A review of some Nigerian loan apps

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Author: Claudia Nwankwo 

As a young-workingclass-single parent, I am very upwardly mobile, business minded and low on cash. I am almost always in a fix when it comes to money affairs. 

From one bill to another, I am oftentimes in need of money to beat one deadline or the other. 

 I used to run to my friends but I realized that mosttimes, they either do not have as well or take so much time to respond. Life became alot easier when I discovered loan apps. Some of which are quite more reliable. So, yea!

Nowdays, I simply use my phone and in less than 5 minutes, problem solved!

 The only thing that beats a no-interest loan is having to spend from the dividends of your investment(s) or savings (but for some, who hardly have enough to meet-up, therefore, have no dividends or savings) borrowing becomes an option.
Taking a loan is not a very good idea (I must confess) especially when you have to pay way more than you borrowed but sometimes it's the only/best option and its not so bad as long as you do well to honour your obligation.

 I am going to share a few tips from my experience, using some of your favourite loan apps in Nigeria.

All or most loan apps require you to have a verifiable source of income and social capital. So, you must have a job or a registered business with verifiable (physical or email) address.

Also, you must be ready to give up your privacy if you're hoping to succeed with your loan request. 

They require access to synch with other apps on your smartphone such as your contact, calendar, camera etc. Information on your bank account is not left out.
I would be highlighting some of the major things we look out for when considering a loan offer.

Personally, I always consider cost of credit. I compare the interest rate and time before settling for any offer. 

 Before taking a loan, there are other factors I like to consider, such as accessibility. 
  • How easy is the process? 
  • How fast can I get an offer/approval? 
  • How quick does the cash hit my account?
  • How flexible is the repayment structure and process?

 After using a handful of loan apps, I have settled with 6. These 6 have in one way or the other ticked most of the boxes for me. They have answers to the questions that cross my mind as regards taking a loan. 

 In alphabetical order, here are the 6 loan apps that work for me and I'll share with you why and what to look out for based on how I rate their service and offerings viz-a-viz my expectations.

  • Aella
  • Branch
  • Carbon 
  • Fairmoney
  • Palmcredit
  • Quickcredit.
As earlier mentioned, I am very upwardly mobile. I dont have time for long things. I love smart dealings. No hassles, no long story.

Of course, I understand that you have to register properly as a first time user but if it easy then I'm in. I chose these apps because of their response time and app interaction. 

I do not like chatbots. For now, I think they are a waste of time especially for loan apps. I mean...its money matter, it has to be handled with some sort of urgency right? Again, yea!

Read how I rate them👇

Credit growth: The rate at which your loan offer increases. With every repayment you are sure to get increased amount on your next request.

  • 1st Branch
  • 2nd Fairmoney
  • 3rd Quick credit

Customer service/News/Social:

  • Carbon
  • Fairmoney
  • Branch
  • Aella
  • Palmcredit

App performance:

  • Category 1- Easy to use, application and repayment process.
1st Branch
2nd Palmcredit
3rd Carbon
4th Quickcredit
5th Aella
6th Fairmoney

  • Category 2- Flexibility and usefulness
1st Carbon
2nd Aella
3rd Fairmoney

 Interest rate:
Palm credit 12%
Branch 28%
Aella 30%
Carbon 31%
Quick credit 30%
Fair money 38%

Overall: How I recommend 
  • Small amount (less than 50k), short period 2/3 weeks - Palmcredit
  • More than 50k for upto 3 months - Branch
  • More than 50k for upto 6 months - Carbon



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