Ukraine's microfinance organization (MFO) market is undergoing a fundamental restructuring of its competitive logic. Just a few years ago, the main argument in the fight for customers was the speed of microloan disbursement, but today this parameter has become a market standard that, in itself, no longer determines a borrower's choice. This was stated in an author's column for RBC-Ukraine by Moneyveo's CEO, Serhiy Synchenko, who emphasized that the quality of the entire credit process is now coming to the fore — from the clarity of terms and the simplicity of application to servicing and debt repayment. In his words, digital has ceased to be an end in itself and has become a tool: what matters to the customer is not merely the availability of an online format, but how simple, clear, and predictable it is to go through the entire journey from application to full repayment of the loan.
What Has Changed in Borrowers' Priorities: Survey Data
The results of an internal Moneyveo survey record a clear shift in the importance of factors in choosing an MFO. Over the past year, the biggest gains went to the simplicity of application and the transparency of terms — each of these metrics rose by 8 percentage points. The convenience of loan repayment added 6 percentage points, while the importance of the speed of receiving funds grew by 5 percentage points. For comparison: the importance of the mobile app and the online format in general increased by only 2 percentage points. This means that customers are no longer impressed by the mere fact of digitalization — they assess how seamless and predictable each stage of interaction with the company is. At the same time, according to Synchenko, the security of data and operations is already considered a basic hygiene factor: the borrower expects protection 'by default' rather than viewing it as a competitive advantage.
The Market in Numbers: 4.2 Million Contracts and a Rising Average Ticket
Context for understanding the scale of the changes is provided by data from the National Bank of Ukraine, analyzed by the Opendatabot service. In the first half of 2026, Ukrainians concluded 4.2 million contracts with MFOs for a total amount of 37.5 billion UAH. The key trend here is that the number of contracts remained roughly stable, while the average size of a microloan grew by almost 1.5 times, reaching approximately 9,200 UAH. This indicates that borrowers are increasingly less likely to turn to MFOs for 'emergency' small amounts and are more often using microloans as a tool for planning expenses, which raises the requirements for service quality and the transparency of terms throughout the entire loan term.
The New Logic of Competition: Beyond the Transparency Standard
Serhiy Synchenko emphasizes that he does not consider the transparency of terms a competitive advantage — it is a basic standard of responsible lending that must be observed by any company in the market. Real competition begins above this standard: in how simply a company organizes its processes, how well it assesses the customer, and how conveniently it supports them throughout the entire life cycle of the loan. In his assessment, the next stage of MFO development lies not in adding new digital features, but in systematically eliminating unnecessary barriers in the customer's path. If the first stage of digitalization answered the question 'how to issue a loan faster?', then the next one must answer the question: 'how to make the entire credit experience simpler, clearer, and more responsible?'
Outlook for 2026–2027: Where the Main Battle Will Be Fought
The combination of data — from the shift in borrowers' priorities to the growth of the average ticket against a stable volume of contracts — indicates that simplicity, transparency, and service convenience are becoming not just characteristics of the customer experience, but critical factors of product competitiveness. It is precisely in this dimension, according to Moneyveo's management, that the main competitive battle among MFOs will be fought in 2026–2027. Companies that continue to focus exclusively on disbursement speed and the number of digital features risk ceding the market to those who build a seamless and predictable interaction experience at every stage — from the first application to the final payment.
