Safaricom has turned around the investing scenario in Kenya by introducing Ziidi Trader. It is integrated directly into the M-PESA App, which means millions of Kenyans are now able to purchase and sell shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as easily as they send money or pay bills.
Through eliminating the bureaucratic barriers of paper work, personal visits to the broker and bulky account application, Safaricom is making M-PESA a complete financial center in long term wealth building. The site will be user friendly and ease of use is intended to attract both the experienced and inquisitive first timers. No new paperwork is required. The system utilizes your already existing M-PESA Know Your Customer (KYC) information to create your trading profile in real time.
Moreover, rather than opening a personal CDS (Central Depository System) account, the user trades via a pooled account that is controlled by Kestrel Capital. Each of your personal portfolios is monitored in the app. It also has users who are able to see the live stock prices, performance of their portfolio either profit or loss and market trends of the stock directly on the dashboard.
Selling shares is instantly deposited back into your M-PESA wallet, therefore, bypassing the multi-day waiting time that is common with the traditional brokerage companies.
To log in, you need to have the M-PESA App.It is not yet accessible through USSD unfortunately, because stock trading requires huge amounts of data. Tap the M-PESA App and tap on financial services. Click on Ziidi Trader and agree with the terms and conditions. Verify yourself by entering your M-PESA PIN and a one-time password (OTP) dispatched to your mobile. Go to the tab Trade, choose one of the companies of your choice Safaricom, Equity Bank, KCB and buy or sell. Prices may either rise or fall just as in any stock market investment.
Ziidi Trader offers the means of trading, however, no profits or financial advice are guaranteed. Traditionally, it has been perceived to be a club of a rich individual and it is estimated that out of all registered accounts only 4% of the accounts are actively trading.
Ziidi Trader transforms this by allowing retail investors to join without the need to have a high technical foundation or high-end brokerage relationship, bringing 37 million M-PESA users to the exchange, which can drastically boost the number of trades made at the NSE and also a shift of focus to long-term ownership of the equity as opposed to short term mobile loans.
It will be launched after Ziidi Money Market Fund was successfully launched, attracting more than 450,000 users in the first year. To a greater extent, Ziidi Trader will position Safaricom as not only a telco but also as a digital giant spearheading the fintech revolution in Africa.
