The majority of people in the United States conduct their banking business remotely by way of telephone or the internet. This is because of tight schedules and convenience. Kenyans in the diaspora are no exception; they have tight schedules and like the convenience of banking and paying bills at their own time in the safety of their homes and offices.
To be able to conduct banking business remotely, banks require you to have secure passwords and answers to security challenge questions which only you could possibly know. These questions are set such that you would ordinarily know them but would not need to commit them to memory because they are part of your life!
You are expected to know your bank account number and the bank routing number. You are expected to know your address and postal zip code. You are expected to know your mother’s maiden name. You are expected to know the town where you were born, where your parents were born and may be the names of your oldest nephews and nieces. You are expected to know your high school town and the year you graduated.
The banks will ask you of these questions at random when in doubt, just to make sure you are who you say you are because only you could have all these questions at the ready without thinking… Or are you?
Life is a circle, births occur, live’s are lived and deaths occur. Kenyans conduct elaborate funerals for their kins. Elaborate funerals require money and culturally all Kenyans whether in Kenya or abroad are wired to raise money as a farewell to the departed.
The US is a large country, with the ability to move around, families and friend live far from each other. When disaster hits, information is shared online. Fund raising details including bank accounts, addresses, relatives and their dates of birth and places of birth are freely shared and posted online.
Whatever is shared on the internet cannot be recalled. It’s not only sympathetic family and friends who visit the death and fund raising pages of diaspora pages, identity thieves are looking around for information, that could cause more damage, much later in the life of those still living.
eHarambee.com is providing a cost effective cultural sensitive fundraising service in both Kenya shillings and United states dollars. Two payment processors PesaPal for Kenya shillings and PayPal for US Dollars ensure that all payments are secure and safe. Using Adaptive payment systems ensures that funds go to authorized bank accounts only.
To avoid bereaved families giving away excess information during fund raising, www.Harambee.co provides a category of Crowdfunding that does not require personal information to be made public; our payment processors do not share that information with us or the contributors nor the public. The organizing committee decides the account numbers and email address which they use in setting up the fund raiser. All friends’ supporters and family get to visit the portal and pay their contributions. The portal provides the organizers the list of contributors plus their contacts should they need to thank them for the support in their time of need, grieving is difficult , keeping track of those who provide support can be trying at best. Families availing themselves of the Crowdfunding facilities of www.harambee.co
protects themselves from identity thieves, keeps a contact list of those who stood with them and are able to reach many members of the family, friends and supporter through Facebook with the ability to contribute. Harambee.co provides a way to secure personal information, reach more family, friends and supports and keep a record of those who stand with you.
eHarambee.com beat the competition in: pricing, supporting Kenya shillings payments and in appreciating the cultural demands of funerals in Kenya. Total cost of fund raising for funerals and memorials 5.5% +ksh200 by PesaPal or 4.9% +$0.3 by PayPal every dollar counts. Compared to 7.9% +$0.3 by GoFundMe
Fund Raising Pricing & Fees
Every Dollar Counts
Pricing for Users in the USA – US$
| Platform | Fees | Processing | Total fees |
| eHarambee | 4% | 2.9% +$0.30 by PayPal | 6.9% + $0.30 |
| GoFundMe | 5% | 2.9%+$0.30 by WePay | 7.9%+$0.30 |
eHarambee.com has a Funeral Fund Raising special pricing on request
Pricing for Users in the Kenya – Kenya Shillings
| Platform | Fees | Processing | Total fees |
| eHarambee | 4% | 3.5% + Ksh200 by PesaPal | 7.5% + Ksh200 |
| GoFundMe | NO Support | No Support | No Support |
eHarambee.com has a Funeral Fund Raising special pricing on request