A technical problem hit the Kenya National Police DT Sacco’s online banking system on Thursday evening. The issue let 1,227 members take out more money than they had in their accounts. The Sacco, a savings and credit cooperative, is now asking these members to give back the extra money they withdrew.
The problem occurred during a planned update of the M-Tawi digital banking system. The update stopped the system from checking how much money members had before letting them make withdrawals.
The Sacco sent a message to affected members. It said,
David Mategwa, the chairman of the kenya police sacco, explained that hackers did not cause the problem. He said it was because of the system update. Mategwa also said that while members could withdraw extra money, their deposits and shares were safe. He added that many members have started returning the extra money they withdrew.
The Kenya Police Sacco is one of the biggest in the country. As of December 2023, it had 3.2 billion Kenyan shillings in deposits that members can withdraw. It also had 28.5 billion shillings in deposits that members can’t withdraw right away.
Last year, the Sacco paid its members well. It gave a 17% dividend on share capital, which was 599.04 million shillings. It also paid 11% interest on deposits, totaling 2.98 billion shillings.
The Kenya National Police DT Sacco is working to fix the issue. They want to make sure members can use their accounts safely in the future.
The Sacco has asked members who took out extra money to return it. This will help avoid any penalties or further problems. As the situation develops, many will be watching to see how the Sacco handles this challenge and prevents similar issues in the future.