Capital Avenue

01Borrow

Live through a loan before you take one.

Set the numbers to see what every loan would cost you, then pick one, press borrow, and watch the next few days happen on a phone. It takes about 20 seconds, and you can skip ahead.

It’s the 16th. You’re KES short, and payday is days away. On payday, KES lands in your M-Pesa.

To borrow KES 2,000 for 14 days, here’s what each option really costs:

Without an overdraft, Branch is cheapest: KES 112, about KES 244 less than Fuliza.

No real money moves and no real messages are sent. The phone shows a re-enactment.

09:00

16th

Re-enactment

Use the rates from your own offer

Tala and Branch set a different rate for each person, and banks price overdrafts differently. Type in the rate from your own offer and it’s used everywhere: in the price list, when you live through a loan and in the side-by-side replay. Fuliza’s charges follow one published tariff, so they aren’t here.

The words behind the price

These come up in loan messages and app screens. Knowing them makes any offer easier to judge.

Access fee
A one-time charge each time you borrow. Fuliza takes 1% of the amount, so borrowing KES 2,000 costs KES 20 before a single day passes.
Daily maintenance fee
A fixed charge for every day the balance stays unpaid. It looks small on any one day, which is why it adds up without being noticed.
Flat fee
One charge that covers the whole loan period. M-Shwari’s fee is the same whether you repay on day 1 or day 30, so it suits longer needs better than very short ones.
Excise duty
A 20% government tax on loan fees. Some lenders show it separately, so the price in the app can be lower than what you end up paying.
Effective yearly rate
The cost stretched over a full year so different loans can be compared fairly. You won’t pay this amount; it shows how expensive the money is.
Automatic repayment
Fuliza takes back what you owe from the next money that lands in your M-Pesa. Plan for it, or the money you were counting on may already be gone.

How the numbers are worked out

Fuliza
1% access fee when you borrow, then a daily maintenance fee for each night you still owe, set by the balance: KES 3 to 30 a night, excise duty included. Balances of KES 100 or less have no daily fee, and balances up to KES 1,000 get the first 3 days free. Fuliza takes what you owe from the next money that comes into M-Pesa.
M-Shwari
One 7.5% fee covering up to 30 days, repaid here on payday. You can change the percentage.
Tala
About 0.5% a day plus 20% excise duty on the fee, shown as one amount to repay when you take the loan. Put your own rate in “Use the rates from your own offer”.
Branch
About 10% a month plus 20% excise duty on the fee, shown as one amount to repay when you take the loan. Put your own rate in “Use the rates from your own offer”.
Bank overdraft
About 13% a year, building up quietly for each day you use it, repaid here on payday. It’s only an option if your bank has already set one up for you, and arrangement fees or other bank charges aren’t included.

The messages on the phone are re-enactments written by Capital Avenue, not the wording of any lender’s real messages. Figures are a guide based on published charges, and lenders change them, so check the current charge before you borrow. Capital Avenue explains how borrowing costs work; it isn’t financial advice.

Capital Avenue is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by Safaricom, NCBA, Tala or Branch. Product names are used only to identify charges those providers have published.

Live through a loan before you take one. | Capital Avenue