Bulk SMS for SACCOs: getting it right
For SACCOs and microfinance, SMS is part of the service: members expect a confirmation for every payment and a reminder before every instalment. Here is how to do it well and stay within the law.
Service messages and marketing are different
Loan reminders, payment confirmations, statements and AGM notices to your own members are transactional. Promoting loans to people who are not members is marketing, and needs their express consent under section 37 of the Data Protection Act.
The difference matters. Kenya's data regulator (ODPC) ordered one credit company to pay a complainant KES 400,000 over unsolicited loan SMS and calls, and another to pay three complainants KES 2.6 million in total.
Reminders that get paid
- State the amount and the due date.
- Give the Paybill number and the account to enter, usually the member or loan number.
- Send a few days before the due date, and a short note on the day.
- Sign off with your SACCO's name.
Help members spot fraud
Members receive fake "SACCO" messages. Always send from your registered sender ID, never from a personal phone, and remind members that you will never ask for a PIN or password. Members then learn that a genuine message comes from your name.
Protect member data
Keep balances and loan details short, and send them only to the member's own number. Limit who on your team can export contact lists, and remove members who ask to stop receiving messages that are not essential to their account.