Bigger microloans mean bigger debts: how much Ukrainians already owe to financial companies
4 апреля 16:35
As of early 2025, Ukrainians owe microfinance organizations (MFOs) more than UAH 15.77 billion. This is reported by the Opendatabot platform, Коммерсант украинский reports.
How many microloans have Ukrainians taken out
More than 8.3 million loan agreements totaling UAH 51.69 billion were signed by Ukrainians in 2024, and although the number of agreements almost did not change compared to 2023, the volume of loans increased by as much as 27%.
The average microloan amount also increased by 26% over the year: while in 2023 Ukrainians borrowed an average of UAH 4,926 from microfinance organizations, last year the average loan was already at UAH 6,217.
Microcredit organizations issued an average of 693 thousand loans per month.
How big is the debt burden?
In the first three quarters of last year, microloan debt doubled: from UAH 9.3 billion to UAH 18.47 billion.
At the end of the year, the debt decreased by UAH 2.7 billion. However, this did not improve the overall picture: the debt to MFIs amounted to UAH 15.77 billion at the beginning of this year. This is 1.7 times or UAH 6.47 billion more than at the beginning of 2024.
How developed is the MFI market in Ukraine?
According to the official statistics of the National Bank of Ukraine, at the beginning of 2025, the non-banking market of Ukraine consisted of 971 financial companies, 311 credit unions, 288 pawnshops, and 146 leasing companies.
According to the NBU’s Review of the Non-Banking Financial Sector, the total assets of non-banking financial services providers increased by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, with financial companies’ assets growing by 7.7%, insurers by 3.8%, and pawnshops by 2.2%. In contrast, the assets of credit unions declined.
Since July 1, 2020, the National Bank of Ukraine has been regulating the work of all microfinance organizations in Ukraine.
Earlier, the Law of Ukraine No. 79-IX dated 12.09.2019 «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the Functions of State Regulation of Financial Services Markets» was adopted, which should protect borrowers from unreasonable lender claims. The document, in particular, contains a clause prohibiting changes to the interest rate if it would increase the amount of repayment for the consumer.
The National Bank of Ukraine has a comprehensive information system on its website that allows you to view the register of MFIs in Ukraine and search for financial institutions to check whether they have licenses or not.
Unfair lending remains a problem
The NBU not only regulates but also supervises all microfinance organizations in Ukraine. The NBU regularly inspects these institutions and, in case of violations, applies enforcement measures up to license revocation.
And it is the NBU that you should contact if you have any problems with microfinance organizations.
There are also consumer lending companies that, without waiting for the NBU’s intervention, are trying to organize themselves and act responsibly and honestly, without additional pressure from the state.
A recent memorandum signed by the Association of Ukrainian Banks and seven financial companies that agreed to lend to consumers responsibly is an example: «Aventus-Ukraine (CreditPlus), Moneyveo Fast Financial Assistance (Moneyveo), 1 Safe Agency for Necessary Loans (My credit), New Loans, Viginfund Ukraine, Multicredit (bee credit), and Consumer Center (ShvydkoGroshi).
In particular, they agreed to
— to adhere to the 1% daily interest rate limit for lending to individuals;
— use a risk-based approach to assessing borrowers’ solvency;
— limit lending at night to prevent consumers from making rash financial decisions;
— ensure transparency and responsibility in cooperation with collection companies.
By the way, the rules for collection activities are set out separately in the Memorandum. They include, among other things, a ban on using photos of debtors, calling their relatives or using other unethical methods of pressure, etc.
