Liquidity and Savings in the Age of M-PESA (Innovations Case Narrative: Jipange KuSave)

finance started a trial of a radically different savings product called Jipange KuSave (JKS). In Swahili, Jipange KuSave means to plan or organize oneself to save. What made this savings product unique was that it was accessible only via M-PESA, Kenya’s hugely popular mobile money service, and was designed specifically to help Kenyans with low, unpredictable incomes save substantial amounts of money. The idea behind JKS was to “reinvent” microfinance in a market where millions of poor people currently move their money around in digital form rather than in cash. Combining saving and borrowing in a single convenient product, JKS embraced the attributes of mobile delivery, including small low-cost transactions, personalized programs, and rapid customer-initiated progress through a structured “lend-to-save” program. After nearly 18 months and three trial phases with about 1,000 customers, the JKS product has proven its demand among low-income customers, established scalable operational processes, and shown itself to be profitable. While the initial success of JKS must now be proven with a larger customer base, its success thus far