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Samsung phone buyers to get Barclays loan

ngeru

Samsung director of Internet and mobile Manoj Changarampatt (left), Samsung vice president Robert Ngeru and Barclays Bank of Kenya consumer banking director Zahid Mustafa at Samsung offices December 10, 2014. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA

Barclays Kenya on Wednesday entered into a pact with South Korean mobile manufacturer, Samsung, to drive the uptake of its credit cards by providing loans to buyers of smartphones.

Under the deal, Barclaycard customers will use their credit cards to purchase Samsung’s flagship device, the Galaxy Note 4, and pay up in three monthly instalments.

Samsung mobile East Africa vice president Robert Ngeru claimed Wednesday the company controls 65.4 per cent of Kenya’s smartphone market according to its internal research, compared to 2013 when the market share stood at 55 per cent.

He, however, did not disclose the number of units sold during the period.

“The growth was enabled by continued partnerships and retail drives across the country,” said Mr Ngeru on Wednesday during signing of the deal in Nairobi.

The Nairobi bourse-listed Barclays Kenya has been counting on credit card uptake to boost its non-interest income.

“Use of cards in transactions has been on an upward growth, with a notable increasing demand for cashless payments. With less than 200,000 active credit cards against a potential market of four million, we are alive to the vast opportunities available in this market,” said Zahid Mustafa, director of consumer banking at Barclays.