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The total, not the instalment.

What a loan really costs

Monthly repayment, total interest, and the full cost of borrowing on a reducing balance — the number lenders quote last.

The loan

Every month you pay

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Over — months that is — in total.

You borrowed

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It costs you

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Show the working

    This is a reducing-balance loan repaid in equal monthly instalments, which is how most Kenyan bank and SACCO loans work. A flat-rate loan — where interest is charged on the full amount for the whole term — costs considerably more for the same headline rate. If a lender quotes you a rate, ask which one it is.

    We do not know your lender's fees, insurance or excise duty on fees. Put them in the fees box to see the real cost. This is an estimate, not an offer.

    While you're here

    The number is half of it. Knowing why it moved is the other half.

    The Brief takes the week's Kenyan business and markets stories and explains the mechanism underneath them — every Monday, free, every figure sourced.