Top 10 Loan Apps In Nigeria

NairaMetrics List Top 10 Loan Apps In Nigeria

Tech platform NairaMetrics.com has listed top 10 loan apps in Nigeria according to user ratings as of September 2024.

Loan apps or digital money lenders, as the companies behind them are known, have become essential in Nigeria’s informal economy by offering quick and accessible loans.

This is despite challenges around their operations, particularly in debt recovery practices, which has seen the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) placed some of them on its watchlist and directed the removal of 47 of them from the Google Play Store.

Nigerians’ continued reliance on these digital lenders shows the demand for quick financial solutions, even in the face of complaints about unethical practices like harassment and defamation.

However, many loan apps are operating legitimately, adhering to the FCCPC’s Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and other industry guidelines set by bodies like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

With over 200 FCCPC-approved loan apps, one way to evaluate their reliability is through user ratings and reviews on app stores.

For this ranking, we focus on Google Play Store ratings, as most loan apps are unavailable on the Apple Store.

We first ranked loan apps in Nigeria based on this parameter in January this year. Interestingly, a look at the apps against their current ratings shows that there has been a lot of changes.

Here are the top 10 loan apps in Nigeria as of September 2024, based on their user ratings:

10. Xcrosscash (4.1)

Xcrosscash is a loan app that lets the user activate their credit limit. It offers instant loans ranging between N10,000 and N50,000 with repayment plans from 91 days to 180 days.

The Xcrosscash app has been downloaded over one million times on the Google Play Store.

The app has seen improved ratings over the last few months moving from 4.0 in January to 4.1 in September 2024.

The app has been rated by 34,000 users as of this month.

9. Newcredit (4.1)

Newcredit is one of the loan apps operated by Newedge Finance Limited.

The app promises instant, collateral-free loans ranging from N10,000 to N300,000 with repayment plans of 91 to 365 days.

Newcredit says it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze prospective customers’ financial records, including the bank transaction SMS on their phones and their creditworthiness from other lenders.

The app is one of the most downloaded loan apps in Nigeria with over 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store as of September this year.

Its ratings remained the same at (4.1) even though the number of reviewers increased to The Newcredit app was rated 4.1 by 72,000 users.

8. Renmoney (4.2)

Renmoney is a microfinance bank that prides itself as Nigeria’s most convenient lending company with innovations that deliver outstanding service experiences.

They grant both personal and micro-business loans ranging from N50,000 to N6 million.

With over one million downloads on the Google Play Store, customers have rated the app 4.2 out of 5, which is an improvement over its 4.1 rating in January.

The company has been reviewed by 28,000 users as of September 2024.

7. Palm Credit (4.2)

Palmcredit is a loan app in Nigeria also owned by Newedge Finance Limited. Through the app, Nigerians are getting instant loans without collateral.

It is not surprising that the app is currently one of the most downloaded loan apps in Nigeria with over 10 million download records on Google Play Store.

As of September this year, a total of 184,000 users had rated the app 4.2 out of 5, the same rating it had in January 2024.

6. Carbon (4.2)

Carbon is a CBN-licensed digital bank that also provides a loan facility and investment opportunities, in addition to usual digital banking features such as debit cards. Accounts are enabled for P2P payments, as well as bill payments and mobile recharges.

The app has been downloaded over five million times on the Google Play Store.

While Carbon’s download figure has improved from over one million in January to over five million in August, its rating remained unchanged in the Play Store.

A total of 161,000 users had reviewed the app as of September 2024.

5. OKash (4.3)

OKash is a convenient quick online loan platform for Nigerian mobile users managed by Blue Ridge Microfinance Bank Limited.

OKash fulfills customers’ financial needs completely online 24/7. The application process takes just a few steps with minimal documentation, and the approved loan amount is transferred to the applicant’s bank account.

The app offers loans ranging from N3,000 to N500,000, and the repayment plan ranges from 91 days to 365 days.

OKash’s user ratings declined from 4.5 in January when it was last reviewed to 4.3 in September. Yet, its number of downloads has increased significantly from over 5 million in January to over 10 million in September.

The app has been reviewed by 225,000 users.

4. FairMoney (4.4)

FairMoney is a digital bank focused on lending.

The company provides instant loans of up to one million naira, as well as a bank account and a debit card.

According to the company, FairMoney processes over 10,000 loans every day, with one loan disbursed every eight seconds.

This is reflected in the fintech app on the Play Store as it is one of the loan apps that have crossed 10 million downloads.

FairMoney app’s rating has improved from 4.2 in January this year to 4.4 in September even as the number of users who have reviewed the app increased to 690,000 from 587,808 in the last review period.

3. QuickCheck (4.5)

QuickCheck is a quick loan app that uses machine learning to predict borrower’s behaviour and instantly evaluate loan applications.

This app is among the top loan apps in Nigeria that have crossed 1 million downloads.

QuickCheck loan has interest rates starting from as low as 5% monthly on the first loan. Loans range from N1,500 to N500,000 with terms from 91 days – 1 year. Interest ranges from 2% – 30%, with an equivalent monthly interest rate of 1 – 21%.

Reviews by over 200,000 users gave the app a 4.5 rating as of September 2024, which is one of the highest ratings for loan apps in Nigeria.

2. Branch (4.5)

Branch is one of the leading loan apps in Nigeria with a presence in many other countries.

As one of the most downloaded apps with over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store, the Branch app has the highest number of reviews among all the loan apps in Nigeria and enjoys one of the highest ratings of 4.5 out of 5.

The app determines loan eligibility and personalized loan offers using users’ smartphone data. Their interest rates range from 17 – 40%.

Users can get access to loans from N2,000 to N1,000,000 within 12 hours, depending on their repayment history, with a repayment period of 4 to 40 weeks. The app has been rated by over one million users as of September 2024.

1. EasiMoni (4.6)

The EasiMoni loan app is also operated by Blue Ridge Microfinance Bank, offering loans from N3,000 to N1 million.

The company states its interest rate is between 5% to 10% monthly, and loans are disbursed to customers based on their credit evaluation results.

Although not in the 10 million plus downloads category of loan apps yet, Easimoni with over 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store, tops other loan apps in Nigeria with 4.6 ratings by 265,000 users as of September, an improvement over 4.5 it recorded in January.