Lend what the borrower can actually afford. Know it in real time.
Phela’s affordability engine combines real-time payroll data with CRB obligations to give the bank a current, complete picture of every borrower’s repayment capacity. Not a snapshot from the day they applied. A live number, updated every payroll cycle.
Precision capacity tracking
The 28% debt-to-income cap
Phela enforces a hard ceiling: no more than 28% of an employee’s net pay can be committed to debt repayment across all lenders. This is Phela policy, enforced in the system, not a guideline. It cannot be overridden by the bank or the borrower.
Internal deductions captured first
Before calculating available capacity, Phela captures everything already being deducted from the employee’s payroll: PAYE tax, NSSF contributions, salary advances, and existing loan repayments from other lenders. These are real numbers from the actual payroll run.
External obligations via CRB
Phela integrates with gnuGrid, Uganda’s credit reference bureau, to pull monthly instalment data across all lenders. This captures obligations that are not visible on the employer’s payroll.
Available capacity calculated per cycle
The result: the bank knows exactly how much this employee can safely borrow, after all existing obligations, updated every time payroll runs. Not once at application. Every month.
Risk visibility the bank doesn't have today
Multi-lender safety
An employee can have loans from multiple banks on the rail simultaneously. The affordability engine ensures every lender’s repayment fits within the 28% cap. Staggered repayment is unnecessary because affordability is enforced upfront.
No over-lending
The system physically prevents approval of a loan that would push the borrower past the DTI ceiling. This is not a flag or a warning. It is a hard block. The bank cannot lend more than the payroll data supports.
Real-time updates
Most salary lenders check CRB once at origination and never again. Phela’s affordability data updates every pay cycle. If an employee takes on new obligations mid-term, the bank sees it before the next deduction.
Lend with real-time affordability data
Know what every borrower can afford before you approve. Updated every pay cycle.
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