Why are mobile-loan APRs so high?

Two structural reasons. (1) Very short tenors with fixed fees produce mathematically large APRs, 1% over 1 week is ~52% APR because the rate is annualised. (2) Unsecured short-term credit to thin-file borrowers carries genuine default risk that has to be priced in. The 100-300% APRs are normal for the segment, not predatory by KE standards. They're still expensive in absolute terms.

How is "effective APR" calculated?

For a single-period loan: (total cost / net amount received) × (12 / term in months) × 100. For Fuliza's daily-compounding model: (1 + daily rate) ^ 365 - 1. The calculation captures what you'd pay if you took the same loan structure repeatedly for a year. It's the right apples-to-apples comparison across products with very different term structures.

Which is the cheapest?

Hustler Fund (~8% APR, government-subsidised) is dramatically cheaper than every market-rate option, but it has small caps (~KES 50,000) and limited frequency. For larger amounts, Stawi and Equity Eazzy Loan are typically the lowest at ~36% APR. For CRB-listed borrowers locked out of most options, KCB M-PESA at ~140-180% APR is often the only working choice.

Which is the most expensive?

Fuliza on annualised basis (~395% APR), but only because annualising a daily overdraft is mathematically punishing. Per-day, Fuliza is actually cheap; it just shouldn't be carried long. Among term loans, Zenka and short-term Branch tiers reach ~350%.

How should I actually decide?

Match the tool to the need. Genuine 1-3 day liquidity bridge → Fuliza is fine. KES 5-50K for a 1-month gap → KCB M-PESA or M-Shwari, with Hustler Fund first if you qualify. KES 50K+ over 3-12 months → Equity Eazzy or a bank personal loan. Never use a mobile loan to fund lifestyle or longer-term needs; the math doesn't work.

Kenyan loan apps 2026: the real APR every lender hides

Every Kenyan digital lender publishes its rate in a different unit. Tala quotes a flat fee per 21-30 days. M-Shwari quotes monthly. Fuliza quotes daily. KCB M-PESA bundles a facility fee with monthly interest. None of these are directly comparable without converting to a single annualised rate.

This article does that conversion across every meaningful KE digital lender in 2026. The table below is the canonical reference. Pin it.

The full APR table (verified May 2026)

Lender	Stated rate	Effective APR
Tala	15% per 21-30 days	~270%
Branch	8.7-19.5% per 4 weeks	~130-280%
M-Shwari	7.5%/mo facility fee	~110%
KCB M-PESA	9% facility + ~7.5%/mo	~140-180%
Fuliza	1.083%/day + KES 2 daily fee	~395%
Hustler Fund	8% per annum	~8%
Zenka	20% per 21 days	~350%
Mogo	12-25% per 30 days	~144-300%
Stawi	4-9% per 3 months	~16-36%
Eazzy Loan (Equity)	5% facility + 1.5%/mo	~36-50%

APR estimates assume the loan is taken at the stated rate and held for the stated term, with full repayment. Late penalties and roll-overs push effective rates higher. Source: lender published terms, paybillke calculator math, verified May 2026.

How to read the table

Three observations the table makes clear:

The variance is huge. From Hustler Fund's ~8% to Fuliza's ~395% APR. A factor of 50. Yet all are pitched as "quick mobile loans."
Bank-affiliated products (Stawi, Eazzy) are dramatically cheaper than pure mobile-app lenders. They require an existing bank relationship and salary or collateral, which most rapid-access mobile apps don't.
Subsidised products (Hustler Fund) dominate when they fit. If you qualify and need ≤KES 50,000, taking Hustler Fund and stacking it with nothing is the mathematically obvious choice.

The APR trap

The reason "5% per week" sounds cheap and is actually expensive: APR annualisation captures what you'd pay if you repeated the loan structure for a full year. 5% × 52 weeks = 260% APR. The math is correct; what changes between products is whether the rate is "simple per period" (260%) or compounds (Fuliza-style, ~395% on daily 1.083%).

Most digital lenders prefer to quote per-period rates because the APR figures sound scary. But the per-period framing also makes products look more comparable than they are. A 7-day Fuliza is structurally a different product from a 30-day M-Shwari from a 90-day Stawi, each has a different right-fit use case.

How to actually decide

Decision framework:

Need ≤KES 30K for 1-7 days only: Fuliza. Cheap per-day, irrelevant annualised because you're not holding it annually.
Need ≤KES 50K and you qualify: Hustler Fund. Always.
Need KES 5-50K for 1-3 months: M-Shwari if your CRB is clean. KCB M-PESA if you're CRB-listed. Try the KCB M-PESA loan calculator for exact numbers.
Need KES 50K+ for 3-12 months and you bank with Equity: Eazzy Loan. See our Eazzy calculator.
Need a longer-term loan (1+ year): Skip the mobile-app market entirely. A bank personal loan or SACCO loan at 13-16% annual will be cheaper.

A note on calling these "predatory"

The 100-300% APRs look alarming, but they aren't necessarily predatory in the legal or moral sense. Two reasons: (1) the short tenor means absolute interest paid is small even at high APR, a KES 5,000 loan at 200% APR for 30 days costs the borrower about KES 833 in interest, not KES 10,000. (2) The credit risk on un-collateralised thin-file lending is genuinely high; the rates approximately match the default-loss curve.

That said: never use a mobile loan to fund lifestyle, longer-term needs, or roll-over a previous loan. The math doesn't work and the rates compound viciously. Mobile loans are for genuine short-term liquidity bridges only.

Responsible borrowing

Three rules that protect you:

Have a specific repayment plan before borrowing. "I'll repay when I get paid on the 25th" is a plan; "I'll figure it out" is a debt trap.
Never borrow to pay off another mobile loan. If you're tempted to, you need bank-grade refinancing, not another mobile loan.
Track your CRB status. A single 30-day default can lock you out of bank credit for years. Free CRB checks: TransUnion, Metropol, Creditinfo.

Resources

Curated external sources we cite. Open in a new tab.