Capitec Introduces Chatbot To Help Simplify Financial Education

Capitec, has leveraged WhatsApp’s rapidly evolving messaging technology to introduce an innovative chatbot education solution called MoneyUp Chat. The solution makes financial education available for free, in a fun format, on South Africa’s most widely used messaging platform.

Jean Rossouw, Head of Social Responsibility at Capitec, says the solution is part of Capitec’s digitally led approach to providing financial education to South Africans. “MoneyUp Chat makes essential financial education widely accessible on an easy and familiar platform.”

It delivers free conversational learning through interactive short courses and challenges. Users interact with ‘Moola’, a friendly chatbot, to learn more about topics like budgeting, saving and safe banking. Moola uses emojis, chatty language and username personalisation to add to the conversational experience, and users are entered into an instant draw to win mobile data when they complete courses or challenges.

MoneyUp Chat is available to all South Africans, not just Capitec clients. The leading digital bank says the tool’s easy-to-use message-based interface and low-cost accessibility make it an excellent solution to reach users across the country through their mobile devices.

Challenging South Africans to become more financially literate 

Capitec’s Financial Education team piloted MoneyUp Chat in 2022 and has continued to develop and refine the solution based on user feedback and data insights.

The latest learning experience is the ‘Slam the Scam Challenge’, where users have to identify various money scams in a series of 5 mini-challenges.

“We’ve learnt that users prefer to consume information in exciting bite-sized formats. That’s why we’re maximising WhatsApp’s two-way channel capabilities to offer regular, short interactive challenges aimed at improving South Africans’ financial knowledge,” adds Rossouw.

The bank says that MoneyUp Chat’s lowest recorded completion rate for individual Slam the Scam challenges is 90%, proving the value of fun, bite-sized learning experiences.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance the solution’s user experience, which is why we’re so excited to see where WhatsApp is going regarding features and how that will propel the evolution of the MoneyUp Chat experience.”

South Africans can join MoneyUp Chat by saving 087 240 5757 to their contacts and sending a ‘Hello’ to get started on WhatsApp.