on Twitter or Facebook works in the same way as sending via WhatsApp. Here’s how:
- Open the Eazzy Banking app (and sign in).
- Tap on the “+” icon in the bottom right corner.
- Tap on “Send Money” from the menu that pops up.
- In the next window, choose “Facebook Friend” or “Twitter Follower”.
- Enter the amount to send and tap “Next.”
- Tap on “Send Money” in the window that opens (don’t freak out when the app notifies you that the money is sent, even before providing details of your Facebook friend or Twitter follower).
- A pop-up message will show up warning that you are about to be redirected to Facebook Messenger (or Twitter, depending on which app you are using to send money). Tap “OK.”
- In Facebook Messenger or Twitter, select the person you want to send money to and tap “Send.”
Similar to WhatsApp, the Eazzy Banking app will generate a message with details of the transaction, which will be sent to the inbox of your Facebook friend or Twitter follower. In the generated message, which reads, “I have sent you Kshs. xxx on Eazzy Banking! Use the code xxxxxx to withdraw. Please visit your nearest Equity Bank Agent to withdraw within 2 hours,” there’s a code (xxxxxx) that recipients must present to an Equity Bank agent in order to withdraw the money.
Recipients will have only two hours to withdraw the money, otherwise, it goes back to the sender’s account. What’s even more interesting is that sending money to a friend on WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter is free, unlike doing it via MPESA or Airtel Money. However, we are still yet to establish the charges involved when withdrawing the money from an Equity Bank agent, but it’s possible the same charges used for Equitel services will prevail.
Thoughts?
