Frequently Asked Questions About Loan Apps in Kenya

To get a loan from your phone, you need a smartphone and internet access most of the time. Most mobile loan lenders prefer you have a Safaricom line with M-Pesa enabled. Then it would be best if you had a good credit score to qualify. As I have mentioned, others offer loans through USSD, so in this case, you don’t need to have a smartphone or internet access.

It depends on different users having unique experiences. To answer this question, I will have to differentiate the lenders that lend through mobile. These are regulated, lenders and unregulated lenders. When I say held, I mean those lenders that the CBK regulates, most of which are banks.

The best mobile loan app on the list of regulated loan apps is Timiza because you don’t have to be a customer of Absa bank to get a loan from this app. Their interest rates are reasonable too.

In this list, I can add Fuliza by Safaricom, Mshwari, and KCB Mpesa, which are readily available if you have a Safaricom line with M-Pesa enabled.

Unregulated lenders are the ones who introduced mobile loan apps to Kenya, and in this list, I can single out the best based on my experience. These are the Tala loan app and Branch Loan App.

The rest are good for user experience and interest rates charged on their loans.

I think I have answered your question from the previous question above. The most comfortable place to get a quick loan in Kenya is on your phone. You can start with Fuliza, a service that allows you to complete your M-PESA transactions if you have insufficient funds in your M-PESA account.

Then check Mshwari, and if you need more, go to KCB Mpesa. But note that you must have saved a certain amount to qualify for a loan from KCB Mpesa.

You can try the unregulated mobile lenders, but you better start with Branch or Tala. (Don’t rely on these apps too much).

Now that I have answered the most popular questions, let us go through the list of mobile loans in Kenya, as promised at the beginning of this article.

All the apps listed on this page are genuine. I have used some, and I know of others who have used them, so I am not in doubt.

The best way to find out is to download and try them. Some will not give you money upfront, be careful.

The only fee you should pay is a percentage at the end of the loan period; some will tell you upfront how much they will deduct, others will charge whatever they feel like, and you won’t know until it’s too late.

But this does not mean you should not go for a loan that deducts fees in advance.

No, loan apps are free to download and require no fees to get them.
However, some will deduct a percentage at the end of the loan period, and others charge an upfront fee that reduces your cash before you receive it. But this doesn’t mean you should not go for a loan app that charges fees in advance because there are advantages.

Many loan apps start with a small amount, and as you grow, your loan limit. Only KCB-Mpesa and Timiza can offer loans of 50K and even more. But this is over a duration of time. The only downside is that you must repay the loans within a month.

NCBA loop can give you over 3 Million, and you can pay within a good year.

All the loan apps that are not supported by a Bank or regulated by the Central bank of Kenya can give you loans without checking CRB. This case might change soon as the digital lenders association works to get these lenders regulated and access credit records.

The apps that can give you a loan when you are in CRB include; Tala, Branch, Zenka, Okash, etc. Also, some of the new loan apps in Kenya 2022 cannot access CRB records.

Most bank-backed mobile loans will not give you instant loans in Kenya immediately after downloading their app. They require you to deposit and use the app for at least three months before qualifying for the first loan.

On the other end, traditional loan apps like Tala, Branch, Zenka, etc., can give you instant loans in Kenya immediately after you sign up.