When taking a loan, you are looking for one that’ll give you enough time to pay back, not the usual 7 days that end with harassment. Many of the apps on Google Play Store lie about loan tenure of up to 6 months and 1 year. When you apply for the loan, you then receive a message that you have 7 days to pay back, followed by insults. That’s not fair on the borrower. So, from experience, I will recommend the best apps that actually allow you to pay back after one month with no penalty.
This isn’t your regular ‘listicle’. Here, I’ll talk about the typical experience you might face using this app. You also have to understand that the experience can be unique to individual users.
Loan Apps That Give Loan for a Month
This list is in descending order, from the least to the best. Taken into consideration are high loan limit, good app reputation, low interest rate, and, of course, up to one month term.
7. Aella
Aella loan is fully approved by the FCCPC (Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission). It is also a microfinance bank (Aella Microfinance Bank) after acquiring Flourish MFB. Flourish Microfinance Bank is licensed by the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria).
For the interest rate, you’ll be charged up to 30% but you can borrow and pay back after one month or more. This isn’t a 7-day loan app.
There’s no guarantee that you’ll be given a loan after submitting your BVN, NIN, etc. The reason Aella sits 7th on this list is that while they promise 1.5 million naira loan limit, they typically pay out a lot less than this amount.
Unfortunately, Aella loan doesn’t have customer support in person or by phone. You can only contact them via email or through the in-app chat, which takes longer to respond.
6. PalmPay
PalmPay is legit and also give you a month to pay back what you borrow with interest. It is approved by the FCCPC, and licensed by the CBN. The problem with this PalmPay is that it doesn’t focus on loans. That is, it’s primarily an app for transferring money, paying bills, and buying airtime/data. But you can also borrow. If you need a focused loan app, install Flexi Cash. Flexi Cash isn’t PalmPay but Flexi Cash works together with PalmPay when it comes to repaying your loan manually or automatically.
PalmPay works more like a mobile money operator than a money lender. The experience is better than you will get from using those loan sharks who call your family and friends after 7 days to announce that you are owing. But PalmPay isn’t a Saint. They also contact defaulting borrowers via phone calls and SMS. What they don’t do is call the phone numbers on your contact list.
Their interest rate is 20 to 40%. This rate is different for different borrowers based on your creditworthiness. Also, if you are a new PalmPay user, your interest rate is going to be higher than an old user. PalmPay also adds daily overdue charges up to 1-2% of your loan if you default.
Palmpay loan uses Flexi Cash. When applying for a loan, you’ll see Flexi Cash. Getting a month to pay back also depends on the amount you borrow. If you borrow as little as 3,000 naira, then you’ll have 7 days to pay back, but if you borrow 30,000 naira and above, PalmPay will give you 20 days and up to one month.
5. PalmCredit
You can also get a month from Palmcredit but it charges up to 40+% in loan interest. Palmcredit’s rate can sometimes go over the roof. Also, this loan app adds overdue interest charge of approximately 2.5%. Palmcredit owns Easy Buy, Xcrosscash, XCash, and New Credit.
The repayment tenure is up to a month, but it depends on the amount of money you borrow. If you borrow 10,000 naira, you will be given 7-14 days to back. But if you borrow up to 80,000 naira, you will pay back in 3 months. If you borrow a 20k loan, you’ll pay back in 28 days. As you can see, the repayment tenure depends on the loan amount you qualify for. The higher the loan, the higher the repayment tenure. Please, make sure you confirm your tenure after taking a loan from Palmcredit. I have received an email from a borrower who took a 28/30 day loan of 25,000 naira, only to find out that it was changed to 14 days after a Palmcredit agent called to inform her that she was overdue.
One thing about Palmcredit is that they contact borrowers before the due date. Palmcredit also has a shady practice of crediting you with a loan you did not apply for, typically after you clear your debt.
4. Carbon
Carbon is licensed by the CBN and fully approved by the FCCPC. Carbon is a microfinance bank, so it also offers services like making payments, debit card services, and savings. The interest rate is typically 20 to 40%, which isn’t bad considering that many loan apps charge between 50 and 100%. This rate will go up if you do not have a good credit history. Carbon doesn’t care if you are a new or old customer.
Please note that Carbon sometimes doesn’t allow people to choose the amount they need. You might apply for 50,000 naira, but then get something lower. That’s more like forcing a loan on people.
The typical Carbon repayment term you can get is 3 months, i.e., 90 days. For example, if you take a loan of 30k, you will have 3 months to repay. The part you will like is that Carbon does not harass debtors. This doesn’t mean you should borrow from them if you won’t have the money for your repayment.
Let’s say you have borrowed successfully. Carbon won’t consider your repayment history or even the level of your account. For instance, even after upgrading to Level 3 on this app, you might still be offered as low as 5,000 naira.
3. Fairmoney
FairMoney is FCCPC approved and licensed as a microfinance bank by the CBN. FairMoney charges about 20% in loan interest and up to 40% depending on your credit history and the loan amount you want to borrow. Sometimes it can be 50%.
The higher the amount of money you borrow, the higher the interest rates, but you will have one month to pay back your loan. Also, the higher the amount, the higher the repayment tenure. For example, if you borrow 6,000 naira, you’ll have to pay back about 7,782 naira in 28/30 days. But if you borrow 750,000 naira, you’ll be expected to pay back 1.4 million naira in 6 months.
FairMoney tends to call borrowers 5 to 7 days before the due date of their loan. How long you have used FairMoney does not determine the loan amount you can qualify for. Fairmoney typically treats old and new customers alike. The customer service can be slow, and sometimes unable to solve problems.
2. Branch
Branch is licensed by the CBN and approved by the FCCPC. The major problem with Branch is its customer support, and then there are other issues you need to know. Apart from loans, you can also use Branch for money transfers, paying bills, and investing. But it’s better to use this app for loans only.
The typical interest rate is 10 to 20%. This rate is calculated based on your creditworthiness. Branch treats existing and new customers alike. Branch is very stingy when it comes to loan amounts, and they take your credit history very seriously.
Branch loans aren’t typically instant. For some people, it takes hours and sometimes days. Yours might be instant, but another person’s application might remain in review for longer than 24 hours.
The repayment tenure depends on what you select and the amount of money you borrow. You can choose your repayment date like 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, etc. You may get up to 1 year but your risk profile has to be really low.
One problem with the application is that after you apply for a loan, you might be told to come back in the next 60 days.
Branch does not harass debtors. This doesn’t mean you should borrow if you won’t have the money to pay back. Branch even has a no-penalty grace period. The app service is very poor. Customer service is not always responsive.
1. ALAT by Wema
You can get a month loan using ALAT, which is licensed by the CBN. The main advantage is that ALAT is not a loan shark. ALAT charges a monthly interest rate of 2%—it is a low interest loan app.
ALAT considers your credit history before disbursing a quick loan. If you have not repaid your old loans with other digital lenders and banks, you’ll either not be given a loan or will qualify for a very low amount that attracts a higher interest rate.
If you can’t meet up with paying back your loan, you can contact ALAT to discuss an extension of the deadline to help you clear your debt. It will come on their own terms, and ALAT may modify your interest rate.
If you have the money to pay back, but it’s not yet time to repay, contact ALAT to help you repay the money. You don’t need to have a history with Wema Bank to qualify for ALAT loan. ALAT is a very good app for quick loans, and simply the best loan app that gives loans up to a month.
Read Also: Best Loan App for iOS
