Frequently Asked Questions

Readiwork is a Kenyan credit-data platform that lets individuals and lenders instantly verify identities, check CRB blacklist status, get credit scores, and download full credit reports — all powered by the Metropol Credit Reference Bureau. No paperwork. No queues. Results in seconds.

Anyone with a Kenyan National ID can run a self-check. Businesses and lenders can integrate via our API to automate checks for their customers. You need a valid National ID number and an M-Pesa number for payment.

Most checks complete within 5–15 seconds of a successful M-Pesa payment. The data comes directly from Metropol CRB in real time, so results are always up to date. You'll see your results on screen and can download a PDF report immediately.

Yes — Readiwork is fully mobile-responsive and works on any smartphone browser. M-Pesa STK Push is sent directly to your phone, so the entire process is seamless on mobile.

Readiwork is an authorised data reseller that accesses Metropol CRB data through their official API. We are not directly part of Metropol but use their licensed data infrastructure to power our credit checks.

Identity Verification confirms that a National ID number belongs to a real person, matching their full name and date of birth against the government registry through Metropol's database. Lenders use this to prevent fraud before disbursing loans.

The CRB Blacklist Check tells you whether a person is listed for unpaid loans at the Credit Reference Bureau. You'll get a clear Yes/No answer plus the outstanding loan amount if listed. This is used by lenders as a first-pass screening step.

A credit score (200–900 scale) is a number representing your creditworthiness. It is computed by Metropol CRB based on your loan repayment history, number of active accounts, outstanding balances, length of credit history, and delinquency records. A higher score means lower credit risk. Scores above 700 are generally considered good.

A Full Credit Report includes your complete loan history — all accounts (active and closed), lenders, outstanding balances, overdue amounts, guarantor details, and sector performance. It is available as a formatted PDF or a structured JSON response for API users.

The Loan Eligibility Check bundles Identity Verification and CRB Blacklist Check into a single API call, giving you one combined answer: "Eligible" or "Not Eligible" for a loan. It is the fastest and most cost-effective way for lenders to screen applicants.

Yes — lenders and businesses may check a customer's credit with their explicit written or digital consent. This is standard practice for credit assessment in Kenya. Individual self-checks (checking your own record) require no additional consent.

Readiwork uses a pay-per-check model. You pay via M-Pesa for each check you run. There are no monthly subscriptions or hidden fees. Business API users can top up their credit balance and checks are deducted from that balance automatically.

Currently we accept M-Pesa (STK Push). When you initiate a check, you'll enter your M-Pesa number and receive a PIN prompt directly on your phone. Business accounts can also arrange bulk invoice payments — contact us for details.

If you cancel the M-Pesa prompt, enter the wrong PIN, or the payment times out, no charge is made and you can try again. If money is deducted but the result page shows an error, please contact support at hello@readiwork.co.ke with your M-Pesa receipt number for a prompt refund.

VAT at 16% is added at checkout for individual checks. Prices shown on the pricing page are pre-VAT. Business API users should note that their invoices will include VAT as required by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) regulations.

Yes. Business API users who top up KSh 20,000 get 10% bonus credits; KSh 50,000 gets 15% extra; KSh 100,000+ gets 20% extra. For enterprise volumes or custom pricing, please contact us at hello@readiwork.co.ke.

Yes. We transmit all data over encrypted HTTPS connections and never store your National ID number in plain text after the check is complete. Our servers are hosted in a secured environment and access is strictly controlled. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

We retain your credit check result for 30 days to allow you to re-download your report. After that, identifying personal data is purged from our systems. You can also request immediate deletion by emailing hello@readiwork.co.ke.

No. A self-check (individual checking their own record) is a "soft inquiry" and does not affect your credit score. Only formal credit applications (lender-initiated "hard inquiries") may impact your score. Readiwork checks are designed as soft inquiries.

Only you (and the entity that pays for the check) can see the report. Readiwork staff do not view your personal report data. If a business uses our API to check your credit, they must have your consent as required by the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019.

Readiwork complies with the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019 (DPA 2019) and the guidelines issued by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC). Metropol CRB operations are also regulated under the Banking (Credit Reference Bureau) Regulations 2020.

Visit our Get Started page. Once registered, your API key is available in your dashboard. You get free test credits to explore all endpoints in sandbox mode before going live.

Yes. All new accounts start in sandbox mode with test credits. In sandbox mode you can call all endpoints and receive realistic mock responses without being billed. Switch to live mode from your dashboard when you're ready to go live.

Readiwork's API is a standard REST API over HTTPS, so it works with any language — PHP, Python, JavaScript/Node.js, Java, Ruby, Go, etc. We provide code examples in PHP, Python, and cURL on our API Reference page.

Standard accounts can make up to 60 requests per minute. Enterprise accounts have higher limits. If you exceed the limit, you'll receive a 429 response and should retry after 1 second. Contact us if you need higher throughput for your use case.

Yes. Licensed lenders can submit credit data (single or bulk) to Metropol CRB through our Data Submission API. This is a regulated service — contact us at hello@readiwork.co.ke to discuss pricing and compliance requirements.