Reboots are always done to bring whatever original property it is into current times, give it a refresh and if necessary rebuild the whole thing from ground up and this is what NSSF has done with the new NSSF Go App.
Given we are in Kampala not somewhere in the hilly tops of California, let us bring the point back home and why we are here in the first place. Let us also compare Apple to apples and not apples to something that is far from an Apple.
NSSF recently re-launched the NSSF Go App that replaces an app of the same name that originally launched in 2014. Not only with a fresh coat of paint but also new functionality to go with it and of course other things. So let us dive in.
It is also safe to state we are reviewing version 1.2.4 of the app on iOS. What NSSF fronts with this new update is improved performance, Bug fixes and Reset App, whatever that means God knows let us put all these to test.
So what is the NSSF App or NSSF for that matter?
NSSF is well NSSF. Our social security fund and its one of the biggest financial institutions not only in the confines of Uganda but in the whole East African region that is not a bank.
It is one of the country’s biggest financial institutions and a big part of that is thanks to mandatory savings from the private sector it safe keeps, manages, invests to grow on your behalf until you clock old age that these are disbursed to you as retirement benefits for you to live a better life.
NSSF seems to rotate around savings and their benefits, figures and figures so expect a lot of them as we continue.
For first time users of the app, it will prompt you to sign up preferably by mail or inputting the mobile number you registered with the fund but we chose the mail anyway, to which we were sent a 6 digit code to authenticate the app and we were good to go.
User Interface (UI) and Functionality
The apps functionality is baked into into its UI so the two go hand in hand. We were greeted to a checkerboard like UI only that this is painted in NSSF colors in variants of blue and green plus a little bit of white here and there.
Figures dominate this interface for example ones NSSF Number, their phone contact, email and since when the account holder joined the fund.
Current Balance
Then comes the pane that pretty much shows you an updated figure of your savings/balance. It is responsive enough to lead you to a the history of credits/deposits on your account throughout the ages from different employers. This as well is summarised into current balance which doubles as contributions, interest earned, withdraws and for what period has one been able to accumulate the said balance.
Retirement Projections
The adjacent pane displays Retirement Projections with enticing figures. It is also responsive once clicked and after this action, it leads you to your projected balance once retired (66 years for Uganda).
Historical data plays an important role on your current projections but you can tweak this Under the Gross Monthly Salary, Years to Contribute and the Interest rates sliders basing on preference to tell.
These are however based on your current salary data by default to respectively give you accurate projections. NSSF accurately puts its this way — The projections are used to tell your future balance after a specific number of years at a specific interest rate based on your current salary!
Last Entry and Salary Growth Rate
The last entry pane is more like the current balance pane, only that this displays your last contribution and the month for which this was done.
Then comes the salary Growth rate that projects your salary growth rate basing on how your salary has fluctuated over the years. Let us say in the year 2016 you started as a junior employee earning a junior salary and by the time of this review, you’re a senior earning a salary that befits that seniority, the rate of this growth is displayed here in percentages and graphs.
Employment History
Lastly, it is the employment history from the previous company(s) where your boss sucked to your current one where the situation is no different.
Clicking on it brings up a summation of contributions from all these employers, also broken down per employer plus the period for which you were formally employed with them, while they remitted the contributions on your behalf.
Last but not least
At the bottom of the App we can see the refresh tab which well does exactly that effortlessly, profile where your personal data is found as submitted to NSSF, Branches which has NSSF’s branch network. What we loved here is the fact that each branch has an allocated phone number right there in the app and a location finder over maps.Most regions are pretty covered here.
Updates is where you find news and updates and other value propositions of the app.
More opens up the side menu that actually has its particular row set of buttons on the upper left. This almost summarises the post important parts of the app like but in a personalised way. This particular pane is more about you than it is about your employers.
- Go e-statement that gives you the ins and out of your NSSF account.
- Pay contributions to get you paying for the contributions voluntarily and for Christs sake over Mobile Money. For now it is only MTN and Airtel Money supported. The same function has a dedicated button on the lower right of the app.
- Contributions Payments history shows like you guessed it, your voluntary contributions history
- Update Contacts which allows to update your NSSF number, date of birth, preferred email, telephone number and parents surnames.
- View Updates is the same as the earlier updates
- Share App is what allows you to share invite links to your contacts to download the app. This supports almost all messaging apps on the phone.
- Calculator allows calculate your would be contribution and that from your employer based on the fed salary figure.
The rest that follow have a lot to do with the app than the account holder like security measures of locking the app with either a PIN or fingerprint., NSSF’s contact information, their About, once again location of their branches, Toll free number, the traditional USSD code in case you need it, NSSF’s website redirect link and Exit once you’re done doing what brought you into the app.
It doesn’t stop there, if you’re feeling like being awesome there is an option to rate the app next, resetting and clearing the app and a better life that leads you to the main UI.
The User Experience (UX)
All these are easy to navigate and are responsive enough to give feedback once prompted. Overall the app’s user experience feels likes it is in 2018, which is a good thing for an App that just received a reboot from another app we don’t have kind words for. However, a few things will need some learning if you’re not a numbers person.
What we liked about the NSSF Go App
- Responsive UI
- Easy to use UI
- Voluntary contributions addition
What we didn’t like
- Updates section feels a bit disorganized
- Inability to create a new NSSF Account from the app
In conclusion
In today’s digital world, it makes sense for one to be able to track progress on their life savings at the comfort of their phones, without the need for one to visit a physical branch. The NSSF Go App gives you just that.
It also brings government services closer to the people by finding people where they are not the other way round.
