This post has been compiled to summarise our findings from our study on the Polish sector as it stands today. We started with the introduction (Kredyty w Polsce) and we then went on to introduce 10 of the most popular lenders. The biggest finding was to see so many 0% first time customer deals. Many can offer this due to the low default risks attached with consumer debt being uncommon here. It was a surprise though to see that 8/10 of the featured firms offered a 0% deal. Each has followed this trend to simply remain competitive. They make their money through extensions and subsequent cash requests.
We scored each company on a 30 day term, but flexible repayments are always offered. The websites are built well on the tech side and the speed to payout is fast. A 0.01 PLN banking registration fee is common, although this is later returned. The local currency is the Polish Zloty. The lenders generally offer between 100 zł and 3000 zł that roughly translates as £19 to £570. We scored the companies on the sum of 500 zł (around £95). From those below, you will recognise Vivus and Wonga. Ekspres Kasa is also part of the Ferratum Group and OK Money is owned by DFC Global (the team behind PaydayUK).
Comparison: Cost /500 zł with 30 Day Term:
1) Vivus: 0 | 70*
2) Via SMS: 0 | 78
3) Soho Credit: 0 | 95.50
4) Wonga: 0 | 115.75 (Loyalty*)
5) Net Credit: 0 | 125
6) Filarum: 0 | 140.54
7) Kredito24: 0 | 150
8) OK Money: 0 | 160
9) MiniCredit: 98
10) Ekspres Kasa: 165*
* The #1 ranked Vivus monthly return cost of 70 translates to £13.25/£95
* The #10 ranked Ekspres Kasa monthly return cost of 165 translates to £31.23/£95
*Wonga’s Loyalty program (Plus, Premium, Max) can see reductions to 86.25, 71.55 and 63. This “Max” cost of 63 equates to £11.93/£95 that is the lowest sector rate, but it would likely take several loans to get to this level (assuming that you always pay on time). One final note about Wonga is that they impressively stretch to 60 days on the initial trial (rather than just the month).
Applicants must also be aged at 20 years old or above. This may put some applicants off and at the same time there is no special deal in place to welcome in new customers as there is with several leading Polish lenders. Flexible terms are provided between 5 and 30 days. Between 100 and 500 zł is accessible to new clients and in time 2000 will be possible. The product cost per 500 would be 23 for 7 days or 98 over the full 30 day term. Although there is no 0% deal in place, these charges are competitive when you factor in the return charges of rival companies.
Loan applications are processed from Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 7pm and each Saturday from 9am to 5pm. The MiniCredit PL loans can be securely managed through www.mini-credit.pl. If you are looking to make an extension they then allow you to do this over 5, 15 or 30 days. MiniCredit appears to be one of the initial short term brands that entered the now highly competitive Polish sector. In recent years they have lost their traction though, with there being around 10 more popular direct lenders. It is difficult for them to emerge as a headliner since they don’t offer 0% introductory deals.
These pricing examples work out more expensive than the returning costs in place at Soho. Several banks are listed by them and if yours is on this list then you can benefit from speedy fast funding within the hour. This payment needs to be initially triggered with a payment of 0.01 that will later be credited to you. All Polish residents must be aged between 21 and 70 to qualify. Once approved, these Filarum Polska loans can be managed at any time through www.filarum.pl. In the case that an extension needs to be made then this can be done over the periods of 7, 14 or 30.
They have a dedicated page covering extensions that is where they would be looking to generate profits in light of the 0% periods. It is unknown when this company launched, but our best estimate would be 2013 and so if this is the case then they have progressed well in the little time that they have been active. Trading times of 7am to 11pm are listed, but the days of operation are not displayed. The popular comparison website (Finmarket PL) did highlight that this was Monday to Sunday. Further to this, the owner operates daily at Soho Credit and so weekend coverage would also be expected to be in place here.
The cost of a loan of 500 would be 165 over the month (only return clients can access this amount). Once approved and when you have placed 0.01 to authorise your account (later refunded), the cash could be received quickly. This was headed as taking an hour, but they state that they have enhanced the speed and can now get the funds to you in just 10 minutes. Each applicant must be aged at 21 or above. They always have age restrictions like this in place as seen in their UK Service. Such applications are processed between Monday and Friday from 9am to 9pm and on Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
You can manage these microloans once securely logged into www.ekspreskasa.pl. It would be recommended to request funds from your computer since SMS requests from your phone attract charges at the amount of 0.62 each. The Ekspres Kasa loans do not include any 0% introductory deals for new customers and so it won’t be easy for them to compete with the leading names. There is no doubt that the Ferratum Group earns high praise for their vast international coverage. This is set to increase considerably in the years ahead as well. They state on their corporate website that they are soon hoping to trade in over 50 countries.
This 0% rate is handed to new customers covering the amounts of 200 to 500 zł with a term of 15 or 30 days. Returning customers can eventually receive up to 3000 PLN max and over the month they would pay 160 per 500 borrowed. Bank accounts must be validated with 0.01 that is later returned to the customer. OK Money loan logins are provided through the www.okmoney.pl site. It is stated that decisions are immediate, however funding is only processed between Monday and Friday from 8am to 6pm. You should receive cash within the hour, although your bank must be listed to obtain these speedy transfers.
Extensions are available that takes on a full interest charge. There is no doubt that DFC are growing quickly across Europe. They have for many years took a chunk of the UK market share that is arguably the most competitive region to compete in. Across Britain their main brand (PaydayUK) has a monthly term only with the pricing floating at around 1% daily. Here in Poland, they allow 15 days (as well as 30) and they welcome new customers in at 0% that shows that they have had to adapt. The top Polish lenders still carry the edge though in providing more flexible terms and in trading 7/7 days.
A returning user looking to receive 500 over 7 days would pay 41.45 or they would pay 95.50 over the month. You must confirm your bank with 1.00 that they later hand back to you. Once approved you could potentially receive cash in the bank in just 15 minutes. If you don’t have an account with any of the major banks that are listed by them then the payment will be delayed until the next working day. Soho Credit operates daily from 8am to 10pm, although they stop sending payments an hour before closing (9pm). You can fully service your loan at any time through www.sohocredit.pl.
There are some impressive features in place such as the 0% deal and the extended 7 day trading times, but it would be preferential to see more company info presented. There is for instance no about us page or group corporate website and so it is unclear on where they are centrally based, when they started out etc. As noted, they have expanded across other Euro locations and they are particularly well known here in Poland where Soho Credit is a highly recognisable brand. Due to the fierce local competition, there are still 5 short term lenders standing ahead of them, although with the aid of Filarum they do sit much closer to the market leaders.
The first loan is free between 150 and 1000 zł, whilst in time you may qualify for 3000. For those returning to use them, 500 is not selectable on the payment calculator, but with playing around with some numbers this would work out over 7 days at 86.67 whilst over the full month the cost would be 125. You have to authorise your bank with 0.01 or 1.00 that they then return to your account. As with many Polish lenders, extensions can be made for 7, 14 or 30 days. Applications for Net Credit Polska loans are securely taken on www.netcredit.pl that is fitted with customer logins.
They process loans daily from 7am to 12am and ask that all applicants must range between the ages of 22 and 65. With the owner’s expansion into Georgia in 2014 it is clear that this company is developing well and they offer an impressive service across all of their current locations. As far as Poland goes, they are the 4th most popular brand in the country, although they take the 3rd spot when you add InCredit into the equation that they launched in 2013. It was interesting to see that this is yet another entrepreneurial team arising from Riga (Latvia) that is also the home of Via SMS and Vivus.
This offer covers 100 to 500 zł that can be selected over the period of 1 to 30 days. The maximum return amount is 2000. The cost for returning users for 500 over 7 days would be 38 whilst over 30 this would be 78. Bank accounts must be confirmed with 0,01 that they return to you. The funds can be received soon after 15 minutes if you use one of their listed banks. The Via SMS Polska loans are available on every day of the week. The Monday to Friday time listings are 8am to 10pm, Saturday is 8am to 6pm and Sunday is 10am to 6pm.
Each customer can manage their loan through the provided logins at www.viasms.pl. If you wish to extend the repayment then you can do this once logged into your account. With the first free loan deal and the 7/7 trading days, this firm has created a service that can compete with Vivus who stands as Poland’s most popular lender. What is interesting is that both of these companies arise from Riga (the capital of Latvia). Net Credit is a 3rd company from this same location and so it is clear that the Latvian firms are dominating this sector. Wonga wouldn’t have expected this when they moved here.
It is claimed that the funds can be received within your bank account shortly after 10 minutes time. They state that cash can be received 24/7, although this would likely cover existing customers since their support team is only live between Monday to Friday from 10am to 9pm. To highlight the standard pricing, at 500 over 7 days you would need to pay 35 or over 30 this charge would be 150. As you can see, they are charging 1% daily here. This is what you would usually pay, but they currently have a free 0% loan deal for new customers when they repay in 7 days (update: This deal can last for 30 days now).
Extensions when selected can be made over 7, 15 or 30 (this maximum term would cost 32%). Rollover extensions like this would be where they are generating their profits. Banking confirmation must be made at 0.01, but this is quickly refunded back to you. Once signed up at www.kredito24.pl you will be handed with a customer login for full control. This lender’s loans have been popular since their launch in 2012 with over 38,000 transactions having been served between 2012 and 2014. There are various local lenders that also promote 0% new customer deals that just shows how competitive the Polish loan market has become.
The first loan here is free that is the case across many of the locations that they serve. There is a banking registration fee of 0.01 PLN although this is quickly refunded. New applicants can receive between 100 and 1400 zł over the period of 1 to 30 days. After a few subsequent loans you may access the maximum sum of 3500. After the first time offer of 0% has been taken on an existing customer will be offered a competitive return loan. This would cost just 70 per 500 over 30 days that is the best available return charge that we have studied in this sector.
Vivus Polska sends cash as early as 15 minutes if you have an account with any of the 8 banks that they work alongside. They are open 7 days a week between the times of 6am and 11pm and so requests made via the www.vivus.pl login should be processed quickly. The applicant must be aged between 20 and 75. This 0% APR deal is aided by them paying 30 PLN for every friend referred. Several lenders have followed to offer the same free loan deals although they have all struggled to take this brand’s business away. Their closest rival is Wonga who are notable since their first time deal can last for 60 days.