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. SC JUZA by Standard Chartered
SC JUZA is a mobile app that allows Kenyans to access loans of up to Ksh. 100,000. To register on SC JUZA, you need to input your personal details and Safaricom mobile number.
The interest rate charged is 1.60% per month and they also charge a processing fee of Ksh. 5.50%. The maximum loan period is 61 days. An additional service fee of 5.5% is payable in the second month for loans that have not been repaid within the first 30 days.
Download the SC JUZA app on the Google Play Store HERE.
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 M-PESA 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 (KCB) and Safaricom. It is a virtual mobile based bank account that allows customers to borrow micro loans between Ksh. 50 and Ksh. 1 million. The savings option has a minimum saving of Ksh. 1 and maximum saving of Ksh. 1 million at a 6% interest rate.
To activate it, just go to your M-PESA menu, loans and savings option and finally KCB M-PESA. In this case your M-PESA transaction history plus how much you have saved in your KCB M-PESA account will determine how big a loan you will get.
To be eligible one has to be at least 18 years old, have a registered and active M-PESA account for at least 6 months and an updated M-PESA menu.
The loan features include; loan amounts of Ksh. 50 to Ksh. 1million, 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).
The KCB M-PESA service is available on the M-PESA menu in the SIM Toolkit or through the MySafaricom App (Google Play Store & Apple App Store) or the M-PESA app (Google Play Store & Apple App Store).
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 M-Shwari loan, you have to be over 18 years old, have a registered and active M-PESA account for about 6 months and you also need to have updated your M-PESA menu.
To activate it, just go to your M-PESA menu, loans and savings option and finally M-SHWARI.
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 M-PESA, loan repayment can be done via M-PESA or be deducted from your M-Shwari 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.
The M-Shwari service is available on the M-PESA menu in the SIM Toolkit or through the MySafaricom App (Google Play Store & Apple App Store) or the M-PESA app (Google Play Store & Apple App Store).
5. Eazzy Loan by Equity Bank
This loan is provided by Equitel, a mobile banking platform by Equity Bank. 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 amount is Ksh. 3 million. 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.
To access EazzyLoan from your Equitel line
-Go to Equitel menu
-Select My Money
-Select Loans
-Select Get Loan
-Select Loan Type
-Select Account
-Enter Amount
-Confirm Details
-Enter PIN
To access EazzyLoan from Equity Mobile App (Google Play Store & Apple App Store)
-Link your Equity account (if not yet registered)
-Select “Borrow”
-Select “Get a loan”
-Select loan type
-Enter amount
6. Airtel M-Fanisi
M-Fanisi is a mobile loan service for Airtel Money customers. They are able to:
· Access loans repayable within 7 days, 14 days and 30 days at at an interest rate of 4%, 6% and 10% respectively with excise duty applicable on the fees.
· Open a fixed deposit account for a period of one to 12 months and earn interest of between 8.50% to 11.25% per annum, depending on the period.
· Open a savings account and earn interest of 7% per annum
· Transfer money in and out between M-Fanisi and Airtel Money at no fee.
How to register
· Dial *334#
· Select Loans
· Select M-Fanisi
7. Loop by NCBA
Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), now NCBA, launched their digital banking service Loop in March 2017. They updated it to include loans and overdrafts. To register for an NCBA Loop account, you need to download the Android app , iOS app or go to their website loop.co.ke.
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.
8. Timiza
Absa Bank Kenya (formerly Barclays Bank Kenya) launched a digital banking platform, dubbed Timiza. The platform 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. or on the Apple App Store.
Customers can get loans of upto Ksh. 150,000. Timiza offers loans of up to 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.
9. Whizz
Housing Finance (HF) recently launched a digital banking product called Whizz. You can register by downloading the app on the Google Playstore.
Customers can access loans of up to Ksh. 50,000. The loan amount will be charged an interest of 7.725%. The loan is payable in 30 days.
10. Airtel Kopa Cash
Kopa cash is a mobile loan service which is available to Airtel Kenya customers.
In order to qualify for a Kopa Cash loan you need to:
· Be an Airtel customer above 18 years.
· Be a registered Airtel subscriber for atleast 90 days.
· Have a registered Airtel Money account.
· Be active on Airtel Money account and other Airtel Services such as Airtime SMS and data.
To access Kopa Cash loans, you will need to;
· Dial *334#
· Select Loans
· Select Kopa Cash
11. Little Pesa
Little Pesa provided mobile loans for 7 days, 15 days, and 30 days to salaried employees. To access the loan, you need to download their app, create an account with your Safaricom number and provide your ID Copy, payslip and Safaricom Mobile number. On approval, you will get an SMS from Little Pesa specifying the loan limit approved.
They charge interest as follows: 7 days loan –4% flat, 15 days loan –6% flat, and 30 days loan –8% flat.
Their loan limits are based on the employees net pay, which is usually 30% to 50% of your net pay. The maximum loan limit is capped at Ksh 100,000.
Download their app from Google Play Store HERE.
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
While technically an overdraft facility linked to M-Pesa, Fuliza functions like a short-term loan, allowing you to complete M-Pesa transactions even with insufficient funds.
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. Pesa iko MCo-opCash Salary loan 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. NCBA Bank mobile loans
NCBA Bank Kenya offers loans to its customers via its mobile banking service. The loan is available via the NCBA NOW App and also via USSD.
To be able to get the loan as an NCBA Bank customer, you need to register for the NCBA mobile banking service. You can do so at any NCBA 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 NCBA NOW App. The app is available for download on the Google Playstore and on the Apple App 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 NCBA NOW App and choose check loan limit option. The minimum you can borrow is Ksh. 1,000.
The NCBA Mobile loans will be subject to a 1.083% interest rate per month. A processing fee of 4% is also charged. The NCBA Mobile loan is repayable over a period of 30 days.
16. Family Bank PesaPap Loans
Family Bank mobile loan allows both Family Bank customers’ and non-customers to access affordable instant mobile loans through PesaPap wallet.
To access the loan, dial *325# or log in to PesaPap App, open a PesaPap wallet. From the PesaPap menu, select My loans then select check loan limit and enter your MPIN and submit your request. The amount you qualify for will be displayed and an SMS confirmation sent to you.
The PesaPap Wallet mobile loan costs 6.62% in facility fees, recoverable upfront. The PesaPap app is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.