Sara Money, My Banking App Stopped Working and My Money Is at Risk

Hi all,

A few weeks ago, I wrote about government websites in Cameroon that promise digital services but deliver frustration instead. The pattern was clear: poor design, broken features, and no regard for the user.

Now I want to turn to another sector where digitalisation is supposed to make life easier: banking. Mobile banking apps have become essential. They let us check balances, transfer money, and pay bills without standing in long queues. But what happens when the banking app itself is unreliable, insecure, and missing basic features?

I have been using Sara Money, Afriland First Bank’s mobile banking app, for a while. It was convenient. I could check my balance, send money, and track my transactions without going to a branch. Then, a few months ago, things started breaking.

At first, it was small annoyances. Then features I relied on simply stopped working. And finally, I discovered something that genuinely shocked me: the app’s security is so weak that anyone with access to my unlocked phone could empty my account without knowing my password.

I decided to document my experience and then looked at what other users are saying. The picture is alarming.

My Personal Experience: A Timeline of Frustration

1. Login Fails for No Reason

Sometimes, the login just fails. I enter my credentials, and the app either freezes or gives an error. I have to try again later. It is not a network issue; other apps work fine. This has been happening on and off for months.

2. Transaction History Disappeared—and When It Does Show, It’s Incomplete

For a while, I could see my past transactions. Then, without any warning, that feature stopped working. For months now, when I go to the transaction history, I see nothing. I cannot track my spending, verify if a payment went through, or keep records for my own accounting.

Even when the history does load, it is missing a crucial detail: the account balance after each transaction. When I send 10,000 FCFA, the transaction line only shows the amount deducted. It does not show the remaining balance after that operation. This is a serious problem for several reasons:

• I cannot easily see if my account has been debited without my knowledge. If a fraudulent transaction appears, I would have to calculate my balance manually to detect it.
• I cannot follow my spending and earnings over time. A proper transaction list should show the running balance so I can track my finances at a glance.
• If a transaction is hidden or deleted by internal filters—or worse, intentionally removed—I would have no way to notice the discrepancy.

A banking app that does not show your balance after each transaction is not helping you manage your money. It is hiding the full picture.

3. Beneficiaries Vanished

This is even worse. I had a list of saved beneficiaries—people I send money to regularly. That list is now empty. The app no longer populates any saved beneficiary. When I try to send money, I have to manually enter the full bank account number every single time. This is slow and prone to errors. One wrong digit and my money could go to someone else. There is no warning, no explanation. It just stopped working.

4. OTP: A Security Nightmare

Now we get to the most serious issue.

When you perform a transaction, Sara Money sends a one‑time password (OTP) to confirm it. That is normal. But here is how it does it: it sends the OTP both as an SMS and as a push notification inside the app.

Think about that for a moment. If someone has physical access to your unlocked phone, they can see the OTP in the notification banner without even opening the app. They do not need your password. They do not need to know anything else. They can simply open the app, initiate a transfer, and read the OTP from the top of the screen.

This is not secure.

A banking app should never display a transaction confirmation code in a notification that appears on the lock screen or in the notification panel. The user should have to enter a transaction PIN, or re‑authenticate with their password or biometrics, before the OTP is even generated.

For users outside Cameroon, relying on SMS alone is already a problem—SMS may not arrive reliably. But sending the OTP as a push notification inside the app is a security flaw that puts every user’s money at risk.

5. Transactions Sometimes Fail

Even when I manage to log in and enter all the details, the transaction sometimes simply fails. No clear error. Just “transaction failed.” I have to try again later, hoping it works.

I Am Not Alone: What Other Users Are Saying

After experiencing these issues, I looked at reviews on the Google Play Store and other sites. Hundreds of users are reporting the same problems—and worse.

Updates That Break Everything

“This app was working so good until this morning when I was offered an update. I wish I had declined. The update is no good. Every action now leads to a freeze.” – Gabby Achunche

“After updating to the latest version, the app just freezes immediately after a successful login and I can’t proceed to see my transactions.” – Bundes Berg

Locked Out for Months

“It’s been more than a month since I have had access to my account. Impossible to see my account balance, so transactions are complicated.” – Dflorette

“Two months already since the app was supposedly put into service but impossible to connect.” – CLJoel

OTP and Authentication Failures

“Your OTP is all a mess it never works. You pretend we can do online transactions when it is practically impossible to do anything apart from viewing balance.” – AFB USER

“I’m out of the country and i cannot access my bank account anymore. The OTP is not working, and there is no way to select if we want to receive it via email or whatsapp.” – slandrytene

Unable to Perform Basic Transactions

“I was enthusiastic but now I am disappointed. Impossible to make any internal or external transfer. I cannot transfer between my own Afriland accounts. So what is the point of Sara Money?” – Emmabine

Poor Customer Service

“Despite multiple follow-ups with customer service, no contact or exchange to understand client difficulties.” – Cédric Klcp

“I have sent messages on your LinkedIn post to tell you guys that the app does not function but you people keep on telling me to send a message on the Sara App. You guys tell me how would I send a message when an app is not functional for over a month?” – OEDDE

Missing Features

“No beneficiary information on transaction receipts, no transaction history, no RIB.” – César90

“The loan option does not give you any details. Just the block amount of what was loan to you stands there. As such, you can’t determine what you owe and what you paid off.” – TAKU N. Samuel

The Numbers Tell the Story

The user sentiment is overwhelmingly negative:

• 53.3% of reviews are negative
• Only 19% are positive
• Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars on Google Play (based on over 1,800 reviews)

Why This Is Not Acceptable

Sara Money is not a game. It is a banking application that manages people’s money. When basic features like transaction history and saved beneficiaries disappear, when login fails randomly, and when security is flawed, the bank is failing its customers.

For diaspora users, the situation is even more critical. They cannot walk into a branch in Cameroon to fix issues. They rely entirely on the app to manage their finances. When the app does not work, they are left with no way to access their money.

And the security flaw I described—sending OTPs as push notifications that anyone can see—is a breach of basic banking security standards. It should not exist in any financial app, especially one from a major bank.

What Needs to Change

If Afriland wants to serve its customers digitally, it must address these issues immediately:

1. Fix the broken features. Transaction history and saved beneficiaries must work. These are not optional.

2. Show running balance in transaction history. Every transaction line should display the account balance after the operation. This is essential for fraud detection and personal financial management.

3. Fix login reliability. Login should work every time, not just sometimes.

4. Redesign the OTP flow. Stop sending OTPs as push notifications visible on the lock screen. Require a transaction PIN or re‑authentication before generating an OTP.

5. Offer alternative OTP delivery. For users abroad, SMS often fails. Provide options like email or WhatsApp.

6. Test updates before release. Users should not be beta testers. If an update breaks core functionality, roll it back immediately.

7. Provide real customer service. When users report problems, respond. Do not tell them to send a message through an app that does not work.

Final Thought

I used to recommend Sara Money to friends. Now I cannot. I worry every time I open the app whether my money is safe and whether the transaction will go through.

Digital banking can transform how we manage money. But only if it is done with care, reliability, and security. Afriland has a long way to go.

Have you experienced similar problems with Sara Money or another banking app? I would like to hear your story.

Note: This article is based on my personal experience and user reviews up to March 2026. I hope the bank takes these concerns seriously and improves the app.