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OneMain Financial Loans Review
OneMain Financial can be the main hero in your financial tragedy.
- Fast and convenient funding option
- Easy loan application
- No minimum requirement for credit scores
- Higher interest rates
In the middle of a financial emergency, but your credit score is an emergency all on its own? Prospective borrowers can apply for OneMain personal loans even with a bad credit score. OneMain has been in business since 1912 and offers loans for debt consolidation, home improvements, emergencies and more. This OneMain loan review compares its features among other major personal loan lenders using the SimpleScore methodology, according to interest rates, loan size, customer satisfaction, support and fees.
[ Read: The Best Personal Loans ]
We follow a rigorous editorial policy designed to keep our writers and editors independent. Articles may reference products from our partners, so here’s more information on
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OneMain Financial Loan Specs
APR | 18.00%–35.99% |
Loan Amount | $1,500–$20,000 |
Terms | 24, 36, 48 or 60 months |
Best for | People who need fast funding, but have a bad credit score |
Not for | People with good credit scores — over 650 |
Standout feature | Secured loans available |
What we like about OneMain Financial personal loans
Quick and easy application process
Loan applications are available online for your convenience. If you’re more into a personal consultation with a financial agent, you may visit one of its 1,500 branches. This is even better if you need financial advice or specific information regarding loans from a loan specialist. You could also make an over-the-phone loan application. This process will involve several questions, which will most possibly involve personal, work and financial information.
OneMain accepts low credit scores
It’s not a requirement at OneMain Financial to have an excellent credit score. In fact, it doesn’t require any minimum credit score at all. It is known for issuing loans to borrowers with a lower-than-average credit.
Quick funding process
If you’re approved after OneMain reviews your information, you’ll be notified by your office branch for completion. You can receive your funds right after the loan completion process through different funding options, which you can discuss with an agent. There’s a high possibility for same-day funding to happen, only if your application process is approved before noon.
Things to consider
High interest rates and other fees
OneMain Financial personal loans come with interest rates that vary and origination fees that vary from state to state. Your incurred cost might depend on your loan amount, term and creditworthiness.
[ Read: Multiple Personal Loans and Your Credit Score ]
OneMain Financial vs. the competition
PersonalLoans.com
Simple Score: 3.75
PersonalLoans.com is an online marketplace for personal loan borrowers and lenders. If you have a credit score of 580, you may opt for installment loans. It allows loan amounts up to $35,000 processed in at least one business day. Terms are as long as 72 months with a rates of 5.99% to 35.99% APR.
LendingClub
Simple Score: 3.2
LendingClub is known for providing peer-to-peer lending. Borrowers have access to up to $40,000 loan amounts for a term of 3–5 years. However, this is only best for borrowers with a 600 or greater credit score. If you have low credit, it may be best to stick with OneMain Financial.
Avant
Simple Score: 3.2
Avant has no minimum credit score requirement, but states that the average score of its borrowers is between 600 and 700. It issues loans from $2,000 to $35,000 with reasonable interest rates. Although it has origination fees of 4.75%, Avant won’t charge additional fees if you pay off your loan early.
How much will a OneMain Financial personal loan cost?
OneMain loans don’t require any minimum credit score. However, this is in exchange for an expensive option of high interest rates. The best loan rate you could ever secure is 18% APR. Also, you might have to offer vehicle collateral to borrow larger amounts, but this requirement depends on your creditworthiness.
OneMain Financial personal loans also have origination fees. The cost can vary depending on your creditworthiness and home location. Expect a maximum of $400 flat fee or 10% fee of the total loan amount.
[ Related: Secured vs. Unsecured Personal Loans ]
If you want to level up your game, you may opt for credit insurance. Options consist of credit life insurance, credit involuntary employment insurance and credit disability insurance. This is only optional, since it may burden you with additional fees in your total loan amount.
Cheaper alternatives to OneMain Financial personal loans
It is wise to check rates at other companies before choosing a lender. This way, you are sure to get the best deal available. Check with your local bank and other online lenders to compare rates. Examine any monthly fees as well as calculate the total cost to you over the duration of the loan. Be sure to examine any hidden fees associated with any offer, and take advantage of a fixed interest rate on your loan if interest rates are low. This provides you protection in keeping your payments consistent over the span of your loan.
[ More: Has the Pandemic Made It Easier to Get a Personal Loan? ]
Comparing loan offers from different companies may come off as very time-consuming. But in the end, it could save you a lot of money.
OneMain Financial in the news
- In April 2020, BusinessWire reported that OneMain Financial responded to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by donating $1 million to organizations and payment relief for borrowers. When speaking about difficulties that clients and communities face during this crisis, OneMain President and CEO Doug Shulman stated that “we are committed to helping them get through this difficult period.”
- Cision PR Newswire reported in June 2020 that OneMain Financial went live with J.P. Morgan’s Treasury Services API service that enables real-time connectivity between J.P. Morgan and ATOM. This provides OneMain Financial with real-time, on-demand reporting for transactions and cash balances covering its entire bank account activity.
- In August 2020, BusinessWire ran a story that OneMain Financial provided relief to its customers in Iowa that were negatively affected by the Derecho storm. These benefits included deferred loan payments to eligible customers.
[ Read: Pros and Cons of Taking Out a Personal Loan ]
Too long, didn’t read?
OneMain Financial is best for people who need funds pronto but have a lower than average credit score. On the other hand, expect high interest rates and origination fees based on your creditworthiness, work history, income and location. However, different funding options and fast funding processes are provided. Loan approval is highly likely, and the application process is fast and easy.
Last updated September 16, 2020 — Updated editorial review of the brand.
We welcome your feedback on this article and would love to hear about your experience with the personal loans we recommend. Contact us at inquiries@thesimpledollar.com with comments or questions.
Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our review of the best personal loans of 2020.
Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?
To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.
However, it’s also possible for the same product from the same brand to have multiple SimpleScores. For instance, if we compare NetCredit’s personal loans according to our criteria for the best personal loans, it scores a 2.3 out of 5. But when we compare NetCredit according to the criteria for the best bad credit personal loans, it scores considerably higher, since the criteria for the latter review are more lenient (lenders who serve borrowers with bad credit will always offer higher rates, so we needed to adjust our category methodology to account for different industry standards).
Questions about our methodology?
Email Hayley Armstrong at hayley@thesimpledollar.com.
Rates
We looked at the maximum APR for each lender — the lower their maximum rate, the higher their score.
Loan Size
We awarded higher scores to lenders with more generous loan sizes.
Customer Satisfaction
We leveraged the J.D. Power 2019 Personal Loan Satisfaction Study℠ to see how customers rated their experience with each lender. (If a lender wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s study, we skipped this aspect and averaged the four remaining aspect scores.)
Support
We awarded higher scores to lenders with the most channels for customer support.
Fees
We looked at the three most common fees — origination, late payment, and pre-payment — and penalized lenders for each fee charged.