An Investigation Into The Challenges Facing The Uptake Of The Sacco Link System A Case Of Selected Saccos In Nairobi County, Kenya

Savings and Credit Co-operatives commonly referred to as Saccos are a form of Credit Union bodies which in turn is a form of major part of the cooperative movement. They are basically member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperatives that provide savings, credit and other financial services to their members. They pool their members’ savings deposits and shares to finance their own loan portfolios rather than rely on outside capital. Members then benefit from higher returns on savings, lower rates on loans and fewer fees on average among many other benefits. In the recent past Sacco societies have witnessed faster growth than other types of cooperatives in Kenya. This may have been one of the motivating factors to prompt Coop-Bank to develop and implement the Sacco Link System to allow the members of the various Sacco societies enjoy services that would have otherwise only been accessible to holders account within commercial banks. The use of the Sacco Link System provides customized Sacco Link card that FOSA account holders can use access their money via any Cooperative Bank ATM where they are available. The card is visa branded and will help the member to access his or her money at any VISA branded ATM at Visa Charges and at any Point of Sale (POS) or Co-op agent as well. Considering the outlined usefulness of the system it would be a natural to expect the Sacco societies quickly adopt the use of the system. This study investigated the challenges facing the projects involved in the uptake of Sacco Link System by a selected set of Sacco’s within the Nairobi area. The objectives of the study were toexamine the financial, technical, capacity, awareness and stakeholder challenges facing these projects.