For anyone wanting a fast loan in 2026 — small amount, approval in hours, no thick income paperwork — three names come up most often in Romania: Hora Credit, Viva Credit and Acredit. All three are NBFIs registered with the National Bank of Romania. All three run 100% online. The differences are in offered amounts, terms and especially APR.
Hora Credit
Niche: small amounts, short terms. Loans between 200 and 3,000 lei over 5-30 days for the first loan, up to 90 days for repeat clients. Actual APR on a first loan runs between 95% and 230%, yes, large, but on 15 days it translates to concrete costs of 25-80 lei for a 500 lei loan. Approval in 20-45 minutes.
Who it suits: someone who needs cash urgently for an unexpected bill, has income but doesn't want paperwork. Watch out: rolling (refinancing the due loan with a new one) is the trap: costs stack quickly.
Viva Credit
Niche: medium amounts, longer terms. Loans 500-10,000 lei over 3-36 months. APR drops noticeably with longer terms. For 6,000 lei over 18 months, real APR is usually 32-48%. Approval in hours.
Who it suits: someone needing a mid-amount (5,000-8,000 lei) wanting a fixed monthly payment they can plan around. Viva is most competitive against banks here.
Acredit
Niche: slightly larger loans, medium-risk profile. Amounts 1,000-8,000 lei, terms 6-24 months. Typical APR 38-65%. Looks a bit closer at history — refusal is more common than at Hora or Viva for imperfect histories.
Who it suits: someone with stable income who doesn't want a bank's 3-5 day process but also doesn't want APRs over 100%.
Which to pick
Bogdan, 11 years in NBFI and banking: my simple rule — don't look at the first APR in an ad. Request SECCI for your exact amount and term, read the total cost, do the math.
Small and fast (under 3,000 lei, under a month): Hora. Medium amounts for a few months: Viva. In between with clean history: Acredit. And don't forget a bank personal loan, if time allows, is always 20-40% cheaper, see bank vs NBFI comparison.