How to Create Loan app in Nigeria? How does it work to apply for a loan? What should be added to a program like this? How much does it cost to get a loan application started? In our new article, you can find answers to all of these and other questions about the topic.
Based on our experience, we’ll give you all the data and information you need about the design and development process and how to make a money lending app without making any mistakes.
What is Loan App?
A money lending app is a program that lets people get loans right away. People just need to sign up, make sure their information is correct, and fill out a profile to get a loan.
At some point in their lives, everyone will not have enough money. Cash lending is not a new idea on the market, but the growing impact of digitization has changed the way lending works in a big way.
People used to prefer to get loans from banks or credit unions, but those days are over. Not only are the steps involved complicated, but busy people don’t have time to go to the bank to finish the paperwork.
People all over the world are in financial trouble because of how bad the pandemic wave has been. The distance between people has grown. People liked lending platforms that made it easy and quick to get a loan without having to deal with banks, loan brokers, or other financial institutions.
What is a Peer-to-Peer Loan App?
A peer-to-peer lending app is a way for people to lend and borrow money from each other. People like you and me lend and borrow money. Borrowers can ask for loans, and lenders can give them out in exchange for a share of the money. In this kind of loan application, both the lender and the borrower have the same amount of power. The loan process does not involve banks, financial institutions, loan brokers, or other middlemen.
Statista said that the global market for peer-to-peer lending would reach $1 trillion. So, more and more companies are starting to look into how to make a money lending app today.
How Do Loan Apps Work?
Before we tell you how to make an app for lending money, let’s look at how these apps work. The way money-lending apps work is pretty basic and easy to understand.
Here are some steps that everyone who wants to build and use an app for borrowing money should take:
Application installation:
- Creating a new account or logging in with a username and password.
- Putting in how much money you want to borrow or how much you want to lend.
- Choosing the most appropriate interest rate.
- Getting bank cards to work with the app.
Almost all applications for money loans follow these few steps. As we’ve already talked about, one benefit of using money lending apps is that there are no middlemen involved in the loan process.
Both borrowers and lenders are on the same level. Both sides can talk to each other directly about loan rates and repayment plans.
After a security check, the borrower fills out a loan application that the platform accepts. After that, the lender has a list of people who want to borrow money, and he can accept or reject applications.
The platform makes money by taking a cut of each transaction, getting membership fees every month, or in any other way. Still, the fact that there are no middlemen makes sure that the interest rates and terms are fair for all clients.
Must-Have Features
If you want to make a money lending app that people will like, you should think carefully about the features it will have. To make your life easier, let’s look at the features that a loan app must have at an MVP stage, when you are testing the market, and then look at some other options.
MVP FEATURES
Users should be able to do the following with an MVP lending product.
Most important parts of a money-lending app
REGISTRATION
People should be able to sign up for the app quickly by using their social handles or a phone number. The higher user adoption will be, the less trouble you cause at this stage. Don’t forget that you can get more information about a user when they start to apply for a loan.
USER PROFILE
Users can upload personal information and change details there. When making the user profile, it’s a good idea to hide the user’s information by default. But if you’re using it for the first time, you might want to add some template information to all fields as a hint.
LOAN APPLICATION FORM
This will be the most important part of your app. Users will like it if you break the loan application process into steps, walk them through each step, and show them how far along they are.
PAYMENTS LOG
Once a loan has been approved, customers will need a place where they can see all payments that are due or have already been made. They should also be able to see at a glance how much debt they still have.
NOTIFICATIONS
Push notifications will let users know when payments are coming up. You could even add some extra logic for when you remind them a few days before the payment, on the due date, and if they haven’t paid.
ADD-ON FEATURES
apps that lend money should add more features
PAYMENT OPTIONS
By letting users add and change their bank accounts, they will be able to start paying back their loans right from the app. One more thing you can do is help your users sign up for autopay.
LIVE CHAT SUPPORT
Even though lending apps are great at getting rid of the need to talk to a clerk in person, your customers will still probably ask for help. And live chat with your customer service reps can be a great way to handle these kinds of problems.
CHATBOT
When your customer service staff isn’t available, a chatbot can help users solve simple problems and learn how to use the app.
GEOLOCATION
If your product lets people get cash from an ATM, you can use geolocation to show them where the closest ATM is.
CREDIT SCORE
You could also choose to connect your application to a service that gives out credit scores. This feature will help customers figure out if they can get a loan or not.
Steps to Build a Loan App
Here, we’re going to assume that you’ve already done some prep work by studying your buyer personas and figuring out who your target audience is. What do you do next?
The 7 steps to create a loan app in Nigeria
#7.1: CHOOSE A PLATFORM
Before you can make a mobile app for lending money, you need to decide which platforms it will work on. Will it only be on the web, or do you also plan to make apps for borrowers and investors to use on their phones?
Cross-platform app development frameworks are a good idea if you want to reach a large number of people. Peer-to-peer loan lending apps can be made faster with the help of cross-platform app development tools like React Native.
#7.2: MAKE A LIST OF FEATURES
At this step, you decide what features your lending app will have and how it will be different from other apps.
We’ve already talked about the list of must-have and extra features up top. That list can be a good place to start. Just make sure your app provides some unique functionality.
When you make a peer-to-peer lending app, don’t forget that there are two parts: borrowers and lenders (aka investors). The second group might need their own app to keep track of their investments and choose which loan options to invest in.
WEB APP FOR BACK-OFFICE EMPLOYEES AND ADMINS
Many entrepreneurs forget to set up a web portal for managing loan applications. Don’t forget that you will need to keep track of loans requested and approved, payments, and everything else that goes on in the mobile apps.
#7.3: REVIEW AVAILABLE SDK/APIS AND LIBRARIES
You don’t have to start from scratch. There are a lot of components that can be plugged in. So, once you’ve figured out the features, you should take some time to look at the SDKs, APIs, and code libraries that are already available for your app. Here are just a few:
Plaid is used to connect to bank accounts safely.
Twilio to add a chat and two-step verification
Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Apple for quick sign-in; understanding the different plugins needed to make a loan app;
By putting together the right mix of these modules, you can cut the cost of making an app and shorten the time it takes to get it to market.
#7.4: HONE IN ON THE UX AND UI
The user experience and user interface of your loan app can make or break your business. Change from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity mockups and have customers test each screen carefully.
A prototype that users can click on will help you get closer to this goal.
#7.5: DEVELOP AN MVP
After test users have given you feedback on the UX and UI, it’s time to make an MVP version of your loan app. Bring in a qualified loan app developer to make a loan application and a web portal for managing loans.
In this step, you’ll code the most important features that will help you get noticed.
#7.6: ITERATE BASED ON USER FEEDBACK
Once your app is out in the wild and has been tested by real customers, it’s time to use user feedback. Built-in analytics that track user journeys and help you find potential roadblocks are another way to learn about ways to improve your app.
#7.7: MAINTAIN THE APP
Mobile operating systems are always getting new features and new ways to make the user experience better. So, it’s important to keep your loan app up-to-date and use as many of the new OS features as possible.
For example, since iOS 13 came out almost a year ago, your app should be able to use the Dark Mode. And when iOS 14 comes out, it might be helpful to make an app clip, which is an extension of your app that lets customers use your loan app without installing it.
Another idea is to add a live widget to the home screen that shows when the next payment is due and how much it will be.
