This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
Long queues at banking halls in Kenya have become a norm, with customers often forced to wait for extended periods before being served.
However, a group of three Kenyan technology enthusiasts, Augustine Khafafa, Patrick Tendwa, and Jones Mireri, have sought to change this narrative by introducing an Intelligent Cash Deposit Machine.
According to Mr. Khafafa, the director for technology at Blue River Technology Solutions Ltd., the machine reduces pilferage and fraud by over 90%.
The machine, which costs between Sh2 million and Sh3 million, depending on the size, saves cashiers a lot of time that would have been spent on counting the cash and later taking it to the backroom.
With the new machine, the process of handling money is reduced, and cashiers deposit the money directly into the machine.
The technology has been piloted and adopted by Tuskys Supermarket, which is in the process of installing the machine in its 54 branches across the country.
As noted by Tuskys Supermarket chief finance officer, Mr. Daniel Ndirangu, the supermarket loses about Sh2 million on average every month in theft at cashier points or robberies, a figure that is expected to be reduced significantly with the new machine.
The machine detects fake notes and separates them from the genuine notes, a key invention taking into account the fact that many criminals have been nabbed making fake money.
Blue River Technology Solutions Ltd., the firm behind the machine, was started in 2011 by the three entrepreneurs, who had amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience especially from the banking sector.
The cash machine is not the first invention by the entrepreneurs, who previously came up with the PesaPoint automated teller machines in 2005.
