Bankly App Review: Is it Still Licensed in Nigeria?

It’s very normal that we sometimes want an experience outside traditional banks. However, not all digital bank apps are worth it. Even some MFBs (microfinance banks) are going digital, and an example is Bankly, which is being reviewed today. Bankly is a microfinance bank and a subsidiary of 5554 Technologies LTD. But is it licensed in Nigeria? Should you open an account here or go on to close any existing one you already have? We’ll find out in this honest review.

According to Bankly itself, it is licensed by the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) and protected by the NDIC (Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company). The website is Bankly.ng. The address is 11b Oko Awo Street Victoria Island, Lagos.

Bankly, in person of its marketing Vice President, Uwem Ekanem, did contact this website (Instantmoneyapp.com) via email with clarifications, and this review has now been updated with a focus on its licensing status. We’ve also updated the user experience narrative as we understand that unique situations can affect individual user experience.

Bankly App Review: Legit or a Digital Scam?

With the new development, Bankly is legit because it is licensed in Nigeria, except that the CBN and NDIC’s changes are yet to reflect its new umbrella. It still isn’t a perfect app.

Below is Bankly’s latest response regarding its licensing:

Now, on the footer of the Bankly website, we see its claim that it is a microfinance bank licensed by the CBN and protected by the NDIC. However, upon checking the records of these agencies, neither ‘Bankly’ nor ‘5554 Technologies LTD’ is listed or even mentioned. But from Bankly’s explanation and documents (including Bankly’s old and updated company registration certificates by the CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) and the CBN name change approval documents) shared with this website, this MFB’s CBN licensing is currently in the old name ‘Ampersand Micro Finance Bank’, which you can verify on the CBN’s MFB list by typing it in and selecting ‘Microfinance Bank’ under ‘Type Financial Institution’.

But neither Ampersand Micro Finance Bank, Bankly, nor 5554 Technologies LTD is available in the NDIC list yet. It could be that the NDIC is yet to update the list as Bankly claims.

So, the reason you won’t find a licensed Bankly is that its current status is not yet updated by the  Nigerian regulators. Hopefully, we’ll revisit this review when this happens.

Now, on to the user experience narrative.

Bankly describes itself as a lifestyle bank, which should be meeting the lifestyle needs of its target customers. But as mentioned earlier, it isn’t perfect. It has its own downsides, which may be unique to some individual users.

For example, you may experience a Bankly problem of not being able to transfer out funds and might think saving money here is a trap. The explanation here is that it could be due to industry-wide downtime on the service at the time of your attempt.

For a lifestyle bank, this app should complement your lifestyle. We mean in terms of how you go about your pocket business and the convenience you expect when carrying out transactions. However, you should also expect some common bugs, for example, your balance not being displayed. Even Bankly’s Group Savings feature (Ajo) is not perfect but the idea behind it is something you won’t find in a lot of lifestyle apps out there.

Also, like most bank apps, expect some of your money transfer attempts to show ‘successful’ whereas the beneficiary may not receive the money. In some cases, the app won’t automatically reverse the transfer. This means you have to contact customer support.

Unfortunately, making complaints isn’t as convenient due to Bankly’s par customer support. Bankly has a Bloomm assistant programmed with an automated reply, and it sometimes responds with “Your assistant is currently unavailable.” It can be as unhelpful as it can be. However, if you use this chat assistant or chatbot between 8 am and 10 pm, you are much more likely to interact with a real person.

Bankly also promises you referral bonuses. Unfortunately, you won’t get this incentive right now. There’s no referral link, even though there’s a column for referrals. According to Bankly’s recent email, they have paid out over 50,000,000 naira in referral bonuses to customers at the time this feature was active. However, this feature is temporarily unavailable. In Bankly’s words, it is undergoing “updates which would make it better for [its] customers”.

So, the summary of this app is that while you can instantly add money to your Bankly account, you may sometimes likely face issues instantly withdrawing your money, which Bankly attributes a possible cause to industry-wide downtime on service.

How Does Bankly App Work?

This banking app is built to do the following major things:

1. Transfer money
2. Earn from referral bonuses
3. Group contributions and individual savings
4. Pay bills
5. Play a save-to-win game

We are going to review all 5 features so you know if it is worth it to download this app or not.

Transfer money

Indeed, you can transfer money with Bankly. Bankly even claims that recipients will receive the funds in less than 30 seconds, but this is not always the case. Sometimes, Bankly transfers fail, and sometimes they go through—you can’t have low expectations but it’s also not the fastest in the industry.

Earn from referral bonuses

This referral bonus is one of the reasons a lot of people sign up here. If you are signing up for it right now, then it’s temporarily unavailable. According to Bankly, it’s being updated for a much better experience. As mentioned earlier, Bankly claims to have paid out 50,000,000 naira in referral bonuses to its customers so far.

But just so you know, Bankly promises a 500 naira bonus for each account registration that funds at least 500 naira when you share your unique referral link. That will mean 5,000 naira for 10 referrals when this service returns.

Group contributions and individual savings

You can contribute and save money with family and friends with this app. Before this modified review, we had our concern about users being able to withdraw their saved funds, but Bankly cleared the air on this one. This concern was majorly backed by user experiences, and it can be unique to each user. Now, Bankly maintains that we can trust its 15% interest yield per annum on the group contribution plan. As for the individual savings, you are promised 12% per year.

Pay bills

Bankly says you can pay bills such as electricity and buy airtime or data and earn up to 2% of the money in your account. Well, don’t get your hopes too high on this if you want to install this app. But if there’s one thing Bankly actually does is pay bills.

Play a save-to-win game

There is a Bankly Save2Win jackpot game that encourages you to save with a promise to win up to 10,000 naira daily. So, you have to save a minimum of 200 naira to receive a virtual ticket to play this game. Well, you’ve seen the earlier review and hopefully may be enticed by the offer. This reward is for one user (saver) each day. According to Bankly, it’s to help us users ensure financial discipline while living our digital lifestyle with the app.

How to Use Bankly

1. Install Bankly app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
2. Sign up with your phone number (must be linked to your BVN).
3. Verify your phone number.
4. Enter your personal information, including your date of birth and name.
5. Take a selfie for face verification.
6. Create your passcode.
7. Tap on ‘Submit’ to enable your account.

It’s really that easy, except that your experience won’t be perfect in the registration process due to known bugs. Since Bankly has a CBN license and is protected by the NDIC, it’s okay to install this app. We’ve also explained that Bankly’s CBN licensing records still run under the name ‘Ampersand Micro Finance Bank’. Its new name, Bankly Microfinance Bank Limited (as on CAC’s database) is not yet reflected.

Pros and Cons

Pros

For a banking app that is on the approved list of the CBN (in its old name), that’s already an advantage.

• Bankly is licensed by the CBN, though the regulator has yet to effect the name change.
• Bankly is NDIC-protected but its new name is not yet available on the database.
• It’s a simple lifestyle bank, even though not as perfect.
• Offers a save2win feature for those who love to save, though it’s very competitive.
• Can afford to make explanations where necessary.
• Its chat assistant works, except you can only reach real-person support on limited hours.
• Available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Cons

Some of its cons are due to common app bugs, as well as what Bankly refers to as ‘industry-wide downtime on the service’.

• Balance display error.
• Not a commercial bank.
• Transactions are typically not instant.
• Its referral bonus is currently unavailable.
• After a change of ownership and name, its new identity has yet to be listed by the CBN and the NDIC.

Is Bankly Safe?

This question is easily answered if either Bankly or 5554 Technologies LTD is recognized by the CBN and the NDIC. Fortunately, at the time of revisiting this review, this app is legit, and the claim on its website’s footer is true. However, the CBN and the NDIC are yet to list Bankly in its new identity.

As for your data, Bankly’s privacy policy is not specific about the type of personal information collected. However, this includes your name, home address, email address, BVN, NIN, phone number, selfie photo, etc. They also collect device information including your IP address, device name, location information, etc. Currently, there are no customer data abuse reports on Bankly.

By the way, kudos to Bankly for reaching out with the necessary documentation to help set the record straight, and offer these very necessary explanations.

Verdict

The Bankly app is recommended because it’s approved by the CBN and protected by the NDIC. Bankly is currently listed under Ampersand Micro Finance Bank. The Nigerian regulators are expected to list its new name to reflect the brand’s status. So, Bankly gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars for being present on the lists of Nigeria’s MFB licensing agencies but in their old identity. As for user experience, it is unique to each individual. The Bankly app is not perfect.

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