LOOP Digital Financial Services (LOOP DFS), the digital arm of NCBA Group, launched LOOP BIZ+ on 29 October 2026.
The platform lets Kenyan merchants take payments, list products for sale, track stock and apply for credit from one account.
What LOOP BIZ+ does
Many small businesses run sales, stock, marketing and borrowing on separate systems. Each one needs its own records, and the records rarely match. Reconciling them takes time, and the owner sees no single picture of how the business is performing.
LOOP BIZ+ puts four functions in one place: payment acceptance, a product marketplace, inventory tracking and financing. Merchants can reach it through a point of sale device, a mobile app or a web portal.
How merchants take payments
The LOOP POS device sits at the centre of the platform. It accepts Visa cards, NFC contactless payments, mobile money and LOOP payments. Merchants without the device can take payments through the LOOP BIZ app or the web portal.
John Njoroge, Country Manager for Kenya at Visa, said the device puts Visa acceptance next to other digital payment options, which widens choice for merchants and their customers.
How merchants reach new customers
Merchants onboarded on LOOP BIZ can list products on LOOP Discover, a marketplace inside the LOOP consumer app. LOOP DFS says the app has more than 500,000 consumers. A shop’s listing reaches buyers who have never walked past its door, and it sits alongside referrals and walk-in trade.
The audience has grown. At the end of 2024, LOOP had more than 400,000 consumers and 160,000 merchants registered in Kenya.
How the inventory tool works
The AI inventory feature monitors stock, forecasts demand, recommends when to restock and flags products that sell slowly. LOOP DFS says the aim is to stop merchants tying up cash in goods that sit on shelves.
The feature is available only on the web platform. The company plans to bring it to the LOOP BIZ app in 2027.
What financing is on offer
LOOP BIZ+ offers four types of credit:
- Quick loans for immediate cash flow needs.
- Overdrafts against the LOOP Payment Account.
- Supplier credit lines, paid directly to the supplier a merchant names.
- A digital route to longer term financing.
Transaction history from the POS device feeds the credit assessment. Approval still depends on eligibility criteria and credit checks. Lending runs through NCBA Bank, according to Sheila Kimani, Chief Commercial Officer at LOOP DFS.
The LOOP BIZ app also carries a credit goals feature, which lets a merchant set a target credit limit and track progress toward it. A version for web merchants is planned for a later release.
Kimani said the platform addresses a daily problem for small businesses. “LOOP BIZ+ brings these needs together in one platform, helping merchants streamline operations, make better-informed decisions and access support as their businesses evolve,” she said.
Where the launch fits in NCBA’s strategy
Digital lending already drives NCBA’s loan volumes. The bank disbursed more than Ksh1 trillion in digital loans in 2024, mostly through Fuliza and M-Shwari, TechCabal reported. LOOP doubled its own disbursements that year to Ksh2.5 billion, which is under one percent of the group total.
Merchant credit based on payment data gives LOOP a route into business lending. Khusoko reported in 2023 that NCBA disbursed Ksh223 billion in digital loans in the first quarter of that year, up 37 percent. In 2022, NCBA also worked with a telco partner on overdrafts, when MTN Uganda introduced MoMoAdvance. More coverage sits on Khusoko’s NCBA Group page.
The test for LOOP BIZ+ is whether merchants who adopt it keep their sales, stock and borrowing on one platform, and whether POS data produces approvals that suit small businesses. LOOP DFS has not published merchant targets or loan limits for the product.
