Legit online loans and loan apps in the Philippines: how to check before you borrow

Three things have to be true. To see apps side by side first, open the loan apps list.

1. The lender is licensed. Being a registered company is not enough. A lending or financing company needs a Certificate of Authority (CA) from the SEC, and it has to show its company name, SEC registration number and CA number in its ads and app. The SEC publishes lists of these companies and of their online lending platforms.
2. It collects within the rules. SEC rules (Memorandum Circular No. 18, 2019) ban harassment in debt collection: threats, insults, public shaming and contacting people in your phone contacts other than the guarantors or co-makers you named.
3. It handles your data lawfully. The National Privacy Commission (NPC) enforces the Data Privacy Act, which covers what an app may ask your phone for and what it may do with it.

Loans from banks are supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), not by the SEC. The checklist below is for non-bank loan apps. A place on the SEC list tells you the company is authorised. It says nothing about whether the rates are fair, so check the cost too.

Want to see the apps first? Compare them on the loan apps list.

Run the checklist on any app, then compare the ones that pass on the loan apps list.

Three apps on our list, with what each publishes (lender websites, checked Oct 11, 2026). We have not yet matched these numbers against the SEC lists, so do that yourself with the checklist.

• Finbro (Sofi Financing Inc., SEC Reg. No. CS201908275): up to ₱50,000 for up to 360 days; says it holds an SEC Certificate of Authority as a financing company. Pays to GCash, Maya or a bank account.
• Honey Loan (Warm Cash Lending Corp., SEC Reg. No. 2021030009095-02): up to ₱30,000 for 61 to 364 days; says it holds a Certificate of Authority as a lending company and is among the SEC-recorded online lending platforms. Apply with Honey Loan
• MoneyCat (MoneyCat Financing Inc., SEC Reg. No. CS201953073): up to ₱20,000 for 65 to 180 days; says it holds a Certificate of Authority as a financing company. Pays only to a bank account in your name. Apply with MoneyCat

Our Kviku page has no SEC details yet, so run the full checklist before you apply there.

See amount, term, rate and APR for every lender on the loan apps list.

Apps quote interest per day or per month, which looks small until you add it up. Compare the total to repay and the annual rate (APR) instead. The figures below use the maximum rates the lenders publish, as simple arithmetic for ₱5,000 over 90 days, without late charges. They are estimates: the exact amount is in your Disclosure Statement.

Honey Loan’s own example on its website: ₱3,000 for 180 days costs ₱2,160 in interest and fees, so you repay ₱5,160 in six instalments of ₱860.

Use the total to repay, not the daily rate, to compare apps on the loan apps list.

If you are an SSS member, compare these totals with an SSS salary loan before you borrow from an app.

• A fee before the money. A “processing”, “insurance” or “activation” fee that you must send first, especially to a personal GCash, Maya or bank account.
• Access to your contacts. Apps that read your contact list have been used to shame borrowers in front of friends and family. Collection through your contacts, other than named guarantors or co-makers, breaks SEC rules.
• Threats and shaming. Messages with insults, threats of arrest or posts about your debt.
• A promise of the money before any check. A lender that promises you a yes without looking at your ID, your income or your record skips the assessment a licensed lender does.
• Copies and downloads outside the stores. Install apps only from Google Play or the App Store, from the link on the lender’s own website. A file sent by chat or SMS can be a fake or carry malware.
• No company details. No legal name, no SEC number, no CA number, no address.

Skip all of these: compare apps that show their company details on the loan apps list.

1. Keep evidence. Screenshots of messages, call logs, the app’s name and the number you paid.
2. Report harassment by a lending or financing company to the SEC. Collection rules are enforced by the SEC, and it can suspend or revoke a Certificate of Authority.
3. Report misuse of your data to the National Privacy Commission if an app took your contacts or photos, or shared them.
4. Tell your bank or e-wallet if you sent money to a scammer, so the account can be flagged.
5. Report threats or extortion to the police cybercrime unit.

Do not pay a new fee to the person who contacted you to “stop the harassment”.

Need a loan from a lender that shows its details? Compare options on the loan apps list.

From the lenders’ own websites (checked Oct 11 and 15, 2026):

• Finbro: age 20 to 70, Filipino citizen, employed or with a regular income. One valid ID (such as SSS, UMID, driver’s license, passport or National ID), a selfie and an active mobile number.
• Honey Loan: age 21 to 70, Filipino citizen, a valid government ID and an active mobile number. It runs a credit check on every application.
• MoneyCat: age 22 to 60, employed or in selected professions. Government ID, proof of income, proof of address and recent bank statements.
• Kviku: age 18 to 65, Filipino citizen, valid ID, a bank account and a phone number.

Lenders can report your payments to the Credit Information Corporation (CIC), so paying on time helps your next application, and a late payment can hurt it.

Ready? Compare the apps and apply online in a few minutes on the loan apps list. The lender decides after its own checks.

If speed matters, the guide to fast and quick cash loans separates decision time from payout time and shows what a ₱5,000 loan costs.