A small loan in 2026, approved within hours, without a thick income file: three names keep coming up. Hora Credit, Viva Credit and Acredit are non-bank lenders (IFN) registered with the National Bank of Romania under Law 93/2009, all operating entirely online. What separates them: amounts, terms and, above all, APR.
This guide is a comparison, not an advertorial. Fees, amounts, real-figure examples, accepted risk profiles, practical traps. Data reflects the first quarter of 2026, checked against public FSIE sheets, the standard pre-contract form.
Key points
• All three are IFNs legally registered with the BNR
• Hora focuses on small, payday-style amounts
• Viva covers mid-sized loans with fixed monthly instalments
• Acredit targets a more selective profile with moderate APR
• Above 8,000 lei, a bank remains the cheaper route
Hora Credit
The specialty: small amounts, short terms. Loans run from 200 to 3,000 lei over 5-30 days for a first borrowing, up to 90 days for returning clients. Real APR on a first loan: 95% to 230%. Enormous on paper; over 15 days it means 25-80 lei on a 500 lei loan. Approval takes 20-45 minutes; money arrives in 1-2 hours.
Documents: scanned ID, a 30-day bank statement, sometimes a simplified income certificate. The Credit Bureau check runs automatically. Typical accepted profile: net monthly income above 1,800 lei, no major history problems.
Who Hora suits
Someone with an income who needs money urgently and wants no bureaucracy. A car repair, a sudden medical invoice, an expense that cannot wait 2-3 days for a bank.
Rolling over (refinancing a due loan with a fresh one, at Hora or elsewhere) is the trap. Costs stack fast: an 800 lei loan over 15 days costing 67 lei becomes, after 3 rollovers, a cumulative 287 lei. That is 35% of the amount, for 60 days.
Viva Credit
The specialty: mid-sized amounts, longer terms. Loans run from 500 to 10,000 lei over 3 to 36 months; APR drops visibly as terms lengthen. On 6,000 lei over 18 months, the real APR usually lands between 32% and 48%. Approval takes a few hours, up to 1 day above 5,000 lei.
Documents: income certificate for the last 3 months, bank statement, scanned employment contract. The accepted profile is wider than at a bank, narrower than at Hora. A score below 480 has slim odds at Viva for amounts above 4,000 lei.
Viva: the typical client
Someone who needs 5,000-8,000 lei and wants a fixed monthly instalment that can be planned. This is where Viva competes hardest with banks: a room renovation, household appliances, the car’s ITM payment.
Acredit
The specialty: slightly larger loans, medium-to-good risk profiles. Amounts from 1,000 to 8,000 lei, terms from 6 to 24 months, typical APR between 38% and 65%. Credit history gets a closer read, so refusals come more often than at Hora or Viva.
Documents: income certificate for the last 6 months, bank statement, Credit Bureau declaration. Accepted profile: employee on a formal contract, score above 500, debt-to-income under 40%. Below a 500 score, quoted APRs climb toward 80% and stop being competitive against Viva.
When Acredit makes sense
Someone with stable income who wants neither a 3-5 day bank process nor triple-digit APRs. Halfway between a classic IFN and a bank.
Head-to-head comparison
| Feature | Hora Credit | Viva Credit | Acredit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum amount | 100 lei | 100 lei | 200 lei |
| Maximum amount | 10,000 lei | 20,000 lei | 5,000 lei |
| Term | 1-3 months | 1-12 months | up to 1 month |
| APR | varies by profile | varies; first 7 days interest-free promotion | 0% for the first loan, then standard |
| Approval | a few minutes | a few hours | up to 1 day |
| Documents | ID + account | ID + income certificate + account | ID + income certificate + account + Bureau |
| Minimum accepted score | ~430 | ~480 | ~500 |
| Risk profile | broad | medium | medium to good |
Real APR depends on amount, term and profile. For live rates with a built-in calculator, see the Kreditano fast credit comparison.
How to compare properly
Request the FSIE for the exact amount and term needed, read the total cost, do the math. Ads show a display APR; only the personalised FSIE can ground the decision.
Profile weighs heavily on the offer. Two applicants with identical amounts and terms can receive quotes 100-300 percentage points apart. Clean score, registered income, no active loans: the APR drops. Score under 500, or loans still in repayment: it climbs fast.
Which one to pick?
Bogdan Băicu, after 11 years in non-bank lending (Kiwi Finance), then banking (TBI): “The simple rule I give people: don’t stop at the first APR in an ad. Ask for the FSIE for your exact amount and term, read the total cost, do the math. If your score is good and you can wait 3-5 days, a bank (BT, BCR, ING) will quote 9-14% APR on the same amount. On 5,000 lei over 12 months the IFN-bank gap: 500-700 lei.”
Small and fast, under 3,000 lei for under a month? Hora. A medium sum, 3,000-8,000 lei across 6-18 months? Viva. In between, with a clean history, Acredit does the job. Past 8,000 lei, or for APR under 10%, a bank wins; see the bank vs IFN comparison.
Common mistakes
1) Comparing on the monthly instalment. Two IFNs can quote similar instalments over different terms. The total cost over the full term is the only fair basis.
2) Accepting the “optional” insurance. At some IFNs, the insistently suggested insurance raises the cost by 12-18%. Request an FSIE without insurance and compare.
3) Applying to several IFNs at once. Each application is a Credit Bureau inquiry; five in two weeks shave 15-30 points off the score. Apply to 1-2, not 5.
The 14-day withdrawal right covers IFNs too
Many borrowers get this wrong: OUG 50/2010 art. 14, the right to withdraw without justification within 14 calendar days of signing, applies in full to IFNs. Hora, Viva and Acredit must all accept it. The procedure: written notice (confirmed e-mail or registered letter), repayment of the capital plus interest for the days used. No extra penalty.
At Hora, where the typical loan runs 5-15 days, withdrawal is theoretically possible but daily interest makes it cost almost as much as repaying normally. At Viva, on 18-36 month terms, withdrawing in the first 14 days can save thousands of lei when the APR lands above the simulator estimate.
A reader wrote to me in March 2026: he had signed with Acredit for 6,300 lei over 18 months, got the FSIE only after signing (his mistake) and calculated a 9,487 lei total cost. Withdrawal notice on day ten, 47 lei paid for the days used, contract closed. The next day BCR approved the same amount and term at 12.8% APR, total 6,971 lei. Saved: 2,516 lei. The most underused tool in OUG 50/2010.
How complaints against an IFN work
The steps mirror the bank route. First, a written complaint to the lender on their own form (all three publish one; response deadline 30 working days under OUG 50/2010 art. 65). If the answer disappoints, two parallel routes open.
The ANPC route handles transparency problems, abusive clauses and fees above legal caps: resolution within 60 days, fines up to 50,000 lei per breach. The SAL-FIN route (sal-fin.ro), the alternative dispute resolution body for financial services, mediates voluntarily between borrower and lender. Faster, but the decision binds only if both parties accept it upfront.
The ANPC report on the IFN sector for 2024, p. 17, counted 38,420 lending complaints that year; 47% targeted IFNs, which hold under 9% of consumer credit volume. Statistical exposure is higher at an IFN than at a bank. Three quarters of complaints concerned unclear fees or pressure toward non-mandatory insurance.
Myths about IFNs heard most often
Maria Popescu, after 12 years in financial journalism: “The most persistent myth: that IFNs are ‘illegal’ or ‘unregulated’. False. Those registered with the BNR follow the same transparency rules as banks; they simply cannot take deposits. Second myth: applying to an IFN wrecks your score. In truth, one application barely moves it, five in two weeks do. Third myth: IFNs don’t report to the Credit Bureau. Every BNR-registered lender reports monthly; on-time payments build your score, late ones damage it.”
One decisive point: with an APR above 100% and a missed repayment, the balance grows exponentially. Hora’s contract caps cumulative costs at 100% of the borrowed amount under BNR decision 121 of 2018, but the clause must be invoked in writing once the balance crosses that line. Viva and Acredit carry a similar cap under OUG 50/2010 art. 60, amended in 2021 for short loans under 5,000 lei.
Related guides
• Personal loans vs fast credit
• TBI Bank: conditions and alternatives
• Borrower rights when taking a loan
• How to raise a credit score
• Compare personal loans
Frequently asked questions
Are they registered with the BNR? Yes, all three, under Law 93/2009. Before applying, check the registration number on bnr.ro, in the special IFN register.
Can a loan be repaid early without penalty? Yes. OUG 50/2010 applies to all three. The maximum fee: 1% with more than 12 months remaining, 0.5% below that, zero on variable rates. All three state this in the FSIE.
Which is cheapest? It depends on amount and term. On 1,000-3,000 lei over short periods, Hora usually carries the lower absolute APR. Between 5,000 and 10,000 lei, Viva is often more competitive. Compare APRs on exact parameters.
Can all three refuse an applicant? Yes: debt-to-income above 40% or a score under 430 can bring three refusals. Options then narrow: SAL-FIN mediation with current creditors, a personal plan, or personal insolvency as last resort.
Real case: Florin, who picked Viva after three tries
Florin, 39, a plumber in Craiova: net monthly income 3,250 lei (self-employed, declared), score 504, no active loans. He wanted 4,500 lei to replace his old tool cabinet. Hora refused, the amount sat above its usual ceiling. Acredit made an offer, total cost in the FSIE. Florin asked Maria at the independent advisory desk; the short answer: get a Viva quote too.
Viva offered the same amount over 12 months at a lower total cost, and Florin took it. The three are not interchangeable, each serves a distinct profile; concrete FSIE figures, not advertising, are the only serious basis for choosing. For live rates, open the Kreditano comparison tool with the exact amount.
How to verify legitimacy before applying
The simple checks take 5 minutes:
1) Look the IFN up on bnr.ro, in the “Special Register of IFNs” section. A valid registration number must appear.
2) Check the contact page: real address, fiscal code (CUI), Trade Register number.
3) Read reviews on forums (reddit r/Romania, financiar.ro, mybankreviews.com), watching for patterns: 100% positive reviews are suspect, so are 100% negative ones.
4) Check whether the company appears on the ANPC list of recently sanctioned firms, public on anpc.ro.
The ANPC report on the IFN sector for 2024, p. 19, shows that of the 47 IFNs active in the BNR register, 39 fully comply with transparency rules. For the other 8, ANPC issued cumulative fines of 1.38 million lei during 2024. The names are public, updated quarterly.