Tala (company)

Tala is a California-based company that has created a mobile application that can be used to apply for and manage loans. The app provides credit scoring, lending, and other financial services. The loans are intended to be given to people without credit history or with poor credit history who have goals such as attending college or starting a business. It has worldwide locations in places such as Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines, Mexico, and India.

Users with Android devices can download the Tala app from the Google Play Store. After creating an account, they can fill out a digital application for a loan. Data is collected from the user from texts, calls, merchant transactions, and overall app usage. Loans range from $10 to $500 and are usually approved within ten minutes. Users on average pay back their loans within 30 days and Tala charges between 11% and 15% interest for the loan.

The company has had ten funding rounds and various investors, such as PayPal, Data Collective, and Ribbit Capital.