Branch: Using SMS to achieve the highest possible delivery rates for business-critical messages

Branch is a personal finance app based in Nigeria that provides access to instant loans for mobile phone users. 

With a mission to deliver world-class financial services to the mobile generation, Branch uses machine learning to determine each applicant’s credit worthiness using information provided via their smartphones. 

With no requirement to provide physical documentation, and the ease and speed of the application process, Branch makes loan products available to sections of the population that have been underserved by traditional banks.

To date it has issued 7.4 million loans to over 1.7 million customers, totaling over 282 million US dollars.

As with any service that has an application process, one of the biggest challenges for Branch is to provide a seamless onboarding experience for new users. Part of this process is to get people verified to ensure that they are who they say they are.

If this process is difficult then they are more likely to abort their application and possibly start an application with a less reputable loan company that may not comply with Nigeria’s privacy and compliance regulations. To avoid this, it is crucial that Branch has a direct and reliable way of communicating with customers during and after the application process so that they can get verified and receive any encouragement that they require.

For people who get distracted during the application process or who lose network signal, reminders sent on a channel that they check often are the most effective way of bringing them back to complete their application.

With Branch’s sister company in Kenya already using Infobip successfully, the team reached out to us to see how we could help.

The most important requirement was the reliable delivery of messages during the application process. However, the cost effectiveness of the messaging solution was also important – it had to align with Branch’s business goals without impacting profitability.

SMS was identified as the best option due to its widespread use by customers and the excellent cellular coverage in Nigeria. As a backup channel, push notifications from the app could also be used in situations where a person did not have cellular signal but was connected to the internet.

For pure marketing use cases, email would also be used where the message was more detailed and needed to incorporate rich media or attached documents. Utilizing an omnichannel approach to their customer communication would give Branch the flexibility to leverage the strengths of each channel. 

The quicker that this process can be completed the less chance there is of a person aborting their application because they get distracted or lose network connectivity.

Branch commented on how easy the implementation process was. Their engineers had conversations with our staff who talked through the setup process and provided all the API documentation and support that they needed to get the solution up and running.

Branch were particularly happy with the service that they received from their dedicated Infobip account representative in Nigeria, who they said went above and beyond to help when they had a query.

Being able to achieve consistently high delivery rates for business-critical messages has enabled Branch to streamline the loan application process. This has contributed towards achieving their goal of giving more people access to loan products.

Not only can they reliably verify more people during the sign-up process, the use of SMS as a communication channel has led to a reduction in loan defaults as more customers can be reached and encouraged to continue with payments. Using SMS as a primary channel, backed up by push notifications ensures the best chance of reaching people.

With a rise in smartphone users across the globe, Branch is building a customer-first financial product that can be accessed completely by phone. With no need to visit physical branches that may be a long way away, or to fill out excessive paperwork, Branch is democratizing the loan market by making their products available to a far larger section of society. This led to them being named Best Digital Lending Platform of the Year award at the 13th Africa Bank 4.0 Summit in 2023 and Most Innovative Loan & Finance Brand of the Year by Africa Fintech Brands Innovation Awards in 2024.