Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ustawi?Product
Ustawi is a modular microfinance operating platform covering loan origination and servicing, compliance, AML, general ledger, collateral and insurance, check-off salary lending, collections, VICOBA/group lending, field sales, reporting, and a mobile field-collection app — built for MFIs, SACCOs, and digital lenders operating under Tanzanian regulation.
Does Ustawi support VICOBA and savings groups?Product
Yes — VICOBA/VSLA cycles, fund ledger, meeting register, shares/social fund/fines, and share-out calculation are native, alongside joint-liability group lending.
Is there a mobile app for field agents?Product
Yes, an offline-first app for cash collection, digital receipts, EOD reconciliation, and GPS/promise-to-pay visit capture, with safe offline sync via idempotency keys.
Can Ustawi handle salary/check-off lending?Product
Yes, including employer MOU management, payroll-deduction batch generation, and reconciliation.
Does Ustawi include a general ledger?Product
Yes, a full double-entry GL with chart of accounts, trial balance, period close, and VAT treatment mapping — not a bolt-on export.
Can I run multiple branches or multiple institutions?Product
Yes, branch-scoped roles for multi-branch institutions, and full tenant provisioning for platform operators running multiple institutions.
How is Ustawi priced?Pricing
Flat monthly plan pricing by seats and branches — Starter TSh 150,000/month (5 seats, 1 branch), Growth TSh 450,000/month (20 seats, 5 branches), and Enterprise TSh 1,200,000/month (unlimited seats and branches). SMS notifications are metered separately as an overage on top of the plan fee. There is no per-loan pricing and no annual tier.
Is there a free trial or demo?Pricing
Yes — every new tenant starts in trial status automatically, and you can also request a guided demo.
Do I pay per app or one bundled price?Pricing
One bundled plan fee per seat/branch tier, not per app. Which apps you can enable is gated by your plan tier, but enabling an available app doesn't add a separate line-item charge.
Can I change plans later?Pricing
Yes, upgrade or downgrade at any time; disabled-app data is hidden, not deleted.
Is my institution's data isolated from other tenants?Security
Yes, strict per-tenant data isolation is a core platform guarantee.
What access controls does Ustawi have?Security
Capability-based RBAC with branch scoping, fail-closed by default, plus dual-control (maker-checker) on sensitive actions and a full audit log.
How are field agent devices secured?Security
Through a device-trust enrolment flow requiring supervisor approval before a device can collect cash.
Where is data hosted?Security
Data is hosted in a secure, access-controlled hosting environment with data residency in the East Africa region, encrypted in transit with TLS 1.3 and at rest with AES-256, with strict per-tenant isolation.
Is Ustawi aligned with Bank of Tanzania (BOT) requirements?Compliance
Yes — PAR30/PAR90 aging, 5-band loan classification, provisioning, and a regulatory filings framework are built in. Ustawi itself is a software vendor and is not directly BOT-regulated; the institutions using Ustawi hold their own BOT licenses under Tanzania's Microfinance Act 2018 tiered framework, and Ustawi's tooling is built to support their compliance obligations.
Does Ustawi support AML/KYC screening?Compliance
Yes, sanctions/PEP screening, alert resolution, and Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) filing with goAML export.
How does Ustawi handle borrower complaints?Compliance
A complaints register with BOT-aligned prior-notice and extension clocks so nothing quietly expires.
Can Ustawi repossess collateral automatically on default?Compliance
No — a recovery notice must be served first; the platform enforces this gate rather than allowing it to be skipped.