If you believe in saving money in a SACCO and you would like to open one or choose a different one, the following criteria will help you choose.
How to choose a SACCO to invest in
- Location
Opening an account requires one to be physically available and there is a lot of paper work involved. It’s best to choose one that is near you for ease of support when needed.
2. Savings interest rate.
Different SACCOs offer competitive savings interest rates. The savings interest rates are usually fixed for different savings brackets. i.e. 5% for saving 1k-50k and 8% for 51k-100k. The more you save, the more you earn as interest.
Do research by comparing different interest rates for the prospective SACCOs so that you choose one that offers the highest rate
3. Customer Support
The best SACCOs offer excellent customer service. There are a lot of issues that arise when trying to access your loan statement, register your phone no. for USSD, payments not reflecting in your account and so on.
When you contact their customer support, it should be their pleasure to serve you.
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4. Loan interest rate
One of the benefits of opening a SACCO account is that you can access secured and unsecured loans. Loan rates range between 8% to 15% and the lower the rate, the better.
5. Share capital and dividends
At the end of the financial calendar, SACCOs return dividends to their shareholders. A good SACCO is one that pays more dividends and allows their members to buy and sell their shares easily without stringent measures.
6. Welfare of account members.
The best SACCOs put the interest of their members into consideration through welfare programs like insurance, education, sports, sickness. The involvement of SACCOs into such activities is important for building a supportive community that is beyond money.
7. Digitization – Mobile Apps
The best SACCOs are ones that promote transparency through online platforms and mobile applications that actually work. Having an account with a SACCO that allows you to self-monitor your activities like accessing your statement without their intervention not only promotes convenience but builds trust.
In a nutshell, the best SACCO to open an account with is one that meets most of the criteria above and if you can recommend one, leave a comment below.