I-Invest Records N2 billion Treasury Bills Investment in Six Months, But Users Are Angry and Here is why

Parthian Partners, creators of the I-Invest financial app have announced that the app has garnered N2 billion naira worth of investments in the last six months.

Originally launched in partnership with Sterling Bank, the I-Invest app makes it easy for anyone to invest in treasury bills. Treasury Bills are short-term debt instruments issued by the Federal Government through the Central Bank to provide short term funding for the government. Treasury bills make quality stable returns for investors. But not everyone is knowledgeable about it or how it works.

https://technext.ng/2018/05/22/invest-treasury-bills-i-invest-mobile-app/

I-Invest was conceived to bridge this gap in the financial market. It was designed to make treasury investments a simple act for everyday people. With a minimum of N100,000 just about anyone can buy treasury bills and earn quality returns over time.

And according to Parthian Partners, the number of active investors on the platform is growing fast. In a press release, the firm said over the last six month, it has doubled its one year target and helped invest N2 billion for its users.

“We are happy that we were able to make this much of an impact at such a short time. This helps us solidify our goal of playing our part in building Nigeria’s economy,” says Oluseye Olusoga CEO of the firm.

“The more people invest with the app, the bigger the money market becomes. This is a step in the right direction although It will take some time to make a more significant impact.”

I-Invest User Number Grows, But Users Are Complaining

According to the firm, I-Invest now boast 60,000 app installs on both the Android and iOS app stores. And about 30,000 users currently have investments on the platform.

While that’s a huge accomplishment, it should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. For one thing, users of the app have raised important complaints about the app itself. Much of the reviews on the Google Play Store says withdrawing funds from the app is extremely difficult. But even more damningly, users complain that much of the bottleneck is caused by user identity verification issues.

https://twitter.com/Nnannx/status/1090483728986656774

An android user, Oluyemisi Falade says “If it is important to have KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements before refunding a person’s funds, then you should complete KYC compliance before allowing the funding of a wallet.”

Another user, Chukwu Iheanyi says, “If truly you guys at i_invest collect funds from people without completing their KYC. And now makes it mandatory to complete KYC because the money is you now.. It will be unfair..”

These are two of the highest rated comments on the app store. Although the firm was quick to respond to them, it still hasn’t simplified the issue.

Payments – PAGA, Paystack, Flutterwave etc

Loans/Credit – Paylater, https://t.co/BER0dv1UMI, KiaKia etc

Savings/Investments – i-Invest, PiggyBankNG, CowryWise etc

(Micro/E/M) Insurance – *uncharted territory*

(AI-based) E-Financial Advisory/Management – *uncharted territory* https://t.co/sg0ur7d20H

— Lumi Mustapha, Esq. (@lumes_bg) January 29, 2019

And this is shocking considering there are several powerful investing apps on the market already.