Documentation

Linking Savings Accounts to Loans

Linking Savings Accounts to Loans

Link a savings account to a loan during loan application to enable automatic deposit of loan funds into the client's savings account.

Overview

When you link a savings account to a loan, you enable the "Disburse to Savings" option, which allows you to disburse the loan directly to the client's savings account. This ensures loan funds are deposited into a safe, interest-bearing account immediately upon disbursement.

Benefits

  • Safety: Loan funds go directly into the client's savings account rather than as cash
  • Transparency: Clear audit trail of fund movement from loan to savings
  • Convenience: No need to collect phone numbers or use external payment providers
  • Immediate availability: Funds are available in the savings account instantly

Prerequisites

  • The client must have an active savings account
  • You must be creating a new loan application
  • Log in to Symba Microbanking with a user authorized to create loan applications

Linking a savings account during loan application

  • Follow the steps to create a loan application
  • In the "Terms" step, look for the "Linked Savings Account" field
  • Select the client's savings account from the dropdown
  • Continue with the remaining loan application steps
  • Submit the loan application

The loan is now linked to the specified savings account. When the loan is disbursed using the "Disburse to Savings" method, the funds will automatically transfer to this linked account.

Modifying linked savings after application

If you need to add, change, or remove a linked savings account after the loan application has been created, you can do so while the loan is in "Submitted" or "Pending Approval" status:

  1. Navigate to the loan account in Symba Microbanking
  2. From the "General" tab or the loan actions menu, select "Modify Application"
  3. In the modification screen, locate the "Linked Savings Account" field
  4. Make your changes:
    • To add a link: Select a savings account from the dropdown
    • To change the link: Select a different savings account
    • To remove the link: Clear the savings account selection
  5. Save the modifications

Important: Once a loan is approved, you can no longer modify the linked savings account. This restriction ensures data integrity during the approval and disbursement process.

GLIM Account Workflow

For GLIM (Group Loan with Individual Monitoring) loans created directly in Symba Microbanking, the linked savings fields are not available during initial loan creation. Use this modification workflow:

  1. Create the GLIM loan applications normally (linked savings fields will be hidden)
  2. After creation, each individual member's loan will be in "Submitted" status
  3. Navigate to each member's loan account
  4. Select "Modify Application" for each member loan where you want to link savings
  5. Add the linked savings account for that member
  6. Save the modifications
  7. Once all modifications are complete, proceed with loan approval as normal

This two-step process ensures proper validation of member savings accounts before linking.

When a GLIM application is prepared through Symba Workflow, staff can select an active savings account belonging to the member client during Preparation. Symba Workflow performs the child-loan modification automatically after creation and confirms the link before moving the application to Review.

Viewing linked savings accounts

To see which savings account is linked to a loan:

  • Navigate to the loan account in Symba Microbanking
  • View the "General" tab
  • Look for the "Linked Account" field
  • If a savings account is linked, it will be displayed here

Important notes

  • You can link savings accounts during loan application, or modify the application to add/change/remove the linked account while the loan is in "Submitted" or "Pending Approval" status (before approval)
  • For GLIM accounts created directly in Symba Microbanking: The linked savings fields are hidden during creation, so create the loan first and then modify the application to add linked savings
  • For GLIM accounts created through Symba Workflow: Select the member's savings account during Preparation; Symba Workflow applies the link to the child loan before Review
  • The linked savings account must remain active for "Disburse to Savings" to work
  • If the loan is not linked to a savings account, you must use other disbursement methods (mobile money or cash)

Next steps

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