SimpleMoneyLyfe’s overall ratings for personal loans and loans are evaluated against seven major factors.
- Affordability: When analyzing the affordability of a personal loan, our expert team of analysts and product evaluators review the origination fees, prepayment fees, and late payment fees. We also love reading the fine print, so we take note of hidden fees buried in the text.
- Competitive Rates: Consumers deserve competitive interest rates. We compare personal loans to historical averages, ensuring we present current, competitive, and accurate rates.
- Customer Support: Taking out a loan is a decision that can have a widespread impact on your personal finances. We analyze the personal loan provider’s customer support capabilities, such as email, online chat, and 24/7 phone support.
- Funding Times: Emergencies happen. We carefully review and analyze the funding times. The clock starts as soon as you hit submit on the online application. These minor details are our bread and butter.
- Flexibility: Personal loans aren’t a one size fit all solution. Our team of analysts and editors reviews the repayment terms, various loan offerings, refinancing options, and payment due dates.
- Online Application: This is one factor we never skip. When rating personal loans, the team combs through the online application. We analyze what documents and personal data consumers need to provide to secure a personal loan.
- Security: The final factor we consider is the security of the personal loan lender. We analyze what level of encryption it employs and ensure it protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your personal data and the systems utilized.
- Transparency: Our team of analysts reviews the transparency of the lender. We ensure consumers know the credit impact (soft check vs. hard check) and the reporting. Does it report made payments to the three major credit bureaus? These are just a handful of the details we analyze.
We Uphold Strict Editorial Standards to Ensure the Integrity & Honesty of Our Personal Loan Reviews.
The Personal Loan Lender Review Process
SimpleMoneyLyfe reviews over 40+ personal loan providers, marketplaces, and payday lenders. It is important to note that we do not recommend payday loans. Instead, we provide consumers with safe and reputable alternatives.
Religiously Collect Information
Our team of personal loan experts scours publicly available information on the lender’s website to kick off the review process. We then fact-check all the collected information and conduct expert interviews to craft our review if necessary.
Apart from this, our team also reads customer reviews on trusted third-party websites, such as Trustpilot, Google Reviews, and the Better Business Bureau. This helps our analyst paint a clear picture of the lender’s reputation and customer experience.
Content Updates
Our personal loan team maintains contact with the lenders we reviewed throughout the year. We periodically update our personal loan coverage to reflect rate changes, new feature offerings, and fee increases/decreases. You can rest easy knowing our data is accurate, relevant, and trustworthy.
Personal Loan Product Review Team
Our team of personal loan analysts, editors, and writers adheres to SimpleMoneyLyfe’s no-nonsense editorial guidelines. Our commitment to impartial, accurate reviews and financial coverage is why our reporting has been featured on CNBS, US News & World Report, Readers Digest, MarketWatch, Business Insider, and countless other trustworthy news sources.