Payday Lenders Compared: Nimble, Fundo, MoneySpot, Cash Train and Wallet Wizard

Quick honesty note. Perfect Payday is not a lender and is not affiliated with Nimble, Fundo, MoneySpot, Cash Train or Wallet Wizard. It’s a trading name of Tiny Ventures (ABN 52 168 226 480), Credit Representative No. 516845, a credit referral service. When you apply, we may pass your details to a panel of licensed lenders who assess your application and set any rate. We don’t decide that, and we may receive a fee if you proceed. These brands are named here only so you can compare them honestly, including against options that aren’t a loan at all.

Five names come up again and again when Australians search for a small loan online: Nimble, Fundo, MoneySpot, Cash Train and Wallet Wizard. They advertise similar things, and a lot of comparison pages treat them as interchangeable. They aren’t quite. The amounts differ, and so does the type of credit contract you end up signing, which changes what the lender can charge and what protections apply. This page sets out what genuinely separates them, what the law fixes for all of them, and which cheaper routes are worth ruling out before you apply anywhere.

The five lenders side by side

The table covers only what we can state from each lender’s own product positioning. Where a brand doesn’t publish a figure clearly, we’ve said so rather than guessed. Nothing here is an offer or a quote.

Figures quoted from each lender’s own published Target Market Determination, fee statement or credit guide, checked 23 August 2026 (Nimble TMD updated Aug 2026; Fundo TMDs effective 1 June 2026; MoneySpot TMD v6 effective 11 May 2026; Cash Train branch TMD effective June 2026; Wallet Wizard TMD v2.6 effective 27 Nov 2025). Where a lender doesn’t publish a figure, we leave it out rather than guess. Lenders change their terms, so treat the contract they offer you as the only binding document.

Speed and amount ranges are typical, not promises. Timing depends on the lender, your bank and how quickly you verify your details. Applying never guarantees approval.

Two things stand out. Every one of the five now lends past the $2,000 SACC mark in some form: Nimble, Fundo and MoneySpot through medium contracts to $5,000, Cash Train to $8,000. So the fee structure changes partway up each lender’s own range, and the contract type matters more than the brand. Wallet Wizard is structurally different again: its Smart Loan is a single revolving continuing credit contract, not a payday product in the classic sense, and a revolving limit behaves nothing like a fixed short-term loan.

Why the brands look so similar

The other three are close cousins because the law makes them so. Fundo, MoneySpot and Cash Train all sit in the same regulated bracket, and that bracket dictates the amount, the term and the price ceiling. A lender can undercut the ceiling, but none can exceed it. So switching between these brands rarely moves the price much.

What does differ is worth knowing: who they’ll consider, how fast they move, how they handle a missed payment, and how plainly they set out the total you’ll repay before you sign. Those are the comparison points that actually change your experience.

SACC, MACC or line of credit

The product type is the single most useful thing to identify before you compare anything else.

A Small Amount Credit Contract (SACC) is a loan of up to $2,000 repaid over 16 days to 12 months. It has no annual interest rate in the usual sense. Instead it carries two capped fees, which is why SACC pricing looks so uniform across brands.

A Medium Amount Credit Contract (MACC) covers $2,001 to $5,000. This one works differently: a one-off establishment fee capped at $400, plus an annual interest rate that is also capped. If you’re borrowing at the upper end of Nimble’s range, you’re probably looking at a MACC or a standard personal loan, not a payday product.

A line of credit isn’t a single loan at all. You’re approved for a limit, you draw on it, repay, and can draw again. That flexibility is genuinely useful for some people. It also makes it easier to carry a balance for far longer than you intended, so treat the limit as a ceiling rather than a target.

What these lenders can legally charge

For a SACC, the maximum is fixed: an establishment fee of up to 20% of the amount borrowed, plus a monthly fee of up to 4%. Those two figures are the entire cost of credit. They’re a legal ceiling rather than a price list, and a licensed lender is free to charge less. To see what the caps come to on the amount and term you have in mind, run the numbers through our payday loan cost calculator and read the result as the most a licensed lender could charge.

A second protection sits alongside the caps. A SACC lender generally can’t sign you up if your total SACC repayments would exceed 10% of your net income. This is the protected-earnings rule, and a lender that ignores it has given you solid grounds for an AFCA complaint.

How all five are regulated

Every lender named on this page must hold an Australian Credit Licence or operate as an authorised credit representative. That licence brings obligations that matter to you:

• Responsible lending. Before approving anything, the lender must check that the loan suits your needs and that you can repay it without substantial hardship. This is precisely why “guaranteed approval”, “instant approval” and “no credit check” are not real features of a licensed Australian loan. Treat them as a reason to close the tab.
• AFCA membership. If a lender treats you unfairly, you can complain for free to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority at afca.org.au or on 1800 931 678. There’s no cost and no need for a lawyer.
• Capped fees for trouble. Dishonour and late fees are also limited, though they still add up quickly if repayments bounce.

The regulator’s own plain-English overview sits on ASIC Moneysmart, which is a good neutral second opinion on anything you read here.

Comparing them sensibly

Once you know the fee ceiling is shared, the useful comparison shifts to fit. Five checks do most of the work:

1. Match the product to the need. A $400 gap before payday and a $4,000 car repair call for different products. Reaching for a SACC when you need a MACC, or a line of credit when you need a one-off loan, costs you more than picking the wrong brand ever will.
2. Add up the total, not the repayment. A longer term means smaller instalments and a bigger total, because the monthly fee applies every month. Shorter terms bite harder each fortnight but cost less overall.
3. Check eligibility before you apply. Some lenders count Centrelink payments as income and some want a minimum regular wage. Knowing this in advance saves you an unnecessary knock-back on your credit file.
4. Confirm the licence and AFCA membership. You can look up an Australian Credit Licence on ASIC Connect. Our guide on how to check a lender is legitimate walks through the steps.
5. Read what happens when things go wrong. Hardship terms, late fees and direct-debit arrangements tell you more about a lender than its homepage does.

One brand deserves a separate mention. If you’re comparing these lenders because you once used or considered Cigno, read our page on loans like Cigno first. Cigno and its associated entities faced repeated ASIC enforcement action over fee structures built to sit outside the standard caps, and the contrast with a licensed SACC lender is the clearest illustration of why the licence matters.

Cheaper alternatives worth checking first

Any of the five lenders above can solve a genuine short-term gap. None of them is the cheapest way to cover one. Before you apply, spend ten minutes on these:

Our fuller rundown of alternatives to payday loans covers each of these in more depth, and the best loan companies in Australia guide sets out what to look for in any provider.

The bottom line

Nimble, Fundo, MoneySpot, Cash Train and Wallet Wizard are not five versions of the same thing. Four of them write capped SACCs at the small end but keep lending past $2,000 into contracts with a different fee structure, and Wallet Wizard runs a single revolving line of credit from a listed parent company, outside the SACC caps entirely. Identify which product you actually need, confirm the licence and AFCA membership, add up the total rather than the instalment, and rule out the free and low-cost options first.

If you’ve done that and a small short-term loan is still the right fit, you can apply below. We’ll pass your details to a panel of licensed lenders who assess affordability and make any decision. Applying is free and never guarantees approval.