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How to register next of kin on your MPESA account using a mobile phone

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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How to register next of kin on your MPESA account using a mobile phone

Safaricom has reported to have more than 1.7 billion shillings that no one has laid claim on due to lack of next of kin. And with the prying eye of the unclaimed assets authority, it’s better to have your next of kin registered on your MPESA account so they don’t miss out in case of that unfortunate event. While some people may not know it, there’s actually a very simple USSD code procedure for someone to enlist their next of kin right on their mobile phone.

By following some simple USSD prompts on your mobile phone, it’s simpler than most people think to have someone put as your next of kin on your MPESA number. According to new regulations, organizations are supposed to hand over any unclaimed assets to the Authority, and in some cases such as the financial markets, individuals are sometimes expected to claim their assets or have them hand to the authority.

How to enlist your next of kin on MPESA number

  • On your mobile phone, dial *234*5#
  • Then from the options, select “Next of Kin”, at position 6 as of this writing
  • Enter your Bonga Pin to continue, you may press 1 in case you don’t know of forgot
  • Then enter the mobile number of your next of kin
  • You’ll be required to choose the appropriate identification document, Press 1 for National ID or the number relevant to the document
  • Enter their document number, such is ID number
  • Confirm the process, N/B: you cannot nominate your own number as next kin.

LG Electronics unveils its first virtual showroom in the region to showcase various products

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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LG Electronics unveils its first virtual showroom in the region to showcase various products

Something we can all point to the current pandemic is just how things have changed in a few months, employers are now encouraging staff to work from home and businesses are inventing new ways to stay afloat even with diminished consumer spending power. LG Electronics is taking a step forward to reach even more customers without necessarily having them to come to their showrooms to look at products before buying them. Consumers in the East African region can easily view a range of products online before deciding to buy them – courtesy of what LG is calling a virtual showroom.

The move will allow consumers to conveniently browse through a range of LG’s products and purchase them without having to visit a physical location with an aim to understand how a product operates or its features for that matter. As a way of limiting the spread of the current pandemic, Kenyans were advised to practice social distancing, which meant, avoiding visiting physical locations if there’s an online option and opt for cashless transactions such as MPESA.

As a result, more Kenyans are now opting for online shopping than visiting malls are market places, and businesses have been putting up measures to ensure they tap into the new normal. Currently, it’s estimated that about 73 percent of consumers are now considering e-shopping instead of the older means.

According to LG Electronics East Africa’s managing director Mr. Sa Nyoung Kim, the new e-showroom will showcase latest LG products in the market. He further acknowledged how the tech giant re-examined customer needs and creatively aim at meeting their expectations. Kim continued to note, the showroom will allow customers interact with products before buying them.

How to access LG’s e-showroom;

  • Customers need to visit lg.brandshop.co.ke

Consumers will have the opportunity to browse through a range of products as well as purchasing them and can as well get sales consultations if need be. Additionally, customers will have access to an online finance calculator as well as an e-purchase facility.

Mr. Kim also pointed out how the company opted to bringing a showroom to customers following the current pandemic. The virtual showroom will give customers an opportunity to see how the company is enabling smart homes and living through artificial intelligence. Products to be showcased include the OLED TVs, InstaView™ Door-in-Door® refrigerators, LG TWIN Wash™ washing machines, DUALCOOL Air Conditioners among other home electronics and appliances.

Safaricom is contemplating cutting MPESA transaction costs to boost business volumes

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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Safaricom is contemplating cutting MPESA transaction costs to boost business volumes

When the corona virus pandemic was declared and several measures put in place to help curb its spread as well as provide a much-needed relief to Kenyans, some of the provisions put in place such as cutting down on cashless transaction costs have become popular with time. Safaricom is apparently contemplating on reducing MPESA transaction costs as a way of boosting business volumes which in turn promotes the service by allowing more people to use it.

Kenya’s financial regulator the Central Bank of Kenya unveiled several regulations aimed at providing relief to Kenyans hit hard by the pandemic, amongst of which was eliminating transaction costs on amounts transferred less than Ksh. 1,000. As a result, Safaricom which operates the biggest mobile money service in the country – MPESA witnessed increased business volumes during the period as more people resorted to cashless transactions and in this case MPESA mainly being preferred.

According to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa, the telco may after all reduce transaction costs targeting to retain more customers after the fact, more so those who utilized MPESA because of zero transaction costs. Transactions costs between banks and mobile money services were also zero-rated, allowing Kenyans to use cashless payments without incurring additional costs. The move also reduced the number of teller machine transactions across various banks in the country.  

During the initial stages of the covid-19 pandemic, the Central Bank of Kenya unveiled several guidelines that would help Kenyans practice social distancing and reduce exposures to the virus. MPESA charges on amounts less than Ksh. 1,000 were removed from March 16th and later extended until December 31st 2020.

The measures were aimed at promoting cashless transactions which resulted in increasing MPESA transactions by 32.9 percent to Ksh. 9.04 trillion. There were also an additional 3.2 million new customers. Apparently, the mobile service provider is now keen to keep this numbers by effectively cutting down on some transaction costs.

50,000 Safaricom customers have so far acquired a 4G phone under Lipa Mdogo Mdogo scheme

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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50,000 Safaricom customers have so far acquired a 4G phone under Lipa Mdogo Mdogo scheme

Safaricom has announced that about 50,000 of its customers, previously without a smartphone have now acquired a 4G capable device under the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo initiative. This comes as Kenya’s largest mobile service provider looks to increase data revenues across its subscriber base. According to the reports we have from the telco, the devices were acquired sometime between July 28th 2020 and end of September, amounting to about 769 devices acquired on a daily basis.

In the ambitious initiative that also involved Google, the telco is seeking to have roughly 4 million subscribers on dated 2G devices converted to the reliable and faster 4G capable smartphones. According to the provider, subscriber switch to 4G devices will come in handy, especially in mitigating the sluggish voice growth. Voice has faced a downward spiral from the provider, which is now focusing on other services such as MPESA mobile money services and data to drive future growths.

Speaking on the progress, Safaricom’s Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge said they were excited on hearing the results and were on track to test customer behavior on uptake and repayment. Announcing the figures, Sylvia said that about 50,000 customers had opted into the arrangement across their dealer network.  

In the arrangement, Safaricom customers who have been on the network for at least a year but do not have a 4G smartphone can signup for a brand new 4G capable device for only Kshs.20 a day. Additionally, customers must have a clean sheet with relevant credit reference bureaus – meaning; not be blacklisted by any financial institution for loan default.

Customers can choose to pay on a daily basis, weekly basis or even make full payment, but will receive at least 3 text messages reminding them to pay. In case a subscriber fails to make a payment as expected for four consecutive days, the phone is automatically locked, and those who fail for a week are barred from all outgoing calls and text messages.

But for those who default for a whole month, they are automatically blacklisted, restricted from any other device loan and their details forwarded to credit reference bureaus. Its not yet clear on the number of defaults considering this period has been marred with difficult times economically on many Kenyans. At the moment, Safaricom has disclosed that about half of its staggering 38.14 million subscribers are still using 2G mobile devices.

Google Assistant to be adopted on high-end 2020 Samsung smart TV’s without additional hardware

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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Google Assistant to be adopted on high-end 2020 Samsung smart TV’s without additional hardware

Samsung is set to natively support Google Assistant on its high-end smart TV’s released in the course of 2020. This comes as relief to many fans who also own other devices that support Google Assistant; meaning, they’ll now be able to operate several devices using the same assistant and even possibly automate some. Before this development, Samsung shipped its smart TV’s with other voice assistants such as Alexa and Bixby which in their own respect luck some features only found on the Google Assistant.

The move will effectively mean that Samsung TV owners will not need additional hardware or software to support the Assistant. Users had to rely on other addons such as android TV dongles or android TV boxes to have the functionality. According to the initial reports, all high-end TV’s that fall in any of the following categories will be supported. All 2020 8k and 4k QLED TV’s and Crystal UHD TV’s, there’s however a caveat on the feature; not all countries apparently will get the feature. But if you live in the right countries, the feature should be available on devices announced in 2020.  

According to the Director of Product Management at Google Jack Krawczyk, the feature will allow users to connect their smart TV’s with the rest of the smart home and better manage their devices across various Google devices.

By having the assistant, users of the supported Samsung TV’s will have access to real-time on-screen answers, entertainment and be able to seamlessly control all their smart home devices. the voice assistant will effectively allow users to adjust volume, control playback, open apps and perform other functions. Other Google services such as Search, Photos, Calendar and Maps will also be available. Countries on the supported list include UK, Germany, France and Italy with additional 12 to be supported in due course.

Scheduling smart home actions is now possible with Google Assistant’s latest update

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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Scheduling smart home actions is now possible with Google Assistant’s latest update

A feature that was revealed by Google back at CES 2020 is finally now coming to users in the latest update to Google Assistant. Users will now be able to schedule smart home actions at predetermined intervals using the voice assistant. Prior to this, users were not able to schedule smart home actions by using voice commands, a feature that most of us hoped could be possible at some point. You could still use the voice commands to perform specific functions in real time.

With the latest update, users can now issue commands such as “Hey Google, turn on the lights in thirty minutes” or turn on the lights at 8pm to switch on smart lights at the specified interval. Additionally, you can now schedule a task to repeat at specified times across the whole week, just like we usually schedule morning alarms to repeat every other weekday at set times.

While this functionality is set to bring the kind of convenience, we’ve been asking for from voice assistants on various platforms, true beneficiaries are those with a habit of forgetting to put off their lights late at night. It’ll also come in handy especially for those who wake up early in the morning as a complementary to wakeup alarms, where lights will just come on when it’s time to hit the road for work.

Although the functionality has been long overdue, there’s still some mileage that Google needs to cover first for it to be considered perfect or at least work seamlessly. At the moment, Google says the assistant will return an error if in fact the user doesn’t specify an exact time with some small exceptions. A command such as “switch on the lights tomorrow” effectively sets the schedule for the next day at 12AM.  

We also have another drawback where users are not able to cancel a scheduled action, although Google states that users have the ability to use commands such as “Hey Google, cancel my scheduled actions” or “Hey Google remove my devices”. nonetheless, we expect the Google Assistant to receive more fixes as time goes by.

Huduma cards expected to replace traditional Identity cards as main form of identification in Kenya

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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Huduma cards expected to replace traditional Identity cards as main form of identification in Kenya

Long awaited Huduma Namba that elicited all forms of controversies when launched may be on the way to Kenyans after all. This comes after a long period of waiting since the government launched a registration drive across the country. The main objective of the Huduma cards was to establish an integrated database for various documents including birth certificates, passport numbers and even driving licenses for use by different state agencies.

According to recent reports from the ICT ministry, Kenyans should expect to start receiving their Huduma Namba cards from as early as next month, which is will happen in a gradual rollout and consequently invalidate Identity cards in a years’ time. the initial rollout will cover about three million Kenyans followed by another five million from February 2021.

For those whose cards will be ready for pickup, they’ll be receiving a text message from the government indicating when and were to pick their cards. Kenyans will have a month to collect their cards. According to Mucheru, current ICT cabinet secretary, come the December of 2021, Kenyans without Huduma cards will not have access to government services.

But for those who didn’t make it during the initial registration drive for various reasons, the government is set to unveil a second phase of mass registrations. As of last registration drive, the government managed to capture details of 38 million people at an estimated cost of Ksh. 9.6 billion. This effectively indicate that close to ten million Kenyans are yet to be registered for the Huduma Namba.

The government is expected to centralize details for all Kenyans under the National Information Integrated Management System, combining all important documents including the National ID number, driving license, Passport, National Socila Security Fund and National Hospitals Insurance Fund Numbers.

Registration for the Huduma cards captured details of Kenyans including e-mail addresses, physical and permanent addresses, photo, parents or guardians, phone number, place of birth and marital status. These data will be available for various institutions electronically including private corporations that provide essential services.   

Safaricom uninterested to continue naturing e-commerce site – Masoko, opting for partnerships

Tuvuti Editorial Team
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Safaricom uninterested to continue naturing e-commerce site – Masoko, opting for partnerships

Kenya’s e-commerce segment holds the most potential in the retail market, as more Kenyans are now opting for online shopping instead of visiting physical stores. But even with all these, Kenya’s largest mobile service provider – Safaricom hasn’t had that breakthrough it was hopping for with the Masoko platform. The Telco is finally throwing in the towel, redirecting its focus on other products such as MPESA and instead seeking partnerships with other e-commerce platforms.

Jumia is currently the leading e—commerce site in Kenya with thousands of sales recorded on a daily basis, but even with its predominant position, the e-commerce platform hasn’t had much luck and continues to incur loses. The platform has also exited in various markets across Africa remaining with the Kenyan and Nigerian branches. Several measures have also kicked in to help the e-commerce site stay afloat such as cutting down on jobs, diversifying its product line and so forth.

On the other hand, Masoko failed to make any impact in sector despite Safaricom having a ton of resources at its disposal to propel its success. The platform which was born back in 2017 has continued to lack behind other platforms and it seems like Safaricom might just retire it after all. The telco has continued to shift its focus away from the site, reducing its team and instead concentrating on other products.

According to disclosures made in a transcript for events ending July, Safaricom has reduced the number of staff on the platform. This came to light following disclosures made by then Safaricom CFO Sateesh Kamath.

Speaking on the new direction the company was taking, Sateesh said the telco was happy to see other platforms such as Jumia and AliExpress flourish, given that they would eventually impact its mobile money platform – MPESA positively. On Masoko, Sateesh said the once potential segment had been deprioritized as the company shifted its focus to MPESA and other products.

Ironically, Safaricom’s decision to abandon Masoko comes at a time when most Kenyans are embracing e-commerce, partly due to the effects of the corona virus. People are now opting to social-distance and instead use alternative means as an effort to halt the spread of the virus.

Towards the end of last year, sometimes in November, Safaricom reduced the number of products available on Masoko as well as cutting ties with several vendors on the platform. Sateesh disclosed that only a handful team had been left on the platform with its new focus now being to grow core products such as M-Pesa and maximize customer loyalty. Partnerships with other e-commerce sites includes telco’s recent partnership with Jumia to reward customers using MPESA with a 5 percent cash back discount on transactions of more than Ksh. 1000. Masoko was dwarfed by the likes of Jumia, who have more than 10,000 vendors on its platform with a staggering 3.5 million products available for sale.

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