Best Loan Apps In Kenya Of 2024 Revealed!

Loan apps in Kenya are emergency credit solutions accessible via mobile phones without the necessity of traditional banking processes such as documentation and collateral.

Due to their easy eligibility criteria, loan app popularity has risen tremendously over the years as a source of quick emergency cash.

Other notable factors contributing to loan app popularity in Kenya include;

i) Convenience– loan apps readily avail credit to eligible borrowers at any place and time.

ii) Speed- loan apps offer fast disbursement times and as such are helpful during financial emergencies

iii) Flexible repayment options– loan apps offer a range of repayment options depending on the loan amount with some lenders also providing loan due date extension options

iv) Personalized loan offers– most loan apps that require permission access to your phone data do so to utilize such data in the provision of personalized loan offers based on your credit behavioral analysis.

v)Transparent fees & charges– loan apps usually provide loan summary details detailing the total cost of your loan prior to loan disbursements.

vi) Credit score building– frequent uptake and on-time repayments of loan apps positively impacts your credit score and further increases your chances of accessing larger loan limits in future.

Ranking Criteria For Loan Apps In Kenya

Besides the general benefits of loan apps in Kenya, there are other useful criteria useful in distinguishing loan apps from each other thereby creating borrower preferences in terms of reliability.

Some of these criteria include;

1. USSD loan codes: Ussd codes are pre-configured network codes that enable easier communication between network operator, service provider and user without the necessity of loan app installations.

2. App platform diversification: This refers to the accessibility of a loan app service through a variety of different platform options such as android, iOS or ussd

3. Network carrier diversification: This refers to the accessibility of loan app service through a range of network providers in Kenya such as Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom etc

Currently, the majority of loan apps in Kenya are biased towards Safaricom due to its MPesa service.

4. MPesa STK integration: This refers to a request that triggers an MPesa prompt requiring only your MPesa PIN to complete a transaction. This method ultimately minimizes manual input of paybill numbers/account numbers during repayment processes.

5. Effective communication channels: This includes active contact channels through which borrowers can efficiently interact with the loan service provider in relation to their service delivery.

6. Loan extension: This entails prolonging your loan repayment due date without the risk of a loan default. Currently, there are a few loan apps with loan extension features.

7. Grace period: A grace period refers to the period past a loan due date but before accruing of extra charges associated with default penalties. Repayments made during this period are usually not penalized and do not affect your credit score.

8. Registration fees: Registration fees are small payments made to a loan app lender during loan application processes. Such fees cater for loan processing charges or CRB checks.

However, most fraudulent loan apps in Kenya adopt registration fees in-order to scam unsuspecting borrowers.

9. CRB checks: CRB checks are among the lending decision techniques adopted by some mobile loan lenders to identify blacklisted individuals and ultimately deny them loans.

10. Loan limits: Substantial loan amounts provide more benefit to a borrower than small amounts consolidated from multiple loan apps which may lead to debt cycles.

11. Loan duration: Long term loans provide easier money management opportunities by allowing borrowers to effectively plan for repayment

12. Pre-interest deductions: This refers to the deduction of interest amounts before the actual disbursement of the funds whereby the amount received is usually less than the loan application amount.

Types Of Loan Apps In Kenya

With the above ranking criteria, let us now look at some of the different types of loan apps in Kenya and the best loan apps per category.

Personal Loan Apps In Kenya

These are loan apps catered to a variety of individual financial emergencies. Most require basic information such as names, date of birth, gender, phone number, email address etc during registration process.

Business Loan Apps In Kenya

These are loan apps catered to individuals with businesses. Besides the basic information requested by personal apps, business loan apps focus mostly on business details such as business name, registration certificate etc

Furthermore, business loan approvals are dependent upon submission of business financial transaction records such as MPesa statement or bank statement.

Bank-Based Loan Apps In Kenya

These are loan apps provided by financial institutions such as commercial banks and MFIs. Bank-based loan apps require borrowers to maintain an account for a certain duration with the institution before being eligible for their loans.

In addition, activation of mobile banking is also a necessity for some.

Salary Advance Loan Apps In Kenya

Salary advance loan apps are targeted towards individuals in employment who are earning salaries whereby the salary loan limit amounts are dependent upon an individual’s net income salary.

Sacco-based Loan Apps In Kenya