Universal Credit Services Personal Loans Review August 2022 – Credible

Best for:

Borrowers who want to build their credit
Fast loan funding

Universal Credit is a lending platform powered by Upgrade, a San Francisco-based loan broker. Upgrade, in turn, provides and services personal loans funded through partner banks.

If you’re considering Universal Credit for a personal loan, here’s what you should know first.

In this Universal Credit review:

Universal Credit interest rates and loan details

Universal Credit offers fixed-rate personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000 with flexible repayment terms. If you’re approved, you could get your loan funds within one business day after clearing any necessary verifications.

Also keep in mind that Universal Credit offers personal loans for bad credit and fair credit — which means you might have an easier time qualifying even if your credit is less than perfect.

universal credit 2
Credible rating

Fixed rates from (APR)

11.69% – 35.93% APR7

Loan amount$1,000 to $50,000

Min. credit score560

Loan terms3 to 5 years8

Time to get fundsWithin one day, once approved9

Residency

Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Not available in DC, SC, WV

Fees

Origination fee: 4.25% to 8%
Prepayment penalty: None

Loan useDebt consolidation, home improvements, auto repairs, weddings, moving, boats, and other personal expenses

Key benefits

If applicants opt for a credit card payoff loan, Universal Credit will pay off the cards directly. They might also get a rate discount
Free credit score monitoring, educational tools, and personalized recommendations to help you build your credit

Best for

Fast funding
Building credit

Universal Credit personal loans review

Universal Credit personal loans can be used for a wide variety of personal expenses, such as debt consolidation and home improvement.

In addition to a fast application and loan funding process, Universal Credit also provides access to free credit score monitoring, educational tools, and personalized recommendations to help you understand and build your credit.

However, keep in mind that Universal Credit loans have origination fees ranging from 4.25% to 8% of the loan amount. This fee is deducted from your loan amount before it’s disbursed to you.

For example: If you wanted to borrow $10,000 to

If you wanted to borrow $10,000 to consolidate credit card debt and were charged a 5% origination fee, you’d have to borrow $10,500 to net the $10,000 you need to pay off your cards.

Learn More: Types of Personal Loans

How to qualify

To get a personal loan through Universal Credit, you must:

Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Be 18 or older (19 or older in some states)
Have a verifiable bank tài khoản
Have a valid email address
Not available in DC, SC, WV

You’ll also need to meet Universal Credit’s other personal loan requirements, such as its criteria for credit and income.

Check Out: How to Get a Fast Personal Loan for Quick Cash

Repayment

With Universal Credit, you can choose a term of three or five years. You’ll have a fixed rate and monthly payment, which means you’ll have an exact date for when your loan will be paid off.

You also have the option of signing up for automatic payments. This can be a great way to ensure you won’t miss payments in the future.

Learn More: Personal Loans From Banks: Where to Get Loans

How Universal Credit compares to other lenders

When you’re shopping for a personal loan, it’s important to consider as many personal loan lenders as you can to find the right for you. Here’s how Universal Credit compares to two of Credible’s other partner lenders:

universal credit 2

Credible Rating

Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.

Discover PersonalLoans Primary Logo RGB 1
Credible Rating

LendingClub LOGO BLUE 1
Credible Rating

Fixed rates from (APR)

11.69% – 35.93% APR7

5.99% – 24.99% APR

7.04% – 35.89% APR

Loan terms3 to 5 years83 to 7 years3 or 5 years

Loan Amounts$1,000 to $50,000$2,500 to $35,000$1,000 to $40,000

Time to fundWithin one day, once approved9As soon as the next business day after acceptanceUsually takes about 2 days†

Min. credit score560660600

Origination fee4.25% to 8phần trămNone1% to 6%

Best for

Fast funding
Building credit

Borrowers with good to excellent credit
Consumers who want longer repayment terms

Borrowers with strong credit and low debt-to-income ratio
Paying off credit card debt

Compare rates from these lenders without affecting your credit score. 100% free!

Get Rates Now

All APRs reflect autopay and loyalty discounts where available | Read more about Rates and Terms

How to take out a personal loan with Universal Credit

To take out a Universal Credit loan, you’ll need to:

Fill out an initial form on the Universal Credit website. You have to provide basic information such as your name, address, and income as well as content to Universal Credit performing a soft credit check.
Pick your loan option. If you’re eligible for preapproval based on the information you provide, you’ll be shown the personal loan options and rates you qualify for. If you see a loan option you like, you can select it.
Fill out the full application. At this point, you’ll need to complete a full application and undergo a hard credit check. You might also have to submit documentation, such as income verification. Your application will then be approved or declined based on your credit, your income, the amount requested, and any other debt you might owe.

Before you take out a personal loan, remember to consider as many lenders as you can to find the right loan for you. Credible makes this easy — you can compare your prequalified rates from Universal Credit and several other vetted lenders in just two minutes.

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How Universal Credit can improve

While Universal Credit offers fast loan funding as well as options for poor or fair credit, here are a few ways it could improve:

Lower its minimum rates: Universal Credit’s rates are generally higher than competitors’ rates. If you have good to excellent credit, you can likely find better rates on good credit loans with other lenders.
Reduce or eliminate the origination fee: While origination fees for personal loans are common, you might pay more with Universal Credit compared to other lenders. Some lenders — such as LightStream and SoFi — don’t charge origination fees at all.
Provide more information on its website: Visitors to the Universal Credit site will have to dig deep to understand that Universal Credit is the platform for Upgrade as well as that Upgrade serves as a broker and loan servicer for the actual lender.

Keep Reading: Where to Get a Personal Loan

7Personal loans made through Universal Credit feature Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) of 8.93%-35.93%. All personal loans have a 4.25% to 8% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Lowest rates require Autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly. Loans feature repayment terms of 36 to 60 months. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 36-month term and a 27.65% APR (which includes a 22.99% yearly interest rate and a 6% one-time origination fee), you would receive $9,400 in your tài khoản and would have a required monthly payment of $387.05. Over the life of the loan, your payments would total $13,933.62. The APR on your loan may be higher or lower and your loan offers may not have multiple term lengths available. Actual rate depends on credit score, credit usage history, loan term, and other factors. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. There is no fee or penalty for repaying a loan early.

8Your loan terms are not guaranteed and are subject to our verification and review process. You may be asked to provide additional documents to enable us to verify your income and your identity. You may be required to have some of your funds sent directly to pay off your credit cards. This rate includes an Autopay APR reduction of 0.5%. By enrolling in Autopay your payments will be automatically deducted from your bank tài khoản. Selecting Autopay is optional. Annual Percentage Rate is inclusive of a loan origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. Personal loans made by Universal Credit's lending partners. Information on Universal Credit's lending partners can be found at https://www.universal-credit.com/landing/lendingpartners. Please refer to Universal Credit's Terms of Use and Borrower Agreement for all terms, conditions and requirements.

9Accept your loan offer and your funds will be sent to your bank or designated tài khoản within one (1) business day of clearing necessary verifications. Availability of the funds is dependent on how quickly your bank processes the transaction. From the time of approval, funds should be available within four (4) business days. Funds sent directly to pay off your creditors may take up to 2 weeks to clear, depending on the creditor.

†Between April 2021 and June 2021, personal loans were funded within 48 hours after loan approval, on average. The time it takes for a loan to be funded is not guaranteed and individual results vary based on multiple factors, including but not limited to investor demand.

About the author

Daria Uhlig

Daria Uhlig is a contributor to Credible who covers mortgage and real estate. Her work has appeared in publications like The Motley Fool, USA Today, MSN Money, CNBC, and Yahoo! Finance.