SteadyPay loans review 2023

SteadyPay is a subscription-based credit provider that aims to support gig economy workers or those with irregular income. It attempts to help workers when their weekly income is lower than usual, such as when they work fewer hours, take time off due to illness or are away on holiday.

SteadyPay securely connects its app to your bank account using open banking technology, and when you earn less than your average weekly income, it offers a “top-up” to your account to make up the difference. For example, if you normally earn £500 but only earn £400 one week, SteadyPay can pay you a “top-up” advance of £100 into your account (you can accept or decline it). You then repay this amount over a series of regular instalments. You can also request top-ups yourself if an unexpected expense crops up.

Unlike a credit card, SteadyPay does not charge interest. Instead, it uses a subscription model, with a £7 weekly subscription fee. You’ll need to have paid your subscription fee for 2 weeks to be eligible for a top-up.

The minimum top-up you’ll receive is £25, and the maximum you can owe at any one time is £1,000. You can continue to get top-ups provided your balance stays below the £1,000 limit.

A SteadyPay subscription costs £7 per week. There’s no interest on any income top-ups you receive, but you do have to pay these back.

If you’re only after the credit-boosting “StepUp” facility and don’t want income top-ups, you can pay a subscription of £7 per month.

The subscription fee is collected from your debit card each Friday after 2pm.

You should receive your top-up advance within 2 working days of your payday. It can take up to 24 hours after your normal pay has been deposited in your bank account before the SteadyPay app updates, and then another working day for the top-up amount to be deposited in your account if you accept the top-up offer.

The amount you’re offered is based on your average pay (calculated on 3 monthly paychecks or 4 weekly/fortnightly paychecks). So if your income is more than £25 below the average, SteadyPay might offer to top it up to the average. You can even get multiple top-ups, but your overall credit balance is capped at a £1,000 limit.

SteadyPay StepUp is a way to boost your credit score in return for a monthly fee. You pay £7 a month, and SteadyPay treats this subscription payment as a repayment on a credit agreement. Each payment gets reported back to the main 3 UK credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), which should benefit your credit score with each of them.

Portify and LOQBOX offer similar services, which you can compare in our guide to improving your credit score.

If you don’t take any top-ups from SteadyPay, then you paid money for nothing (or maybe just for peace of mind – like an insurance policy you don’t claim on).

If you do, it’ll almost certainly work out cheaper than, say, a payday loan might have, but it might not work out as cheap as a credit card (if you cleared the credit card balance in full every month you used it).

Creative solutions to help people with unpredictable incomes is undoubtedly a good thing, and £7 a week is unlikely to break the bank. But SteadyPay takes some getting your head around, and some might find its competitor Creditspring a clearer prospect. Both offer short-term credit, and both require a bit of planning ahead (needing to be a member for a set period before you can draw on the credit facility).

Similarly, the new StepUp credit-boosting feature may struggle to compete with LOQBOX, which repays your monthly subscriptions to you at the end of an agreed term.

SteadyPay doesn’t seem set to change lives overnight, but credit where credit is due (sorry), it is one of a new wave of fintechs reshaping the borrowing landscape for the better.