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Compare fast personal loans with quick approval

Finding a lender with same-day loans can be fast and easy

More lenders are making it possible to apply for a personal loan and receive your funds as quickly as the same day you apply — as long as you get your application in early enough. However, you might want to base your loan on more than just speed to find the most competitive deal. The fastest personal loans often have higher interest rates.

Narrow down fast personal loans by credit score minimums and rates to find the best for your budget and financial goals. Select Compare for up to four products to see their benefits side by side.

1 - 7 of 7
Name Product Filter Values APR Min. credit score Loan amount
Upgrade
Finder Score: 4 / 5: ★★★★★
Upgrade
8.49% to 35.99%
620
$1,000 to $50,000
Check your rates with this online lender without impacting your credit score.
PenFed Credit Union personal loans
Finder Score: 3.6 / 5: ★★★★★
PenFed Credit Union personal loans
7.99% to 18%
580
$600 to $50,000
With over 80 years of lending experience, this credit union offers personal loans for a variety of expenses.
Best Egg personal loans
Finder Score: 3.8 / 5: ★★★★★
Best Egg personal loans
8.99% to 35.99%
600
$2,000 to $50,000
Fast and easy personal loan application process. See options first without affecting your credit score.
LightStream personal loans
Finder Score: 4.8 / 5: ★★★★★
LightStream personal loans
7.49% to 25.99%
Good to excellent credit
$5,000 to $100,000
Borrow up to $100,000 with low rates and no fees.
Upstart personal loans
Finder Score: 4.2 / 5: ★★★★★
Upstart personal loans
7.80% to 35.99%
300
$1,000 to $50,000
This service looks beyond your credit score to get you a competitive-rate personal loan.
Credible personal loans
Finder Score: 4.3 / 5: ★★★★★
Credible personal loans
4.60% to 35.99%
Fair to excellent credit
$600 to $100,000
Get personalized prequalified rates in minutes and then choose an offer from a selection of top online lenders.
Smart Advances
Finder Score: 3 / 5: ★★★★★
Smart Advances
5.99% to 35.99%
All credit types
$100 to $20,000
Smart Advances was designed to help you request the loan you need, for any reason.
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How to get a personal loan quickly

When speed is your top priority, these five factors can help you get a personal loan more quickly:

  1. Check eligibility requirements. For faster approval, avoid lenders where you just barely make the cutoff for credit score and income.
  2. Apply in the morning. If you sign off on your loan by the early afternoon, you may receive the funds through a bank transfer the same day at no additional charge.
  3. Have all documents ready before you apply. These include last year’s tax returns, bank statements and statements from other loan or credit card accounts you’re paying off.
  4. Pay for a wire transfer. Ask if the lender can send the funds directly to your debit card if a same-day bank transfer is not an option. This can get you money in a few hours — though there may be a $15 fee.
  5. Use a loan marketplace. Marketplaces, like Fiona, allow you to prequalify with multiple lenders with a single form. This allows you to quickly compare personalized offers rather than the general range of rates, fees and terms a lender offers.

Why some loans are faster than others

Fast personal loans are usually online loans that use software to process your application and cut the approval time from days to minutes. And it means that the speed of the application depends on you, the borrower. The faster you can upload the documents your lender needs to verify the information in your application, the faster you receive the money.

Generally, lenders with online applications are faster than those that ask you to apply at a branch in person.

3 factors that can slow you down

Lenders typically prefer to work with people who work full-time, have few other debts and good credit — that’s a credit score above 670. With that in mind, here are three factors that can slow you down:

  1. Self-employment. Self-employed applicants may have a more difficult time proving their income to a lender.
  2. Irregular hours. Hourly workers with irregular shifts can also have difficulty proving their income.
  3. Large loan amounts. Lenders tend to take extra precautions if you apply for a loan close to the maximum amount available because it’s a higher risk.

Quick loans for bad credit

You’ll find few low-cost personal loan options for people with bad credit. While bad credit borrowers can get a loan, these are typically emergency payday or installment loans with high rates — often 400% or more. OppLoans is one lender that caters to bad credit with APRs capped at 160%.

However, if your low credit score is due to a limited credit history, you may have more low-cost options as long as you have regular income. Upstart, Stilt and Oportun are lenders that work with new credit applicants and offer APRs of 35.99% or less on their personal loans.

The risks of payday loans

Many poor-credit borrowers turn to expensive payday and installment loans, but their costs can be exorbitant in the long run. A typical $375 payday loan attracts $520 in fees due to repeat borrowing and most payday loan borrowers stay in debt for at least 11 months.

How to get fast cash without a loan

For people with bad credit or irregular income, a personal loan can take longer than other options. If you can’t qualify with a lender that offers fast funding, an alternative may be better.

  • Pay advance apps let you access wages you’ve already earned and are designed for hourly workers. Often these apps also offer financial wellness services like credit score tracking and help building up an emergency fund.
  • Some employers offer paycheck advances directly through a payroll software provider like Gusto or an employer-based pay advance provider like PayActiv.
  • Short-term lenders like payday loan providers can also offer same-day funding if you apply in person at a branch. But these can come with APRs upwards of 400%. While these often have terms of 30 days or less, a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau study found that most borrowers take at least 11 months to pay off a payday loan.
  • Credit card cash advances let you withdraw cash from your credit card but often attract fees of 3% or 5% of the amount advanced. This option is best for emergencies only, as high interest can also add to the cost of borrowing.

If these alternatives still don’t work for you, explore other options when you need to quickly borrow money. If personal loans aren’t your best option, check short-term loan alternatives for more resources.

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