Digital Lenders top Consumer Complaint List despite CBK Oversight

Consumer complaints against digital lenders surged sharply over the past year. The platforms accounted for the largest share of grievances in Kenya’s financial services sector despite being under Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) regulation.

According to the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), complaints against digital lenders rose to 355 in the year to June 2025 from 67 a year earlier. The cases mainly involved misleading representations, undisclosed charges, unilateral changes to loan terms and other unfair practices.

Financial services accounted for 564 of the authority’s 915 consumer complaints, representing 61.6% of all reported cases. Within the sector, microfinance institutions recorded 113 complaints, followed by Saccos with 68 and commercial banks with 28.

Kenya placed digital credit providers under CBK supervision in 2022 following concerns over high borrowing costs, misuse of personal data and aggressive debt collection practices. However, the latest figures show consumer grievances remain high.

Among the cases highlighted, one borrower alleged that a KES 177,720 loan from African Capital Limited had risen to KES 500,000 after additional charges were imposed. Following CAK’s intervention, the disputed fees were waived and the account was closed.

In another case, a borrower accused Mwananchi Credit Limited of repossessing a vehicle just two months after issuing a loan while a contractual dispute was still unresolved. CAK referred the matter to the Small Claims Court. Other complaints involved Mogo, Supreme Credit Acceptance Limited, Simple Pay Capital Limited and Premier Credit.

Meanwhile, the CBK has licensed an additional 25 digital lenders, bringing the total number of approved providers to 252 since 2022, while more than 500 of over 800 applications remain under review.