Capital One personal loan alternatives

Big banks aren't your only option for getting the funds you need.

Overview

Capital One is known globally for serving the fair and poor credit markets with loans and credit cards. However, it doesn’t offer personal loans in the UK. To make sure you can still pay for that dream wedding venue, new car or any other large personal costs, we take you through some other options.

Why doesn’t Capital One offer personal loans?

Capital One does not offer personal loans and recently ended its mortgage program as well. This could be part of a larger trend of big banks moving away from lending in general since the 2008 financial crisis. It also could be that Capital One just wants to focus on what it’s best known for: credit cards. Or, it’s possible the bank shifted its focus to experiments like the Capital One Cafe, a combination of a coffee shop and local bank branch meant to appeal to millennials.

What other options do I have?

If you feel let down by mainstream lenders, either because you don’t meet eligibility criteria or because your credit history is less than perfect, there are serveral lenders in the UK that offer invaluable access to credit. Lenders such as Lendable – a peer-to-peer lending service – provide fast, secure, personalised service that can provide an option when your credit is less than perfect. Requesting a quote takes just a few minutes and its soft credit search option means it will not affect your credit rating.

With an emphasis on building or rebuilding your credit history, specialist lenders often assess applicants more on how affordable a loan would be than their credit rating. However the downside is that because of the higher risk these loans represent to the lender, realistically, interest rates are likely to be significantly higher.

While these loans generally come with a higher interest rate, as they represent a greater risk to a lender, they are more readily available to people who might struggle to get finance through the regular lending streams.

What is Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer platforms cut out the institutional “middle man”, bringing together lenders seeking bank-beating interest rates and responsible borrowers. Because these companies don’t have the same overheads as big high street banks, they are sometimes able to offer better rates.

Compare personal loans for fair or bad credit

Table: sorted by representative APR, promoted deals first
1 - 2 of 2
Name Product Total Payable Monthly Repayment Representative APR Link
118 118 Money Personal Loan
Check eligibility
View details
Representative example: Borrow £2,000.00 over 2 years at a rate of 49.9% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 49.9% and total payable £2,967.36 in monthly repayments of £123.64.
Abound Personal Loan (formerly Fintern)
Check eligibility
View details
Representative Loan Example: £2,000 loan repayable over 36 months. 36 monthly payments of £77.60. Rate of interest 25.8% p.a. Representative 25.8% APR. Total amount repayable £2,793.60.
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With no guarantor

1 - 0 of 0
Name Product Total Payable Monthly Repayment Representative APR Link
No items match the given criteria.
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With a guarantor

1 - 1 of 1
Name Product Total Payable Monthly Repayment Representative APR Link
1plus1 Loans Guarantor Loan
Check eligibility
View details
Representative example: Borrow £10,000.00 over 3 years at a rate of 47.8% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 47.8% and total payable £17,259.12 in monthly repayments of £479.42.
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With a guarantor who is a homeowner

1 - 1 of 1
Name Product Total Payable Monthly Repayment Representative APR Link
UK Credit Limited Unsecured Homeowner Loan
View details
Representative example: Borrow £15,000.00 over 3 years at a rate of 26.9% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 26.9% and total payable £21,202.92 in monthly repayments of £588.97.
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Please note: You should always refer to your loan agreement for exact repayment amounts as they may vary from our results.

Late repayments can cause you serious money problems. See our debt help guides.

We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you.

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