Online banking in Kenya for SMEs
There are a couple of things to consider when opening a bank account as a SME. One of them, is the possibility to have online access as to your bank account, also known as online banking. The option to access your bank account via online banking can result in time reduction by not having to make a physical bank visit. The time that a business usually saves on not making a physical bank visit depends on a couple of factors. ClickPesa made an overview of points you need to take consideration for online banking.
Functionalities
Banking functionalities offered via online banking can come in different levels. Not all functionalities are always available under each bank. Functionalities per bank differ from just having access to your bank account balance and transactions history to completely taking over all functionalities a physical bank offers making visits to a bank branch completely unnecessary.
Business Type
You can start by narrowing down your choices based on the size and structure of your organization. Some online banking platforms are geared towards sole proprietors, and freelancers while others are targeting corporates.
Fees
You should take into consideration that there might be an extra charge for having access to online banking. Check this beforehand by requesting more information about the fees.
Customer Care / helpdesk
A recommended thing to verify is that there is good customer support available. At some point you might be stuck, good support can save a lot of time and frustration. While you might be used to good customer support at your physical banking branch, it does not mean automatically that the support for online banking is good. Staff at the banking branch might not be trained to help with online banking. It could be that online customer support sits at a central location and lacks quality or that it lacks any customer support for online banking at all.
Also check how to access the customer support. Some banks have a real time chat available within their online banking, while other banks offer a customer support via phone and sometimes customer support is restricted to email.
What is also useful is that there is documentation how to use the online banking solution. Ask this before opening a bank account.
Mobile Accessibility
Part of being a great online banking experience means having an excellent mobile version or even an app. This enables you that the majority of your online banking activity can be done from the palm of your hand.
Using online banking for the first time as business is not always easy, you might have to change processes and train staff. Make sure you do a proper assessment before picking a bank. Over time it always turns out to be more convenient and reduces time doing your payments and administration.
Find below an overview of all banks that offer SME online banking in Kenya: