Finio personal loans review

Looking for a personal loan? Find out whether Finio Loans could help.

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Finio Loans

A personal loan can be a popular way to borrow funds to pay for a wedding, a new car, home improvements or to consolidate debts. Here, we explain what Finio Loans has to offer.

Our verdict

Applying for a loan with Finio Loans could be worth considering, particularly if you have a less-than-perfect credit history. That's because the company will use open banking to assess your finances, rather than just your credit score, to decide whether it's happy to lend to you. However, the APR on these loans is relatively high, so it's worth shopping around to see what else is available before you make a final decision.
Pros
  • Easy to apply for
  • You can apply if you have poor credit
  • Funds are often transferred to your account on the same day
  • You can choose your payment date
  • No arrangement fees
Cons
  • Interest can be applied if you repay the loan early
  • APR is relatively high
  • Maximum loan of £5,000
  • Loans must be repaid within 3 years
Representative example: Borrow £10,000.00 over 3 years at a rate of 39.9% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 39.9% and total payable £16,091.64 in monthly repayments of £446.99.
Finio Loans Personal Loan
3.9 ★★★★★
Finder score
Check eligibility

39.9% APR representative (Fixed)

Maximum loan

£5,000

Product fee

N/A

Early redemption fee

£0

Please note: You should always refer to your loan agreement for exact repayment amounts as they may vary from our results.

What is Finio Loans?

Finio Loans is owned by Oakbrook Finance and offers unsecured personal loans aimed at those with poor credit. You can borrow from £500.00 to £5,000.00 over a term of 1 year to 3 years. Finio Loans is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

As well as looking at your credit score to establish your creditworthiness, Finio Loans may use Open Banking to connect to your bank account and get a clearer picture of your financial situation. This helps the company to assess whether your loan will be affordable and right for you.

Quick overview of Finio Loans personal loans

Loan amounts From £500 to £5,000
Loan terms From 1 year to 3 years
Age eligibility 18 years and over
Application fee No application fee
Repayment holiday Repayment holiday not permitted

Am I eligible for a Finio Loan personal loan?

To be eligible for a Finio Loan personal loan, you will need to:

  • Be aged 18 to 73.
  • Be a UK resident.
  • Have some UK credit history.
  • Have a UK bank account.

You can apply for a loan even if you have a poor credit score, so long as you haven’t been made bankrupt in the last 12 months.

Finio Loans offers an eligibility checker so you can see how likely you are to be accepted for a loan and get your personalised rate without affecting your credit score.

How to apply for a Finio loan

If you want to apply for a Finio loan, follow the steps below:

  1. Check your eligibility. Answer a few questions and provide your contact details and address history via Finio’s eligibility checker to see whether you’ll be accepted.
  2. Complete your application. If you’re happy with your personalised offer, complete the online application form and a full credit check will be carried out.
  3. Funds are transferred. Once your application is accepted, the funds will usually be sent to your bank account the same day – often in as little as 10 minutes.

Note that, in some cases, you might be asked to provide supporting documents, such as a copy of your driving licence or proof of income. You can upload this online as part of the application process.

Once you’ve received the funds, you’ll have a simple online account to help you manage your repayments.

How much does it cost?

Finio loans have a representative APR of 39.9%. However, the APR offered depends on your individual circumstances and could be as high as 69.9% APR.

There are no arrangement fees or early repayment fees to pay with Finio loans. However, the firm will charge interest if you decide to pay back your loan early. It can charge up to 28 days’ interest to cover the period between your last repayment date and the settlement date.

It’s important to only ever borrow an amount you can afford to repay and make sure your monthly repayments are manageable.

Loan typeUnsecured Personal Loan
Loan amounts£500.00 to £5,000.00
Loan terms1 year to 3 years
Loan rate typeFixed
Product fee0%
Same-day funding available
Instant decisions in most cases
Soft-search facility available
Joint applications
Overpay without penalty
Concurrent loans allowed
Topping-up pays off existing loan and initiates a new loan
Repayment methodsCheque, Direct Debit, Standing Order

All interest rates are fixed for the duration of your repayment period. However, the rate you’re offered depends on factors including the amount you apply for, the loan term, your credit rating and your income. It may differ from the advertised “Representative APR”.

What is APR?

The annual percentage rate (APR) is designed to provide an annual summary of the loan’s cost, taking into account both interest and any mandatory charges (for example, an application fee, although these are thankfully now pretty rare in the world of unsecured personal loans).

All lenders must calculate the APR of their products in the same way and must tell you the APR before you sign an agreement. So for consumers, it can be a handy tool for comparison.

However, almost all lenders tailor APRs to the applicant – in other words, if your credit record isn’t as strong as other applicants, you may be offered a higher APR. The advertised representative APR is the APR that a lender realistically expects at least 51% of successful applicants to get. Lenders like Tesco, which battle it out with other banks to advertise the very lowest representative APRs, are likely to have high credit score expectations when it comes to offering that advertised representative APR.

Finio Loans customer reviews

Finio Loans is rated highly on the customer review site Trustpilot. It scores 4.8 out of 5 from more than 5,200 reviews (updated March 2024), giving it an “excellent” rating.

Positive reviews focus on the easy application process, fast transfer of funds and excellent customer service. However, a few reviewers have said that the customer service was poor and their application was declined.

Frequently asked questions

Personal loans scores

★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor

Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.

To find out more, read our full methodology.

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. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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Writer

Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time. See full bio

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