We have all at one point in time been in a situation where we needed some cash to sort out something urgently. The quickest source of this cash is family and friends, however they are not always able to come to your aid. A bank loan takes eons to come through, so what do you do?
Enter the mobile loan services, not only are they fast, they will also loan you the money with minimal fuss unlike the conventional bank. Check out some of the places you can get quick loans in Kenya for that rainy day.
1. mKey
mKey is a digital banking service that was launched by Finserve Africa in September. Through the app, customers can chat with their pals, read news, shop, pay bills, save and even take loans.
The app is available for download on the Google Play Store.
You can borrow from Ksh. 300 to Ksh. 1 Million and the loan interest rate is 9%.
2. Branch
Branch describes itself as a for profit socially conscious company based in San Francisco and Nairobi. To be able to access their loans, one has to download their Android app, fill out a form in the app and submit for a quick review.
When you download the app, it asks for access to some of the social and transactional history already stored on your phone courtesy of Mpesa and Facebook among other apps. Though this, they are able to analyse details like how much you spend in a day, whether or not you have a loan with other lenders, how much money you have deposited in Mpesa and who your friends and business associates are. Through this they are able to determine your risk profile.
Those who might not be on Facebook and as such don’t have a “digital identity” can initially request to borrow a small amount of money, repay it on time after which they can borrow bigger amounts with time. The good thing about Branch is that as you build your credit history, the fees reduce and you are able to access larger loans and more flexible credit terms.
The features of the loan include; loan amounts of Kshs. 250 ($2.5) to Kshs.50,000 ($500), repayment periods of 2 weeks to 1 month and interest rates of 6% to 16%.
3. KCB M-PESA
This saving and loans account is the result of a partnership between Kenya Commercial Bank and Safaricom. It is a virtual mobile based bank account that allows customers to borrow micro loans between Kshs.50 and Kshs. 1 M. The savings option has a minimum saving of Kshs.1 and maximum saving of Ksh. 1M at a 6% interest rate.
To activate it, just go to your Mpesa menu, loans and savings option and finally KCB Mpesa. In this case your Mpesa transcation history plus how much you have saved in your KCB Mpesa account will determine how big a loan you will get.
To be eligible one has to be atleast 18 years old, have a registered and active Mpesa account for atleast 6 months and an updated Mpesa menu.
The loan features include; loan amounts of Kshs.50 to Kshs.1M, repayment period of 1 month, 3 months and 6 months, the interest rates depend on repayment period: 6% (1 month), 5% (3 months), 4% (6 months).
4. M-Shwari
Launched in 2012, this collaboration of CBA bank and Safaricom took the country by storm. So popular was it that by 2015 there were over 10 million Mshwari accounts with CBA disbursing over 50,000 loans every day.
To be eligible for an Mshwari loan, you have to be over 18 years old, have a registered and active Mpesa account for about 6 months and you also need to have updated your Mpesa menu.
The minimum loan amount that one can access is Ksh. 100 and the maximum amount is Ksh. 20,000. The repayment period is 30 days and the interest rate is 7.5%. The loan is disbursed via Mpesa, loan repayment can be done via Mpesa or be deducted from your Mshwari account. In the event that you delay or default on payment, you will be charged a 7.5% facilitation fee on the outstanding loan balance.
5. MCo-op Cash loans
MCo-op Cash is a product of the Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op Bank). It is an app that allows Co-op Bank customers to access bank services and also loans.
To get a loan, you need to be a Co-op Bank customer and you have to have the MCo-op Cash app on either the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store.
You can borrow from Ksh 3,000 to a maximum of Ksh 100,000.
The charges on the loans are as follows:
- 1 Month individual loans – 1.166%
- 3 Month individual loans – 3.498%
- Business Loan – 1.166%
- Insurance on 3 Month Loan – 0.102%
6. Eazzy Loan
This loan is provided by Equitel, a mobile banking platform launched by Equity last year. The first thing that you need to do is to open an Equity account after which you are eligible to get an Equitel line. Once you get the SIM card just go to the sim toolkit, select my money and thereafter loans. Follow the prompt to be able to get a loan. Being a product designed by a bank, the expectation is that you need to have saved with them for a period of time before they can advance a loan to you.
The Eazzy loan features include; interest rate of 2%-10% per month of the loan amount on a flat rate, the minimum loan amount is Kshs.1,000 and the maximum loan period is 12 months. In case you delay to make a payment you will be charged a fee of 6% per annum above the normal interest rates on the amount outstanding.
7. OKash
OKash is a micro-loan service by Opera. To access the loans, you need to download the app from the Google Play store and apply for the loan from there.
Customers can get loans of between Ksh. 500 and Ksh. 100,000. Their loans attract 14% interest so if you borrow Ksh. 1,500 you will pay Ksh. 1,710 (i.e. with an interest of Ksh. 210). Their repayment period is 14 days.
8. Haraka
Haraka is a micro-loan service by GetBucks, a South African company. To get the loan, you need to download the app from the Google Play Store and apply for the loan from there.
Customers can get loans of between Ksh. 500 and ksh. 5,000. Their loans attract an interest of 23.45% so if you borrow a loan of Ksh. 750 borrowed for a month will attract an interest of Ksh. 175.90 which will make the loan repayment amount to be Ksh. 925.90. The repayment period is between 7-30 days.
9. Timiza
Barclays Bank Kenya has launched a digital banking platform, dubbed Timiza. The platform also offers micro-loans to Kenyans. You can register on the Timiza platform by dialing *848# on your Safaricom line or downloading the app from the Google Play Store.
Customers can get loans of upto Ksh. 150,000. Timiza offers loans of upto Ksh. 150,000 and the loan amount that you get depends on your M-pesa transaction history. The loan amount will be charged an interest of 6.17% (i.e. 5% processing fee and 1.17% interest). The loan is payable in 30 days.
10. Whizz
Housing Finance recently launched a digital banking product called Whizz. You can register by downloading the app on the Google Playstore.
Customers can access loans of upto Ksh. 50,000. The loan amount will be charged an interest of 7.725%. The loan is payable in 30 days.
11. Loop
Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) launched their digital banking service Loop in March 2017. They recently updated it to include loans and overdrafts. To register for a CBA Loop account, you need to download the Android app , iOS app or go to their website cbaloop.com.
Loop customers can access loans of up to Ksh. 3 million and overdraft of upto Ksh. 100,000. Loan repayment period is between 6-36 months. Interest rates will vary depending on the customer.
12. Tala
To use Tala, you have to download their Android app, create an account and answer a few questions that will help them determine whether you qualify for the loan or not. They conduct their risk analysis by checking your Mpesa transaction history.
Once you get your loan you can choose to repay in two installments within a month or pay once at the end of the month. Once the loan has been approved, it will be sent to you via M-pesa.
The interest rate for the loan repayment is 11% and 15% depending on the amount.
13. Safaricom Fuliza
To use, Safaricom Fuliza, you have to sign up on the MySafaricom app and opting in under the Fuliza tab in M-Pesa. You can also sign up via USSD by dialing *243#.
The amounts offered will depend on your M-Pesa usage. Once you get the loan you will be able to use it to pay bills and also buy goods and services.
The charges for the overdraft are a 1% access fee and a maintenance fee on the outstanding balance as per the table below. This means that the sooner you pay for it the better if you don’t want to pay expensive charges.
| Amount | Charges |
| 0 -100 | One-time fee of Ksh 2 |
| 101-500 | Ksh 5 per day |
| 501-1000 | Ksh 10 per day |
| 1001-1500 | Ksh 20 per day |
| 1501-2500 | Ksh 25 per day |
| 2501-70000 | Ksh 30 per day |
14. Salary loan from MCo-op Cash by Co-op Bank
MCo-op Cash is now offering salary loans to customers that receive their salary through their Co-op bank accounts. The MCo-op Cash Salary Loan is available to those who receive their Salary through their Co-op Bank account.
To get a loan, you need to be a Co-op Bank customer and you have to have the MCo-op Cash app on either the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store. You can also access it by dialing *667# on your phone.
Customers can apply for up to 1.5 times of their net salary as received in their Co-op Bank account up to a maximum of Ksh. 200,000. The charges on the loans are 8% and are deducted up-front before the loan is deposited into your account. The repayment for Mco-op cash loan is 1 month or 3 months and you have to choose when applying.
15. NIC Bank mobile banking loans
NIC Bank in Kenya now offers loans to its customers via its mobile banking service. The loan is available via the NIC NOW App and also via USSD.
To be able to get the loan as an NIC Bank customer, you need to register for the NIC mobile banking service. You can do so at any NIC Bank Branch.
To apply for the loan, dial *488# from your phone and follow the steps. You can also access the loan service via the NIC NOW App. The app is available for download on the Google Playstore and on the Apple store.
To be able to get the loan you have to have a minimum balance of Ksh. 1,000. To check your loan limit, you can dial 488# or check on the NIC NOW App and choose check loan limit option. The minimum you can borrow is Ksh. 1,000.
The NIC Mobile banking loans will be subject to a 1.13% interest rate that is also equal to an annual rate of 13.56%. They will also be a processing fee of 4% which is subject to excise duty. The NIC Mobile Banking loan will be repayable over a period of 30 days.