Stamps? Check. Financial services? Check. Post Office Money now offers first class personal loans, and you can check if you're eligible in minutes, without affecting your credit score, using the "Fast Checker".
The Post Office is no longer accepting new personal loans applications. We’ve kept this review for historical purposes. You can compare alternative loans.
Our verdict
Our verdict
If you’re looking to get funds quickly the Post Office provides instant decisions and next day funding. Not to mention, with its low interest rates and flexibility over early repayments, the Post Office offers competitive loans. However, you’ll need good credit to be offered these low rates and there isn’t a repayment holiday option available. If you can’t make your repayments, you run the risk of damaging your credit score.
Best for: Good credit
Pros
Competitive interest rates
Instant decisions
Next day funding facility
Flexibility over early repayment
Cons
You’ll need good credit
No repayment holiday option
Tracking your loan could be easier
Representative example: Borrow £10,000.00 over 3 years at a rate of 6.1% p.a. (fixed). Representative APR 6.1% and total payable £10,941.12 in monthly repayments of £303.92.
Maximum loan
£40,000
Product fee
N/A
Early redemption fee
Yes
Post Office loan calculator
How do Post Office loans compare against the competition?
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Post Office Money provides a range of financial services including current accounts, mortgages and personal loans through branches, online and over the phone. If you apply online you’ll usually receive an instant decision.
Quick overview of Post Office Money personal loans
Loan amount not specified
Loan terms
From year to years
Age eligibility
Age eligibility not specified
Application fee
No application fee
Repayment holiday
Repayment holiday not permitted
Key features of Post Office Money personal loans
Post Office Money personal loans were unsecured loans – meaning they were based on creditworthiness, rather than using property, a vehicle or other asset as collateral.
While Post Office Money rates were normally competitive, the advertised representative APR may not have bene the rate you’ll receive: Post Office Money did offer you a rate based on factors including your credit score, your income and your expenditure. We based our calculations on the advertised APR.
Loan type
Unsecured Personal Loan
Loan amounts
£1,000.00 to £40,000.00
Loan terms
1 Year to 7 Years
Loan rate type
Fixed
Product fee
0%
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 methods
Direct Debit
Post Office Personal Loans were provided by Bank of Ireland UK. Post Office Limited was a credit broker and not a lender.
What is the representative APR?
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is designed to provide an annual summary of the cost of a loan. All lenders must calculate it using the same formula. They must take into account both interest and any mandatory charges to be paid (for example an arrangement fee) over the duration of the loan. Post Office Money doesn’t charge application/arrangement fees, so its interest rate and APR will be one and the same.
Post Office Money’s APRs vary depending according to the amount and term you’re after – as our calculator shows – but they’ll also vary according to your personal situation. The representative APR is the APR that Post Office Money offers to at least 51% of its borrowers. The other 49% may be offered a higher rate.
In other words, if Post Office Money thinks that you’re a really safe bet to lend money to (based on things like your credit score, your income/outgoings etc.), then it will likely offer you its representative APR. Since Post Office Money advertises some of the most competitive representative APRs you’ll find on the market, it’s likely that you’ll need excellent credit to bag those advertised rates.
Was I eligible for a Post Office Money personal loan?
You should only have applied for a Post Office Money personal loan if you were certain you could meet the repayment terms, and you met the following criteria:
You must be aged over 21, and no older than 70 when the loan ends.
Have an annual income of at least £12,000. If you’re self employed, you must have been employed for a minimum of 2 years.
Have lived in the UK for at least three years.
Have a UK based bank or building society account that can pay direct debits.
Have a good credit rating without a history of county court judgement or bankruptcy.
Pros and cons
Pros
Competitive interest rates. Post Office Money was frequently to found battling it out at the top of comparison tables for the cheapest loan rates.
Eligibility checker. Like most lenders, Post Office Money could give you a clear indication as to your likelihood of being approved for a loan, before you applied.
Instant decisions. Most of the time, you would’ve received a decision on your application within seconds.
Next day funding facility. Your loan may have been funded the next day, although Post Office Money didn’t clarify exactly when this facility was available (loan companies sometimes don’t transfer funds outside of office hours).
Flexibility over early repayment. There was no penalty fee for paying some or all of your loan ahead of time, and if you did overpay, you could ask to shorten your loan or reduce your remaining monthly repayments (choosing the former will usually work out cheaper).
Cons
You’ll need good credit. Rates this low usually mean you’ll need a decent credit record to get approved.
No repayment holiday option. While some lenders give you a month or 2 at the beginning of your loan before you need to start making repayments, Post Office Money opted not to. On the other hand, repayment holidays push up the overall cost of borrowing significantly.
Tracking your loan could be easier. If you want to check your balance or change any details, you’ll need to phone Post Office Money.
Several customers in our survey commented positively on Post Office Money’s helpful service, saying they were “easy to deal with”.
How do I contact Post Office Money?
You can contact the Post Office’s customer service on 0800 169 2000. You can contact the Post office on Monday to Friday from 8am – 7pm and on Saturdays from 8am – 2pm, but are closed on Sundays and on bank holidays
Frequently asked questions
Post Office Money offes a “Fast Checker” quotation tool which enables you to find out how likely you are to be accepted without impacting your credit score. All you need to do is provide a few details. Working with credit reference agencies, Post Office Money does a pre-application check of your credit record. You’ll be able to see the search on your file, but it won’t show up to other organisations. This means there’s no impact on your credit rating or ability to borrow money.
No, not necessarily – Post Office Money is only obliged to award this rate to 51% of its customers. Fortunately you can get a good idea of the rate you would be offered – without affecting your credit score – by using the “fast checker” on Post Office Money's loans page.
Yes, you can. You’ll need to declare that this is the purpose of the loan during the application process.
Yes. You’ll have 14 calendar days from the day after you receive your acceptance letter to withdraw from your agreement. If you decide you no longer want a loan, just call 0800 169 2000 within this 14 day period.
At the time of writing, Post Office Money does not offer this service.
Yes, Post Office Money allows you to change this once per year.
Yes. Let Post Office Money know you’d like to pay off the loan early orally or in writing. If you repay part of your loan early, unless you request otherwise, your monthly repayment amount will stay the same but you will potentially repay the loan more quickly.
It’s important to check the early repayment terms before applying for any personal loan. If there’s a likelihood that you’ll be able to clear a loan early, then good early-repayment terms should be an important factor in deciding which lender to use, as you could potentially pay less overall. Many lenders will not charge a penalty for overpayment, but that does not necessarily mean you will pay less in interest.
Unfortunately, the Post Office is no longer accepting applications. If you’re an existing member, no changes will be made to your loan. If you’ve recently applied, you can track your application via the Post office website.
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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Chris Lilly is Head of publishing at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more. See full bio
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Chris has written 566 Finder guides across topics including:
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