Yana Finance Launches AI-Driven Loan Recovery Platform to Address Repayment Challenges in Nigeria

Nigeria’s lending industry is facing growing pressure from rising defaults, pushing financial institutions to explore new ways of improving loan recovery.

A Complex System

With non-performing loans across Nigeria’s top banks climbing to N2.59 trillion in 2024, repayment has become one of the most pressing challenges in the country’s credit market.

Repayment has remained one of the biggest barriers to lending in Nigeria, with defaults and missed payments limiting growth for banks, microfinance institutions, and fintechs.

Borrowers often spread funds across multiple banks and fintech wallets, while traditional debit systems frequently fail after the first attempt, leaving many loans unrecovered.

In response to growing repayment challenges in Nigeria’s fragmented financial landscape, Yana Finance, a local credit company, has launched the Yana Collections Service, an artificial intelligence-powered digital repayment engine aimed at boosting recovery rates and addressing persistent loan defaults that continue to stifle growth across the country’s credit market.

Cross-Platforms

The new service integrates with Nigeria’s emerging open banking framework and incorporates adaptive recovery features such as continuous account checks, partial payment processing, and automated repayment scheduling.

The system was first developed as an internal solution at Yana but has since been expanded for wider use across the industry, reflecting broader efforts to address repayment as a key barrier to sustainable lending in Nigeria.

According to Gideon Adeyemi, Co-founder and Head of Product at Yana Finance, this challenge informed the creation of the company’s new loan recovery platform, the Yana Collections Service.

“Repayment is the major challenge limiting lenders today,” Adeyemi said, adding that the tool was designed to be intelligent, adaptive, and flexible enough for any credit structure and repayment schedule.

Initially built as an internal solution, the service has evolved into a platform that integrates Nigeria’s emerging open banking framework to support lenders of all sizes.

Its features include continuous automated repayment processes across borrower accounts, smart account checks to verify funds, adaptive algorithms that adjust repayment attempts based on borrower behaviour, and the ability to process partial payments until full recovery is achieved.

The system also enhances traditional standing orders by making them more responsive to account activity.

“By automating recovery intelligently, lenders can shift their focus to growth and customer acquisition rather than chasing payments,” Adeyemi noted.

The service is currently in beta testing with five Nigerian lending companies. Early results, according to Yana Finance, indicate higher repayment rates, fewer defaults, and reduced operational costs.

Designed to work across both Tier-1 banks and fintech wallets, the platform aims to provide seamless compatibility across Nigeria’s fragmented financial landscape.

Adeyemi said the goal is to ensure that “repayments are collected reliably, regardless of where borrowers keep their money.”

Yana Finance describes the initiative as more than a product launch, positioning it as part of a broader shift in how credit recovery can be managed across Africa.

The company says the service represents a redefinition of what collections should look like as the continent’s credit system expands and lenders seek more sustainable models for growth.