Instant decision loans

Most lenders are able to offer instant decisions on unsecured personal loans. However, if it then takes 3 days to fund the loan, that’s not much of a benefit. You can use the table below to check which lenders are able to provide a decision on your application within seconds of your hitting “Apply”, plus whether they are able to issue funds the same day.

Lender decision and funding times

Lender	Product	Soft eligibility check	Instant decision	Same day funding	Link
	My Community Bank Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	NatWest Existing Customer Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Santander Existing Customer Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Royal Bank of Scotland Existing Customer Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Santander 123 and Select Customers Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Santander Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	HSBC Premier Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Bamboo Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Loqbox				Check eligibility
	Shawbrook Bank Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Abound Personal Loan (formerly Fintern)				Check eligibility
	1plus1 Loans Guarantor Loan				Check eligibility
	Fluro (formerly Lending Works) Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Guarantor My Loan				Check eligibility
	Everyday Loans Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Novuna Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	118 118 Money Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Post Office Money® Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	HSBC Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	AA Member Loan				Check eligibility
	AA Non-Member Loan				Check eligibility
	Finio Loans Personal Loan				Read our review
	M&S Bank Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Admiral Personal Loan				Check eligibility
	Bank of Scotland Existing Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	Barclays Bank Existing Current Account Customer Barclayloan				Read our review
	Ulster Bank Existing Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	Virgin Money Existing Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	Halifax Existing Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	Nationwide Member Personal Loan				Read our review
	Monzo Bank Personal Loan				Read our review
	Metro Bank Personal Loan				Read our review
	Progressive Money Personal Loan for Homeowners				Read our review
	Danske Bank Existing Freedom C/Acc Customers				Read our review
	Savvy Personal Loan				Read our review
	Sainsbury's Bank Non-Nectar Cardholder Loan				Read our review
	Tesco Bank Personal Loan				Read our review
	Danske Bank Existing Choice Plus or Prestige C/Acc Customers				Read our review
	Sainsbury's Bank Nectar Cardholder Loan				Read our review
	Lendable Personal Loan				Read our review
	TSB Existing Current Account Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	Tesco Bank Clubcard Personal Loan				Read our review
	Barclays Bank Existing Premier Account Customer Barclayloan				Read our review
	Danske Bank Home Owners Personal Loan				Read our review
	Lloyds Bank Existing Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	first direct Existing Customer Personal Loan				Read our review
	Danske Bank Personal Loan				Read our review
	Creation Financial Services Creation Loans
	Halifax Personal Loan				Read our review
	Vanquis Bank Personal Loan
	Bank of Ireland UK Online Personal Loan				Read our review
	MBNA Limited Personal Loan				Read our review
	TSB Personal Loan				Read our review
	Fluent Money Secured Loan

How quickly can I get a personal loan?

There’s no doubt that loan companies are getting faster. Even the big banks have had to up their game to keep up with specialist online direct lenders. But it’s still fairly normal to have to wait a day or more to drawdown your loan.

Lloyds Bank and Barclays say they offer an instant decision as soon as you’ve completed your application, NatWest says it will offer you an online decision “in minutes” and Santander says it makes a decision on its personal loan “usually within a few minutes”. However, some big banks only issue loans to existing customers, or, if you’re a new customer, they might be able to lend to you, but it could take multiple working days for the funds to be transferred.

Bear in mind that even if a lender offers an instant decision on a personal loan, this doesn’t mean that the money will be in your account instantly. Having said that, these lenders tend to be pretty effective at transferring the money quickly, too. It’s not uncommon for the money to be in your account on the same working day as your application if your application is approved.

How can I speed things up?

If you apply for a loan on a weekday during working hours, that usually cuts the time it takes to get the funds in your account. Similarly, if you apply for a loan from the bank you hold a current account with, there’s a good chance it would be in your account within minutes, however you can almost always save money by comparing rates and shopping around.

Ensure you provide full and accurate info, with no errors.

Decisions can sometimes be delayed if there is high demand for a specific product, if there is something missing from your application or if your circumstances are less standard (self-employed applicants may have to jump through a few more hoops).

Can I get an instant personal loan if I have bad credit?

It’s rare for the speed of the decision to be affected by your credit score, but the chances of you getting approved for the best products will be significantly diminished. Nevertheless, there are several products designed for applicants with a bad credit score.

These include:

• Specialist “bad-credit loans”. Lenders who specialise in these loans will offer products with higher interest rates and looser eligibility criteria.
  Bad-credit personal loans
• Credit-builder credit cards. Credit-builder credit cards are aimed at customers with a poor credit score. Again, they have higher interest rates, but it’s easier to be approved for them and you’ll be able to boost your credit score with each timely monthly repayment.
  Credit-builder credit cards
• Payday loans. Payday loans are short-term loans designed for people in need of emergency funds. Most payday lenders will offer an instant decision and same-day access to funds. However, these lenders should still be considered a last resort as the rates are extremely high.
  Payday and short-term instalment loans

Dos and don’ts

Bottom line

Decisions on personal loans tend to be made faster than ever thanks to the Internet. If you’re desperately in need of an instant decision, you now have a head start with our reliable list of lenders that claim to provide this.

No matter how urgently you need money, take the time to compare products and check the terms of the product you’re interested in before completing the application process.