If you need to borrow money, you may be able to get a fast and easy loan or a cheap loan, but probably not both.
The easiest personal loans to get approved for may help you get the cash you need quickly, but there are pitfalls to avoid, as well as fine print that you should read carefully before you move forward. The best emergency loans for bad credit, for example, offer you fast funding for a car repair, medical bills, or something else. Find out about five ways to get a personal loan quickly.
Key Takeaways
- Personal loans with essentially no approval requirements typically charge the highest interest rates and loan fees, although they may deliver funds fast.
- Some of the easiest loans to get approved for if you have bad credit include payday loans, no-credit-check loans, and pawnshop loans.
- Before you apply for an emergency loan to obtain funds quickly, make sure you read the fine print so you know exactly what your costs will be.
1. Payday Loans
Payday loans are a type of funding that require you to pay back what you owe on your next payday, hence the name. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), there are no set rules that govern which loans are considered payday loans, although all loans in this category tend to be short-term in nature and exorbitantly expensive.
Most payday loans are for $500 or less, and these loans require a postdated check that has you paying off the loan balance the next time you expect to get paid by an employer or through other means like Social Security. The biggest problem with payday loans is the fact that, because they’re often short-term with no credit check required, borrowers can wind up paying interest rates upwards of 400% in the end.1
Because of the high costs, payday loan users often get caught in a payday loan “trap,” in which they are stuck borrowing over and over again to keep up with expenses and bills.2
2. No-Credit-Check Loans
No-credit-check loans also can be referred to as bad credit loans, mostly because they are taken out by people who couldn’t get approved based on their credit score. Because most lenders require a minimum credit score of at least 580 for traditional personal loans, this means no-credit-check loans are geared toward borrowers with scores below that range.3
Despite the fact that these loans are easy to get approved for, bad credit loans can be punishing due to their incredibly high costs. In fact, interest rates on some no-credit-check loans can be as high as 179% with some lenders.4
3. Unsecured Personal Loans
Personal loans are easy to get when they offer flexible credit score and income requirements. If you have a fair credit score, which includes FICO scores from 580 to 669, you may be able to qualify for an unsecured personal loan from a traditional lender.5 However, individuals with scores at the lower end of that range will find fewer available options overall, and they may not like what they see when they check.
For example, OneMain Financial, is known for offering unsecured personal loans for individuals with imperfect credit. However, interest rates for their installment loans can be as high as 35.99%, and they charge origination fees of up to 10% of the loan amount. Payday Loans No-Credit-Check Loans Unsecured Personal Loans Retirement Plan Loans Pawnshop Loans