Smart-Pig

Smart-Pig short-term loans for students

If you’re a student and need a cash boost to help you through to your next student loan payment, you might be considering Smart-Pig, which offers short-term loans of £50 to £350.

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Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For help, go to moneyhelper.org.uk.

Please note: High-cost short-term credit is unsuitable for sustained borrowing over long periods and would be expensive as a means of longer-term borrowing.

Compare short-term loans for students

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Name Product Available Amounts Monthly repayment Total payable Link
Lending Stream Instalment Loan
£50 to £1,500
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Representative example: Borrow £200 for 6 months at a rate of 292% p.a. (fixed). Representative 1,333% APR and total payable £386.61 in 6 monthly payments of £64.44.
The Money Platform Short Term Loan
£250 to £1,000
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Representative example: Borrow £500 for 6 weeks at a rate of 255.5% p.a. Representative APR 839.20% and total payable: £647 in 1 payment.
QuidMarket Short Term Loan
£300 to £1,500
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Representative example: Borrow £300 for 3 months at a rate of 292% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 1297.6% and total payable: £454.37 in 3 instalments of £151.46.
Moneyboat Short Term Loan
£200 to £1,500
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Representative example: Borrow £400 for 4 months at a rate of 255.5% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 939.5% and total payable: £597.48 in 4 payments of £149.37.
Fund Ourselves (Welendus) Short Term Loan
£100 to £1,500
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Representative example: Borrow £200 for 122 days at a rate of 208% p.a. (fixed). Representative 504.7% APR and total payable £286.62 in 4 monthly payments of £71.71.
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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.

We compare payday/short-term loans from

Lending Stream Instalment Loan
The Money Platform Short Term Loan
QuidMarket Short Term Loan
Moneyboat Short Term Loan
Fund Ourselves (Welendus) Short Term Loan

What is Smart Pig?

Smart-Pig specialises in short-term loans for university students who need financial help before their next student loan is paid. The company was founded by Tom Parks and Shreiff Benaziza while they were studying at the University of Warwick and University of Hertfordshire respectively.

The idea came after one of the founders got into trouble keeping up with payments on a traditional “payday” loan. The experience was so bad that the two friends decided to create their own lender to provide a more affordable deal for students.

If you are receiving a student loan, grant or bursary from Student Finance England or Wales, Student Awards Agency Scotland or the NHS, you could borrow £50-£350 from Smart-Pig over 1 to 180 days.

Smart-Pig aims to offer a fair deal for students, with no late fees and a 10-day grace period on your repayment dates. It also caps interest at 50%, so you will never pay back more than half of what you borrowed in interest – this is half the 100% cap allowed by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Smart-Pig is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Key features of a Smart-Pig loan:

  • Borrow £50 to £350. Decide how much you need to get you through to your next student loan payment. The amount you are offered will be subject to what you can afford.
  • Quick application. It should take you less than 15 minutes to apply for a Smart-Pig loan.
  • Fast payment. Once your application’s approved, you could have the money in your account within two hours.
  • Top up your loan. Top up your loan to your approved limit, change the due date (up to your student loan payment date) online from your account. Please note that the longer you take to pay off a loan, the more you will pay in interest.
  • Fixed, high interest rates. With high interest rates charged daily, this is realistically an expensive way to borrow money.
  • Early repayment. Repay your loan early at any time at no extra charge.
  • No late fees. Smart-Pig will not charge you if you are late making a payment. The founders say they are understanding if a student loan is late being paid into your account.
  • No rollovers.You’ll need to stick to the repayment schedule.
  • Ethics pledge. Smart-Pig promises that its underwriting and collections team will listen to your personal circumstances and do what’s right for you when it comes to repaying your loan.
  • Text reminders. You will receive a reminder by text when your next payment is due.
  • Grace period. If you make a repayment within 10 days after it is due, it will be classed as a payment on time.

How does a Smart-Pig loan work?

  1. First enter the day you expect to get your next student loan. This must be accurate and match the date you have been given by the loans company.
  2. Use the tool on the Smart-Pig homepage to choose how much money you need and for how long. Then click “Apply now” and follow the simple steps to create an account and complete your application. You don’t need to set the repayment date to the same day as your student loan payment – it can be earlier.
  3. Smart-Pig checks that your details are correct and that your student loan is genuine. It will also conduct checks for the loan’s affordability based on your current credit report. You should receive a decision on your loan within 90 minutes.

How do I pay back my loan?

Like most short-term loan providers, Smart-Pig uses a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) to collect the repayments from your bank account on your chosen dates.

What is a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA)?

A CPA is a recurring payment in which you give a company permission to withdraw money from your account on a regular basis.

A CPA differs from a direct debit because it gives the company being paid the ability to withdraw money from your account whenever it wishes, and to take payments of different amounts without consulting you. Most payday loan companies will use a CPA to collect your repayments, although you can cancel this at any point by either consulting with your provider or your bank.

Is high-cost, short-term borrowing a good idea?

Short-term or “payday” loans can offer a temporary fix when you get into unexpected trouble with your finances, but they are a very expensive method of borrowing. Therefore, you should only consider this option as a last resort. Short-term loans are unlikely to solve your money problems in the long term, and are not suitable for borrowing over longer periods, or for people with serious debt problems.

Before you apply for a short-term loan, make sure you have considered all other options carefully. Is the expenditure that you’re planning a necessity? If you can put off a purchase even for a few months then you could save yourself money in the long run. Read more about alternatives to short-term loans at moneyadviceservice.org.uk.

What are the eligibility requirements?

You should only apply for a Smart-Pig loan if you are certain you can meet the repayment terms. You must also:

  • Have a valid UK bank account and debit card
  • Be studying at a UK university
  • Receive a student loan, grant or bursary from Student Finance England/Wales, SAAS or the NHS
  • Be a UK resident
  • Be at least 18 years of age

Did you know?

In 2015 the Financial Conduct authority (FCA) capped interest and fees on all high-cost short-term credit loans at 0.8% per day.

It also capped all default charges at £15 and the total cost (interest, fees) of loans at 100% of the original sum. This means you’ll never have to pay more than double the amount borrowed.

Frequently asked questions

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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