tala loan

I think you’ll agree with me that the tala mobile app is one of the most popular loan lending apps in Kenya. It has managed this by being able to offer quick fast and easy loans to people looking to borrow money for an emergency. In addition to this, it’s easily downloadable for your android phone on the google paly store.

How can you tell it’s the best app in Kenya? Tala mobile app has upward of five million downloads. This makes it the most downloaded emergency loan app in Kenya, second only to Branch and Timiza.

Let’s be real:

These situations that require quick emergency loans normally come in many forms and when you least expect them. For example, unforeseen circumstances like a child falling sick, or not having money to load up your electricity tokens. In addition to that, you may need an unsecured mobile loan so that you can pay rent and even to pay for transport.

So what makes Tala the most preferred app for getting unsecured mobile loans in Kenya? Let’s just say, using this app is a breeze. Starting of as mkopo rahisi, they later rebranded to Tala mobile. And recently, the company held its 5th year anniversary in 2019. What this shows is that they have really been able to study and improve the app in that time, for you.

How does tala give loans?

This is a very good question, because compared to other loan offering facilities like banks and saccos, these loans are unsecured and are given instantly. Tala manages to do this by giving instant credit scoring. This means that once you download and install the app on your android phone, the app then, using Tala mobile proprietary underwriting model, draws up to 10,000 data points per customer to build a new credit score. This post by saidia explains it in more detail.

Here is the deal:

Only a few years ago, it was unforeseen that you could receive money directly from a loan app let alone have it sent instantly to your phone. But of late, we have this capability in the palm of our hands. Also, with the advent of m-pesa by safaricom, one can receive this money directly into their mpesa account.

What is Tala mobile?

It is a company whose main aim is to facilitate lending of money and other personalized financial services in Kenya. Tala manages to do this by giving instant credit scoring to new users and potential loan applicants. This app is also available around the world in countries like mexico, Tanzania, Philippines, and India.

So what exactly is a Tala loan:

This refers to an amount of money that is borrowed from a source for planned or unplanned expenses, and you are required to pay back the money loaned with a fee or interest . In this case, the source of the money is Tala and the money could be for personal financial emergencies or business emergencies.

How do you apply for a Tala loan?

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Tala App
  2. Select your language:
  3. Select either I’M New – Create account or Sign In.
  4. Enter your ‘M-Pesa number’.
  5. Enter ‘PIN’ for your number.
  6. Wait for the main Tala Mobile App Page to load and then proceed with the below steps.
  7. Select ‘Apply Now’ and answer the questions that follow.


To apply for a Tala loan, you will need to first of all access the mobile loan platform. At saidia, we have created a full guide on how you can apply and qualify for a tala loan. You do this first by downloading and installing the app from the play store.

So you may be asking the question, where do you download the Tala app?

Downloading and installing the app will only take a few minutes. The main place to get the app on your phone is on Google’s android play store.

However, you can get the app from other sources by downloading the apk. The tala loan app download apk is useful if you are having a hard time installing tala from the google playstore. 

On the Google playstore, the app has been downloaded over 5 million times. This makes it one of the most downloaded loan apps in Kenya.

How to install the Tala Loan app :

Follow these steps:

  1. Make sure your phone is connected to the internet either via data or Wi-Fi.
  2. Go to the Google Play store on your smartphone and open it by clicking on it.
  3. Once the Google play store has opened, click on the search bar and type ‘tala Kenya’ and press enter.
  4. Select ‘tala Kenya’ from the results.
  5. Click on the install button and wait for the tala Kenya app to complete downloading and installing on your phone.
  6. Open the tala app by clicking ‘open’


The steps above will help you install the tala loan app on your android phone. But sometimes you may need a more detailed tala download guide with pictures showing every step and with a video.  

What phones can you install Tala on, which phones are supported?

You need to know which phone can run the Tala app without any issues. Although most of the phones can run the application smoothly, make sure you have an android smartphone running version 4.0.3 and above. This version of android is known as ice cream sandwich.

Not only that, you can get to download the tala app from the windows store if you have a phone that is running windows phone operating system.

What about Tala for the iPhone that runs IOS? For now, the app is not yet available on IOS, so you cannot download Tala on you apple iphone.

Tala loan contacts:

You can contact tala in a couple of ways; one of those ways is reaching them through their very active social media pages. Second you can utilize their SMS service 21991 to contact them about your issue with the loan app.

Get more detail in the ways in which you can contact tala customer care here.

Registering to use Tala mobile:

Once you download the Tala app, you will need to register with the app to get an account. The account will be tied to your safaricom mpesa line.

How do you register for a tala mobile account?

Here is a step by step on how to register for a tala account.

  1. Once you open the Tala app, select your preferred language either English or Kiswahili.
  2. Select “I’M NEW – CREATE ACCOUNT” if you are new to Tala.
  3. Enter your M-Pesa number ‘+254 722 777***’ and press next.
  4. Enter ‘PIN’ then press next.
  5. Link your phone to the tala account by selecting “Yes, this is my new primary phone” and press next.

Those are the steps you take when registering for a tala mobile account. Although registering for the account is just a small part of the whole process of applying for the Tala loan app.

What do you do if your phone is already registered to another account?

Using a phone that is already registered in the Tala mobile system on a different account, you will need to confirm that the former Safaricom account holder is no longer using the number.

How do you do this?

To do this, you will need to get intouch with the person who had registered the number on Tala. Request them to send your full name and phone number using their registered number (current phone number they are using) to the Tala SMS number 21991.

Once you have done this, the customer support team at inventure mobile will work on configuring your account.

How do you use existing Tala account with a new phone?

Now you have purchased a new android phone. You need to access your existing Tala account; how will go about that? First you will need to make sure you have the Safaricom line that is linked to your Tala account. Second, proceed to download the Tala app for android from the google play store.

After this, you will launch the app which will then contact the team at Tala who will link your phone to your existing account.

The reason why you should use your already registered safaricom phone number is because it is linked to your Tala account. All your transactions and loan limits are there, so you will continue from where you stopped on your old phone instead of starting a fresh.

Tala Loan interest fees and borrowing limits

Gone are the days of queuing in a banking hall to access a quick loan. Neither do you need to visit a loan Shark to get money that you need for an emergency. This app has revolutionized how to borrow and receive money that you need in a fast and in a short time.

Look:

If I told you 5 years ago you could receive money instantly on your phone without signing any document? Most of you would have told me to stop living in the future.

Now we are in the future of money lending apps like Tala in the market, and it brings good things.

You may be asking how fast do you get a loan on the tala app? Normally, this is done instantly and immediately your loan is approved, less than a minute actually. Although sometimes there are delays in the system, the most amount of time it will take is 5 minutes.

How much can you Borrow from Tala and what are the loan limits?

This is determined by a few factors; however the amount you can borrow ranges from 1,000 Ksh to 30,000 Ksh. How it works is that you will be grouped into 3 categories, bronze, silver and gold.

So you will most likely start in the bronze category. This category of loan limits is often for new users of the app. Users normally qualify for amounts starting from 1,000 Ksh to 9,000 Ksh.

When you continue using the app, and religiously make repayments of loan amounts borrowed back to Tala, you will qualify for the next category. What happens in this category is that you will be able to qualify for more money. This is the silver category where you can get loans from 10,000 to 19,000.

Now, if you have been good with your money and the rate you make repayment, you will qualify to be in the gold category. Here is where they have the maximum loan limit of 30,000 Ksh.

You may be asking, what actually happens when you go to borrow a loan from financial institution like a bank or a sacco? Well, they have to vet and verify that you are going to repay the money they have given you.

So what happens when you are borrowing money from an android app? Given that the only interaction you will have with the money lenders is through the phone!

Brace yourself for the answer:

The Tala loan app does this using its technology and creating loan limits. A loan limit is the maximum amount of money you can borrow from the lender at any one time. In this case the lender is Tala mobile.

How does Tala Decide who qualifies for a loan?

There are a number of factors that go into determining how much you can borrow; meaning this determines how much money you can qualify for a loan. First factor is how consistent you are with re-payment of loans. When it comes to Tala, the more you pay your loans on time, including interest and facilitation fee, the higher your chances are for your limit increasing.

Second factor they consider is your income. Yes, that’s right! How much money do you make determines how much money you can get.

One other thing they use to decide if someone is approved is your m-pesa usage. All this things come together to create a personal credit profile. Now, using this credit profile, Tala is able to provide loans quickly and more conveniently compared to banks.

A question often asked is, what happens if tala rejects your loan application or you do not qualify to apply for one?

The company advises that you don’t give up hope. Go ahead and keep the app installed on your android phone, and in few days or weeks you’ll be contacted by Tala. They will ask you to try your luck again and reapply for the loan. Maybe on the second time of applying, you will be lucky.

What fees and interest does Tala charge?

Well, you will be surprised to learn that Tala does not charge an interest rate on their loans! Instead, what happens is it charges a flat service fee for amounts that it lends to its users. The service fee starts from 15%, however it can go to as little as 7% for tala customers who borrow multiple times from the app.

This interest rate applies for the 30 day loan offered. For the 21 day loans, the service fee starts from 11% and can go as low as 5%.

So the answer to, does Tala charge interest rates on the money that users borrow from them? Not really, but there is an additional charge to access the service they are offering you.

Let say you want to qualify for a bigger loan, then you will need increase your limit.

So how do you do this? Well, you will need to be making early loan payments of your previous loan. As much as this will help, this is not a guarantee that you will necessarily get an increase.

How do you increase your Tala loan limit?

Some people get frustrated that the amount they qualify for has not changed, while others are happy that from time to time they get to borrow more. One factor that leads to increase is early or on time payments of your previous loan. Although this will help, tala doesn’t guarantee that you will necessary get an increase.

We can agree that, most of us are curious on how this amount increases.

Given this different scenarios, once you have used your money and repaid it back, now you know what the qualifies you to increase the limit.

Repaying your Tala Loan:

By this stage you have done three major things. As a user, you have the tala app downloaded on your android phone. Then, you have successfully registered for an account with Tala company for a mkopo. Finally you have applied and qualified for a loan.

Now, it’s time to pay back your deni to the company formerly known as mkopo rahisi i.e. Tala mobile.

So how do you repay your Tala mobile loan? There are two ways of making repayments. Most common method is through the mpesa paybill. Here, you use the Tala business number 851900.

The other way is through m-pesa xpress, straight inside the tala application.

How to repay your Tala loan:

You start by:

  1. Open the Tala app and Key in your four digit PIN
  2. Confirm the amount you need to repay.
  3. On your android phone, select the ‘SIM tool Kit‘.
  4. Go to your ‘M-PESA menu‘
  5. Select ‘Lipa na M-Pesa‘ option
  6. Select ‘Paybill‘
  7. At this point enter ‘Business number‘ 851900
  8. Enter Tala ‘Account number‘ which is your safaricom mobile number that is registered for m-pesa.
  9. Enter ‘amount‘ this should be equivalent to the loan you are repaying.
  10. Now Key in ‘m-pesa PIN‘ and press ‘OK’.
  11. Confirm that you are sending your money to Pay Bill 851900 , account number ” your mobile phone” and “amount” and press OK
  12. Wait for confirmation SMS

How long do you have to repay a Tala Loan?

This depends on the type of loan you took. If you applied for the 21 day loan, then you can repay the loan within 21 days. If you took the 30 days loan, then you need to make loan repayment before 30 days are over.

Who doesn’t love options?

Here is the thing, this app gives you options when it comes to repaying your Tala loan. Meaning that when you are applying for your loan, you can select two options to repay the money borrowed.

Having a problem repaying Tala loan on Time, what do you do?

In case you are not able to repay your tala loan on time, there are consequences that come with it. If you pass the deadline of repayment date by 7 days, Tala charges an 8% fee on your remaining amount. Once the fee is paid however, you will be added an extra 14 days to repay your loan.

Let’s be honest:

Sometimes financial responsibilities can overwhelm us. This happens especially having to meet everyday expenses like house rent, school fees and utility payments. This may lead you to not being in a position to repay your loan.

Late Tala Loan Payments?

If you miss making your loan payment, it may result in you being fined a fee. Not only that, it will affect your loan limit in that you will be getting lower loan limits when applying for an instant loan. Also, having this trend of late payments may lead you to not get a loan in the long run, not only from Tala but other lenders like Branch, Timiza and Berry.

The result of late payments is very bad, try and make payments of the loan borrowed without delays.

What if you pay your loan early?

In this case, tala will not penalize you for making an early payment. In fact it may work in your favor whereby it could boost you to qualify for a larger loan in the future.

Nonpayment of Tala loan:

This will lead to you being contacted by collection agents whom your loan has been handed over to. This collection agents are like GILCHERYLTD who will send messages to your registered line. They will also have their agents call you to find out why you haven’t made payment and when you will be making plans to repay the tala loan app.

Not only that, long periods of non-payment of the loan facility will make you be listed with the credit reference bureaus (CRB). The consequences of this are very serious, one of them being you will not be able to apply for loans from other institutions like banks or micro finance lenders etc.

I can’t insist enough:

Not repaying your Tala loan has serious consequences.

Can I top up my loan, or get another loan when I have a pending one?

When it comes to unsecured loans given by Tala loan app, they do not allow for top ups of your loan if you haven’t cleared your previous one. This is different compared to commercial banks who allow users to get a top up loan before finishing paying the existing one.

A reason for this is because the loans that are given by Tala do not have security. In addition to this, to create a profile for its users, they will need to know how reliable they are at paying. This is because it will help them determine whether or not to increase or decrease a person’s limit.

Helpful Tips When it comes to accessing your Tala Account:

Sometimes you may be in a position with your account where you cannot access or use it. The causes for this are many for example, you forgot your PIN or in very serious situations or you keyed in the wrong one.This may end up in your account getting blocked.

So, is there a way to sort this out before contacting tala customer care?

Forgotten Tala PIN, how do I reset it or change it?

Given how many passwords and PINs we have to remember in a day, it’s very easy to mix them up. I remember just the other day, this happened to me. I was keying in my bank PIN into my Tala account.

But now, the good news is, this is not the end of the world.

Here is how you can go about recovering Tala PIN

  1. Open the Tala app
  2. Select “Forgot PIN”
  3. ‘Tala mobile app’ will then prompt you to enter your ID number
  4. You will then get a new temporary PIN sent to you via SMS
  5. Use the PIN to enter Tala App
  6. Then you will be prompted to set a new PIN

We live in a digital world, so it’s very possible to forget your password, especially if it is for the Tala app. This process will help you reset it and continue enjoying the services.

If you have Blocked your Tala PIN, here is how to unblock it:

Blocking your Tala PIN can be caused by the owner of the account asking it to be blocked. However, sometimes it can happen if you key in the wrong PIN very many times.

Here is how you can unblock your Tala PIN:

  1. Take a clear Picture of both sides of your national ID
  2. Open the Tala app and use the in app CHAT function.
  3. Write a brief description of what the challenge you are having is.
  4. Attach the picture of your ID that you have taken.
  5. Send the complete attachment to Tala
  6. Wait for Tala to unblock your account.

Tala loan app questions asked during application process

Tala loan application questions and answers:

When you are applying for a Tala loan, there is an application form you fill in that is in the form of a questionnaire. Here is a detailed list of questions that Tala asks and some sample answers.

So, how does Tala use the answers you give during the loan application?

What Tala does is use these questions as another way of determining whether you will qualify for a Tala loan. It is used to determine how eligible you are to receive a loan facility.

Does Tala reveal the information it collects from their loan application form?

With the Tala loan app, yes they do, but only in certain conditions. They only reveal it if you have not repaid your loan in more than 112 days past your agreed due date.

The information is sent to credit bureaus such as metropol, Transunion and creditinfo.

The team here at saidia is on a mission! The mission is to make sure that we help as many people to get information that will help them better their lives. We aim to do this by providing detailed, helpful and relevant content, step by step guides and lists. We take time to research and prepare articles, such as this one you just read. If you find that it may be of help to somebody, kindly share it on your preferred social network or email below or above this article. Thank you 😉