Chumz: This App Wants to Gamify Your Savings (But Consider the Alternatives)

A Techspace Africa reader recently asked me what my thoughts on Chumz are, I don’t have any experience with the app but from what I have gathered on the interwebs, Chumz is a mobile application designed to help users save money through a gamified and personalized experience. It offers features like automatic savings rules, various challenges, and goal setting to make saving less of a chore and more rewarding. It has been around for a while.

In 2022, I wrote a piece where I addressed fintechs, Hey Fintechs, Nobody Wants to Invest Sh5 on your Platforms, I had said, I still believe in the statement, since then, the Kenyan fintech, disclosed it had hit 200,000 registered users in its home market and was expanding to Rwanda.

  • Automatic Savings Rules: Chumz automates saving through features like “Quick Save” for immediate deposits and “Round Up” to automatically round up your everyday purchases and add the difference to your savings.

  • Savings Challenges: The app offers various challenges to keep you motivated, like the popular 52-Week Challenge where you save an increasing amount each week, or the Mia Kwa Mia Challenge where you save a specific amount daily for 100 days.

  • Goal Setting: Chumz allows you to set personalized savings goals with categories and reminders to stay on track. You can even create group goals to save collaboratively with friends and family.

“For instance, if a user spends money at a pub, the app suggests investing some of that money instead of spending it all. Similarly, if a user receives mobile money, the app prompts them to save some of the money. Our app offers an easy, convenient and accessible way for users to save and invest, helping them to reach their financial goals,” said Chumz co-founder Samuel Njuguna, who is also behind Kenyan mobile money startup

Advantages of Using Chumz:

  • Gamification: Chumz uses game mechanics like challenges and progress bars to make saving more engaging and fun.

  • Customization: The app lets you personalize your savings experience with automatic rules, various goal categories, and reminders.

  • Group Saving: Chumz facilitates collaborative saving with friends and family to achieve shared goals. 

However, before jumping on the Chumz bandwagon, consider these alternatives:

  • M-Pesa Savings: M-Pesa, the popular Kenyan mobile money platform, offers its own savings products like M-Shwari which you can directly deposit and withdraw funds without any additional fees and still do the 52-Week Challenge.

  • MALI & ZIIDI: These mobile apps offer higher interest rates than Chumz (currently 13% for MALI and 12% for ZIIDI) and allow free deposits and withdrawals. They are also safer in my opinion. While Chumz offers a fun and engaging way to save, especially for small, regular deposits (since some alternatives require a minimum deposit amount), the current interest rate of 8% is not the most competitive in the market.

Chumz can be a useful tool for those who struggle with traditional saving methods and find motivation in gamification. However, if you prioritize high-interest rates and free transactions (which you should!), kindly consider using M-Pesa savings, MALI, or ZIIDI.


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