Zimloan: App Loan SIM

Zimloan: App Loan SIM is an independent, unofficial Android app about the cost of short salary advances in Zimbabwe. These advances are quoted as a flat percentage for a fortnight — but the fee is usually taken off the top, so the money reaching your wallet is smaller than the amount you owe. That gap is where the real cost lives. The app works it out in dollars, in about five seconds.

What the app does

• The cost simulator opens already filled in with a documented example: apply for USD 30 over 14 days, receive USD 27, repay USD 36. Move the amount, term, interest or fee and every figure and chart follows instantly — no Calculate button, nothing to submit. It also charts how much of the repayment was ever yours to spend, what you would owe if you settled on any given day, and a comparison against a longer term or no fee.
• Eight more calculators, none with adverts: total cost breakdown, with mobile-money charges at both ends; cash in hand, for what to apply for to receive what you need; flat rate against real rate; late payment cost day by day; extension against overdue; settling early under a flat charge; repayment against your pay; and repeat cycles, bridging a month a fortnight at a time.
• Ten guide chapters: the three charges, the deduction taken off the top, flat against effective against annual rates, reading the agreement, late charges, rollovers, credit limits and cheaper options.
• Offline reference: 22 questions and answers; 36 terms defined plainly; a 22-point borrower's checklist; six fraud patterns lenders themselves warn about, starting with the rule that closes off most of them — nobody genuine asks you to pay money to receive a loan; and a sources page saying where every figure came from.

What it does not do

This app is not a lender and not a broker, and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ZimLoan, Lemontree Technology Private Limited, or any other lender. It accepts no loan application, sends nothing to anybody, and cannot arrange, influence or check a loan: it does not process or forward applications, does not release money, does not check application status, and cannot access any account. It will never ask for your name, national ID, payslip, bank details, mobile-money number or PIN, never show an application form, never send anything you type anywhere — no account, no sign-in, no server — and never link you to a loan sign-up page. Contacts, messages, call log, photos, files and location permissions are not in it. Never type your mobile-money PIN, a bank password or a one-time code into any third-party app or site.

Key facts about the documented terms

Shown inside the app as dated illustrations, each marked with how well it is evidenced:

• Term range: 14 to 30 days.
• Interest: 20% of the amount approved over 14 days, 30% over 30 days — flat charges for the term, not annual rates.
• Administration fee: 10% of the amount approved, deducted before the money is sent.
• Highest documented charge: 30% interest plus a 10% fee on a 30-day term — around 44% of the cash actually received, for the month.
• Late payment: 1% of the principal per day, from the second day past the deadline, stopping after 15 charged days, plus a one-off default management fee.
• Worked example: apply for USD 30, receive USD 27, repay USD 36 — USD 9 on USD 27 received, about 33% for two weeks.

Those are illustrations collected on 25 August 2026 from publicly documented information — not a quotation and not an offer. Rates change without notice; only the agreement you sign decides what you owe.

The app is free and paid for by advertising; adverts never appear on the simulator, on any calculator, or on the settings and disclaimer screens. It works offline. Trade marks are used descriptively; educational only, not financial advice. Questions about an actual loan must go to your own lender; check a microfinance institution's registration with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at https://www.rbz.co.zw.