E-Financial
Fintechs Dangle Loans Online without Collateral

A growing number of Nigerians are now getting loans to meet their daily financial needs, thanks to the boom in financial technology industry.
Whether it’s a personal loan, medical loan, rent loan, car loan, education loan, business loan or just to buy some household goods – Nigerians can their your bills sorted out within few minutes without stress, and definitely without collateral or guarantor associated with regular bank loans.
Here are the 10 most popular;
- Carbon: Formerly called Paylater, the Carbon mobile app offers more than just quick loans and is owned by One Finance & Investment Limited.
Aside the fact that you can easily get loans from N5000 to N1,000,000 repayable for a tenor of between 7 – 180 days, your account will be credited within 3 minutes of submitting your application on the app.
Carbon One of the amazing features of the Carbon app is its recently introduced Cashback option, which allows users to borrow money and be rewarded with up to 50 percent of the interest rate charged if loan is repaid before the agreed deadline.
It may even allow you to borrow money for a shorter period without any interest rate or for as low as 7.5 percent (monthly), if you’ve maintained a good credit scorecard with them (by repaying borrowed loan on or before due date).
Also, it gives users the privilege of investing money in its payment portfolio named ‘PayVest’ via the app interface which yields an interest of up to 16 percent annually by investing in treasury bills and other money market instruments.
Beyond loans and investment, users can send cash to friends and family or any Nigerian bank account for as low as N10 per transaction, recharge airtime or data on their mobile phones and pay for bills such as electricity, Cable TV subscription, book for transportation/airlines/hotel reservations, and even school fees for most educational institutions in the country right from the Carbon app.
Though currently available in Nigeria and Ghana only, the Carbon app is fast, secure, reliable – as it recently passed the PCI-DSS compliance test (that is, a global security standard that ensure companies handling information have the right systems in place to protect customer’s data) – and works any time of the day, including on public holidays.
- PalmCredit: Owned by Transsnet Financial group, the PalmCredit mobile app offers quick loans for short term needs in less than 5 minutes.
PalmCredit Individual users can get a loan of N2,000 up to N300,000 instantly without any collateral or paperwork with a weekly/monthly interest rate of between 8% to 24% for a limited tenor of 7 – 180 days.
Once you repay your borrowed loan on time, the app automatically increases your loan limit,
- Branch: One popular app that disburses loan in less than 3 minutes after applying is Branch app.
With an equivalent interest rate of 20 percent per month, users can get personal loans from N1,000 up to N200,000 quickly, anytime, from anywhere without collateral for a tenor of 4 – 40 weeks, depending on your loan option.
Branch. You can complete its application process within a minute and receive your loan directly in your regular bank account shortly thereafter.
Presently operating in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, India and Mexico, the Branch app also allows users to spread repayment into 4 weeks.
As you apply for loans and repay on or before the due date regularly, the app gradually reduces the equivalent interest rates per month to as low as 15 percent and also increases your loan tenor.
According to the company, interest rates are determined by a number of factors, including user’s repayment history and the cost of lending for Branch.
- Quick Credit (by GTBank): Known for its digital disruption of the Nigerian banking sector and innovations, the GTBank-backed Quick Credit offers individuals, especially salary account holders with the bank an opportunity to get quick loans to meet urgent individual needs.
Quick Credit by GTBank. Accessible through the GTBank mobile app, website, GTWorld and Habari app, the Quick Credit offers users an instant loan of N10,000 up to N5million for salary earners at a monthly flat interest rate of 1.75 percent. Its loan tenor ranges between 1-12 months.
Aside using the GTBank app to access the Quick Credit loan, anyone with a mobile phone can also access the loan by dialling its USSD code: *731*51*51#. To be eligible to access the loan, it said customer must earn a minimum net monthly salary of N10,000; including having no history of dud cheques, bad credit report or unpaid obligations.
- ALAT (by Wema Bank): If you’re tired of your regular commercial banks and feel like being in charge of your money directly, get the ALAT app.
Popularly referred to as Nigeria’s first full digital bank, ALAT is owned and managed by Wema Bank, one of Nigeria’s national heritage banks.
ALAT From opening a full-fledged bank account, sending and receiving cash to paying bills and carrying out other banking transactions in the comfort of your home or office, ALAT also offers users the choice of getting a free and customised Naira ATM card and virtual dollar card for ATM and online transactions.
Besides, it offers users 10 percent interest per annum on savings in the ALAT app and also gives them the privilege of applying for a loan without paperwork or bank officials’ visitation to any physical location within minutes.
It allows users to borrow as much as N200,000 without any collateral or guarantor as well as schedule money transfers or bills payment without hassle.
- Eyowo: Eyowo provides simple, digital and reliable financial services to anyone with a phone number. Users can spend, send, receive, save and borrow money by dialling a USSD code: *4255# on their mobile phones or via the Eyowo mobile app or website or by just calling its IVR centre on 01-7001511,
- Aella Credit: This user-friendly online loan app offers as low as N2,000, up to N1,000,000 within 10 minutes after submitting your loan application.
Initially launched as a loan platform for employees of companies in its network, the Aella Credit app also now offers individuals who may seek quick loans to meet urgent needs. It operates in Lagos, Nigeria; Accra in Ghana and Manila in the Philippines.
Aella Credit It also allows any registered company to sign-up and joined its network, just as employees in its network only need their name and employee ID number to get quick access to higher loan amounts with minimal interest rates. With each timely repayment of borrowed money, users’ loan limit increases and while interest rate reduces.
It offers users loan for a tenor of 30 – 60 days, starting at a 30 percent monthly interest rate; though this may reduce to around 4 percent once the user maintains a good credit report on the app over time. The Aella Credit app also allows individuals and corporate organisations to invest on its platform via its website as it promises them annual returns from 15 percent, up to 48 percent, depending on its tenor.
- OKash: Accessing this mobile loan platform is only possible through the Opay mobile app, owned by the Opay Digital Services Limited/Paycom; though the OKash is independently owned and managed by Blue Ridge Microfinance Bank Ltd.
OKash by Opay It offers users instant loans from N1,500 up to N50,000 for a repayment tenor of 7 to 90 days, at about 10 – 24 percent interest rate per month. It also promises to offer loans at reduced interest rates once a user becomes regular customer on the app.
- JumiaOne: Though a multi-purpose android app, it is owned by the Jumia Group. Aside serving as an online payment platform for Nigeria’s leading e-commerce site, Jumia Nigeria, the JumiaOne app also offers loan to its individual users without collateral. J
JumiaOne Users can access loans by scrolling down to the ‘Financial Services’ section on the JumiaOne app and clicking ‘Loans’. Once you supplied all the information requested, including disbursement details, you get your alert within 10 minutes or less, depending on your internet network.
The JumiaOne app offers loans from N5,000 to N100,000 for a tenor of 15 – 30 days and even more days, depending on the user’s credit score with JumiaOne.
Sometimes, users get loans at 15 percent interest rate for 15 days period while longer tenor attracts higher interest rates and can be as high as 30 percent monthly in some cases for a first-timer. But it promises to offer bigger loans with lower interest rates on subsequent loans.
- FairMoney: This loan app provides quick cash for personal finance, house rent, health emergency, business, education needs and car repairs without collateral or guarantor.
Fairmoney With a repayment tenor of 2 – 12 weeks, users can borrow money from N1,000 to N150,000 within few minutes of applying, based on your creditworthiness. Also, it offers business loan for small business owners who plan to start up a business or to grow an existing business.
E-Financial
Zenith Bank Gets Regulatory Approval for Full Takeover of Paramount Bank

Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s second biggest lender by market value, has received approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to acquire 100 percent of Paramount Bank Limited, clearing a key regulatory hurdle in its East African expansion drive.

In a statement on Thursday, CAK said the transaction is “unlikely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the market for the provision of banking services in Kenya” and would strengthen Paramount’s financial position, helping it meet enhanced core capital requirements over the long term.
The Kenyan regulator noted that the deal poses no risk of reduced competition in the country’s banking sector. Zenith currently has no banking operations in Kenya, while Paramount is a Tier III lender with a modest 0.2 percent market share.
“The approval is based on the Authority’s determination that the transaction is unlikely to harm competition, while any negative public interest concerns regarding employment can be addressed through mitigating remedies,” CAK added.
Paramount met the Central Bank of Kenya’s KSh3.0 billion core capital requirement in November last year, reporting KSh3.118 billion after raising KSh332 million from shareholders, according to Mwango Capital, a Nairobi-based research firm.
The deal reflects a broader shift among banks in East Africa’s largest economy as lenders seek growth opportunities beyond increasingly saturated home markets marked by weak credit expansion, rising regulatory costs, and intense competition.
While several global banks — including Standard Chartered and HSBC — have scaled back African operations over the past decade, Zenith’s move signals confidence in selective regional expansion, particularly in East Africa, where economic growth and financial inclusion trends remain supportive.
The banking group is also widening its continental footprint. Last month, the lender disclosed plans to expand into Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, as it targets generating up to half of its profits outside Nigeria over the medium term.
Historically, Nigeria, the continent most populous nation contributed as much as 90 percent of the bank’s earnings, a dominance that is now gradually easing.
Data cited by The Africa Report show that profit contributions from foreign subsidiaries rose to 27 percent in the first nine months of 2025, up from 14 percent in 2024.
Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation drive is also pushing large lenders such as Zenith to deploy capital beyond their home market. In January 2025, Zenith — which holds an international banking licence — raised N350.4 billion ($242 million), lifting its paid-up capital to N614.6 billion ($425 million).
With higher capital buffers in place, banks are reassessing how best to deploy fresh funds as domestic earnings normalise following two years of windfall gains.
As part of the approval, Zenith has been required to retain Paramount’s 78 employees for at least 12 months after the transaction is completed.
The bank is listed on the Nigerian and London stock exchanges and operates across corporate, commercial, retail, and investment banking. Its international subsidiaries span the United Kingdom, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, the UAE, and China.
E-Financial
Court Jails Ogiemwonyi, Stockbroker for Theft of $80,000, N953m Shares Proceeds

Victor Ogiemwonyi, a Lagos stockbroker, and Partnership Securities Limited, his company, have been convicted for allegedly stealing shares worth N953 million and $80,000 belonging to one Mr. Arnold Onyekwere Ekpe, a former managing director of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).

Ogiemwonyi was convicted after he was found guilty of two-count charges bordering on stealing, contrary to Section 285(1), (9) (b) and (c) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 slammed on him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ekpe, through Messrs Margaret Onyema, his counsel, has sometimes in October 2016 in a petition to the EFCC alleged that he instructed the defendants to sell his 96,077,872 units of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) shares, which were sold at the rate of N1,296,885,311.02.
But he said out of the proceeds of the sale, the stock broker paid only N300,000,000.00 to him while he dishonestly diverted the balance for personal use.
Following investigations, the defendants were charged with two counts of stealing.
Count one reads:
”Victor Ogiemwonyi and Partnership Securities Limited between the months of June, 2016 and September, 2016 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly stole the sum of N953, 535,861.57 (Nine Hundred and Fifty Three Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty one Naira Fifty Seven Kobo) being part of the proceeds of sale of 96, 077, 872 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Shares, property of Mr. Arnold Onyekwere Ekpe”.
Count Two reads:
“Victor Qgiemwonyi and Partnership Securities Limited sometime between June, 2016 and July, 2016 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly stole the sum of USD$80,000.00 (Eighty Thousand United States of America Dollars) which formed part of the accrued dividends on 96, 077,872 Ecobank Transnational incorporated Shares, property of Mr. Anold Onyekwere Ekpe”.
At trial, the prosecution, led by Ola Sesan, called five witnesses and tendered 67 exhibits, all of which were admitted and marked by the court.
The defence, on its part, called three witnesses, including the first defendant.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos convicted Ogiemwonyi and his company, Partnership Securities Limited, guilty on all counts.
The court sentenced the first convict to pay a fine of N10 million, while the second convict was ordered to pay a fine of N20 million.
Also, the court directed the convicts to pay back the entire money stolen from the petitioner, both in naira and dollars.
Recall that Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, had in 2017 banned Victor Ogiemwonyi, from operating in the capital market for life over alleged unprofessional conduct in the Nigerian capital market.
He was also banned for life from holding directorship position in any public company in Nigeria.
He was also ordered to pay a penalty of N100,000.
SEC said Ogiemwonyi was banned after he was found guilty of breaching Rule 1(iii) of the Code of Conduct for Capital Market Operators and Their Employees as contained in its Rules and Regulations made pursuant to the Investments and Securities Act 2007.
The ban also followed petition by EFCC to SEC accusing Ogiewonyi of misappropriation of about N1.24 billion, $80,000.00, stealing and dishonest conversion of proceeds of share sale belonging to an investor.
It was alleged that he used his company to dupe over 300 investors over N4.8 billion with Arnold Ekpe a former Managing Director of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI, being one of his victims.
E-Financial
FCCPC Delists Non-Compliant Digital Lenders Post-January 5 Deadline

Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has commenced enforcement actions against Digital Money Lending (DML) operators that failed to regularise their operations under the Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations).

FCCPC
The commission withdrew the conditionally approved status of non-compliant DML firms and removed them from its official register of approved digital lenders, effective immediately after the January 5 compliance deadline.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tunji Bello, announced the measures on Wednesday, emphasising their role in upholding regulatory standards and ensuring certainty in Nigeria’s digital lending sector.
Mr Bello stated that the compliance window provided under the DEON Regulations, which took effect on July 21, 2025, had closed, paving the way for fair, orderly and due process-driven enforcement.
He noted that the actions target persistent issues such as exploitative loan recovery tactics, data privacy breaches, harassment of borrowers and anti-competitive practices that have plagued the sector.
The DEON Regulations, issued on September 3, 2025, under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, mandate all non-bank digital lenders to register, adhere to fair interest rates, ethical debt recovery and robust data protection measures.
Non-compliance now attracts severe penalties, including fines up to N100 million or one per cent of annual turnover, operational restrictions, app store delistings and potential director disqualifications for up to five years.
As of late 2025, the FCCPC had granted full approval to 438 digital lending companies, with recent data indicating over 521 firms now under regulatory scrutiny post-deadline.
The commission’s phased crackdown involves collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Google and Apple for account freezes and global app removals targeting unregistered platforms.
Industry watchers described the enforcement as a landmark move to sanitise Nigeria’s fast-expanding digital credit market, which has seen rising borrower complaints despite earlier 2022 interim guidelines.
The FCCPC reiterated its commitment to balancing innovation with consumer protection, urging affected operators to swiftly meet requirements for reinstatement.
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