Does a bank loan hurt your credit?
A personal loan can affect your credit score in a number of ways—both good and bad. Taking out a personal loan isn't bad for your credit score in and of itself. However, it may affect your overall score for the short term and make it more difficult for you to obtain additional credit before that new loan is paid back.
Bottom line
A slight dip in your score after applying is generally to be expected since a lender will run a hard inquiry on your credit. But using a personal loan to diversify your credit mix and making on time payments toward your balance can have a positive impact on your score.
Written By. There is no mystery to it: a personal loan affects your credit score much like any other form of credit. Make on-time payments and you could build up your credit history. On the other hand, any late payments could damage your score if they're reported to the credit reference agencies.
Risks of taking out a personal loan can include high interest rates, prepayment fees, origination fees, damage to your credit score and an unmanageable debt burden.
Hard credit checks temporarily lower your credit score by as much as 10 points. If you have excellent credit, applying for a loan will most likely make your score drop by five points or less.
| APR range | Minimum credit score requirement | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Egg | 8.99%-35.99% | 600 |
| LightStream | 7.49% to 25.49%* with Autopay | 695 |
| Upgrade | 8.49%-35.97% | 600 |
| SoFi | 8.99%-29.99% | 680 |
Yes, paying off a personal loan early could temporarily have a negative impact on your credit scores. But any dip in your credit scores will likely be temporary and minor. And it might be worth balancing that risk against the possible benefits of paying off your personal loan early.
Though they're a form of debt, personal loans can also serve as a tool to build credit. This is because they can contribute to your payment history and credit mix, as well as lower your credit utilization ratio. Collectively, these three factors account for 75 percent of your credit score.
A prepayment penalty is a fee that some lenders charge when borrowers pay off all or part of a loan before the term of the loan agreement ends. Prepayment penalties discourage the borrower from paying off a loan ahead of schedule (which would otherwise cause the lender to earn less in interest income).
Personal loans can be a good fit if you have good credit, want fixed monthly payments and seek a predictable repayment process. However, the risks of personal loans may outweigh the benefits for some people, especially if they have poor credit or aren't able to repay the loan.
Is it better to use a lender or bank?
he choice between a mortgage broker and a bank depends on your personal preferences and needs. Mortgage brokers can offer more loan options because they work with multiple lenders. Banks, on the other hand, provide their own loan products but may have more rigid guidelines.
Loan officers are pulling back on lending, requiring higher credit scores from borrowers and raising interest rates they charge for all kinds of loans, a survey showed. The survey shed light on how much high interest rates are making life harder for borrowers and lenders, who experienced decreased demand for credit.
You can get a personal loan for almost anything, such as consolidating debt, improving your home or making a large purchase. The short list of things you cannot use a personal loan for includes illegal activities, gambling, investments and, sometimes, post-secondary education expenses.
Best Overall OppLoans
OppLoans performs a soft credit check for approval—not a hard credit inquiry—so there's no impact on your credit history or credit score. Your information comes from Clarity Services and Experian, your bank account transactions, and your cash flow.
A loan application typically results in a hard inquiry. This happens when a lender looks at your credit report as part of a review of your application. A hard inquiry can stay on your credit report for up to two years, but it may only have a negative effect on your credit scores for a year.
Personal loans tend to have lower interest rates than credit cards and are geared toward large, one-time expenses. Taking out a personal loan makes the most sense when you know you can make the monthly payments for the full length of the loan.
| Loan Amount | Loan Term (Years) | Estimated Fixed Monthly Payment* |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | 3 | $30.98 |
| $5,000 | 3 | $154.36 |
| $5,000 | 5 | $103.77 |
| $10,000 | 3 | $313.32 |
| Loan duration | Average monthly payments ($30,000 loan) | |
|---|---|---|
| Poor credit | Good credit | |
| 1–12 months | $3,066.00 | $2,838.06 |
| 13–24 months | $1,441.88 | $1,375.83 |
| 25–36 months | $1,017.58 | $966.83 |
The monthly payment on a $30,000 loan ranges from $410 to $3,014, depending on the APR and how long the loan lasts. For example, if you take out a $30,000 loan for one year with an APR of 36%, your monthly payment will be $3,014.
Yes. Many banks and lenders will allow you to take out more than one loan, but they typically have limits. These are a few lenders that cap the number of loans or amount of money you can borrow. Be sure to check the fine print or ask a lender directly if they aren't on this list and you want to know their limits.
Is it better to pay off a loan in full or make payments?
In most cases, paying off a loan early can save money, but check first to make sure prepayment penalties, precomputed interest or tax issues don't neutralize this advantage. Paying off credit cards and high-interest personal loans should come first. This will save money and will almost always improve your credit score.
- Review your credit reports.
- Get a handle on bill payments.
- Use 30% or less of your available credit.
- Limit requests for new credit.
- Pad out a thin credit file.
- Keep your old accounts open and deal with delinquencies.
- Consider consolidating your debt.
- Track your progress with credit monitoring.
Because payment history is an important factor in calculating credit scores, credit-builder loans can be used to build credit. Credit-builder loans may be offered by banks, credit unions, online lenders and financial technology companies. Good credit scores aren't required to open a credit-builder loan.
For a score with a range between 300 and 850, a credit score of 700 or above is generally considered good.
| Credit Card | Best for | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Bank Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Card | Low APR | $48 |
| Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card | Secured card with rewards | $0 |
| Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card | Low security deposit | $0 |
