For any individual who seeks to attain financial freedom, “saving” is an important concept that cannot be overruled. Money is not the only thing to be saved; people can decide to set aside a piece of material for future use. Saving occurs because an individual has set aside a portion of money or something for future use or some other personal reasons. However, this article focuses on the financial aspect of saving.
Why save?
The usefulness of savings in the life of an individual who has set a goal to achieve is of great essence. In other words, saving constitutes a great part of goal achievement. At some point in a person’s life, he may ask: “WHY SAVE?”. People save for different purposes. First and foremost, people save for contingency purposes. They do not know what the future financial market holds and therefore, are prepared in case of any shock that may later happen.
For an individual that considers saving as being important, his financial security is highly guaranteed. Not only is the individual highly secured, he is also able to keep track of his expenditure pattern. People also save because they have a set goal and budget and possibly have a debt to settle. Saving is a driving force behind every investment. Some people save because they have an investment which they are willing to make.
Savings Evolution
Over the years, saving has evolved through many means, right from using a savings box, to purchasing properties, to what is known as “Akawo”, to commercial banks and in recent times, to the use of mobile apps. This is a clear indication of growth and change in the financial sector. In recent times, people consider many factors before they go into savings.
A common and important factor is interest rate. If an individual decides to save his money and the interest rate is not attractive enough, he may decide not to save with that particular institution or application.
Another factor that people consider before going into saving is the ease of access to their funds. Some mobile applications are being used for saving because the owner can easily have access to the fund with no stress. This has made people avoid the use of commercial banks for saving purposes just to have nothing to do with the rigorous documentation processes.
Saving applications are mostly used since they are more convenient to use. Since most apps do not require a minimum monthly income, it gives the individual the authority over the amount he wishes to save.
Let’s explore five best online saving apps in Nigeria that have attractive interest rates.
DigiKolo
DigiKolo, a Digital Space Capital established mobile savings platform was founded with the sole aim of encouraging a very smooth saving culture for individuals. It is a secure, flexible and licenced saving platform that can help you earn between 13.5% to 18% (promotional) interest rate per annum. The platform has room for long-term, short-term as well as savings targeted at a goal.
You can also automate your savings with the least amount as 200 Naira per day. DigiKolo has three outstanding features namely: DigiKolo- where money is saved either daily, weekly or monthly; DigiTarget- where money is saved towards a goal or a fixed period of time; DigiLock – this allows you lock your savings for a fixed period of time.
Kuda
With a great review on Google Play Store, Kuda app is one of the top five saving applications in Nigeria offering an attractive interest rate of up to 15% per year with different choices of saving such as fixed deposit and flexible saving. Kuda allows its customers to have access to their funds when needed, issues free debit cards and has no withdrawal charges and limits.
Cowrywise
An interesting feature about Cowrywise is that it offers daily interest on savings. It also gives room for collective saving (saving by a group of people). It has an average interest rate of 10% depending on the saving plan. The interest rate is however affected by change in market conditions.
Since some individuals are anti-partisan to interest rates, Cowrywise offers what is known as “interest-free” saving option which allows these individuals to respectfully decline interest rate based on their personal reasons.
Carbon
With over one million downloads on Google Play Store, Carbon does not only have a saving platform but also a loan platform. Its savings plan includes Cash Vault, Goals and Flex Save with up to 15.5% interest rate. Carbon has no charges attached to its withdrawal and neither does it have a withdrawal limit.
ALAT
ALAT is an online mobile app owned by WEMA Bank which creates room for flexibility in savings. With an annual interest rate of up to 10% on savings, ALAT provides facilities to help users keep track of their financial transactions.
Having explored the various online saving applications with good interest rates, it is pertinent to also note that these interest rates may vary from time to time due to a change in the financial market. It is therefore advised that research be carried out on each of them from time to time before use.
