How Our Personal Loan Request Process Works

You fill out one request, we share it with lenders in our network, any interested lender shows you an offer, and you decide whether to finish an application with that lender.

The whole process is built so you can see real options before committing. Submitting a request does not obligate you to anything, and many lenders use a soft credit check to show estimated terms. A hard inquiry usually happens only when you choose an offer and complete the lender's full application.

Most people finish the request in about five minutes and see whether lenders are interested shortly after. How quickly money arrives depends on the lender, your bank and how fast you complete verification.

The request form asks for the loan amount, its purpose, and basic personal, income, housing and bank details, which lenders need to judge whether they can help you.

Choose an amount between $500 and $5,000 and the reason you need it, such as a car repair or card payoff. You will then enter your name, address, date of birth, employment and income details, and the checking account where funds would be deposited.

Accuracy matters. Lenders confirm what you enter, and mismatched income or address details are a common cause of delays. Have a recent pay stub or bank statement handy so the numbers you type match your documents. If you want to check basic requirements first, see our eligibility guide.

After you submit, we pass your request to lenders and lending partners in our network whose basic criteria may fit your profile, so several lenders can review it at once.

Each lender uses its own rules for credit, income, state availability and loan size. Some respond with a prequalified rate on screen, others email or call, and some invite you to continue on their website. You may hear from more than one lender, or from none if no lender can make an offer right now.

We explain how lenders pay us and how that can affect which offers you see on our advertiser disclosure.

Compare each offer's APR, monthly payment, term, origination fee and total cost of credit side by side, because the lowest monthly payment is not always the cheapest loan.

For example, a $2,000 loan at 19.99% APR costs about $101.78 a month over 24 months, $2,442.76 in total. A longer term would lower the payment but raise the total. Our payment calculator can help you test different rates and terms before you decide.

You are never required to accept an offer. If nothing fits your budget, you can close the window, wait, or improve your credit and try again later.

Once you pick an offer, you complete that lender's own application, confirm your identity and income, and review the loan agreement before you sign anything.

This is usually when the lender runs a hard credit inquiry and asks for documents such as pay stubs, bank statements or an ID. Connecting your bank account electronically, when offered, is often the fastest way to finish verification.

Read the agreement carefully. Check the APR, fees, first due date, late fee and prepayment terms. If any word is unclear, our personal loan glossary explains it in plain English.

After you sign, the lender sends the loan amount to your bank account, often within one to three business days, and you repay the lender directly on its schedule.

Timing depends on the lender's cutoff time, weekends and holidays, and how your bank processes incoming transfers. If an origination fee applies, it is usually deducted before the money arrives, so the deposit may be slightly less than the loan amount.

Set up autopay or calendar reminders for your due date. All payment questions go to your lender, whose contact details are in your loan agreement.

Using our service costs you nothing; lenders and partners pay us for connecting them with borrowers, and you never receive a bill from us for submitting a request or viewing offers.

The only costs you take on are those in a loan agreement you choose to sign with a lender, such as interest and any origination fee. Those costs are set entirely by the lender. Anyone who asks you to pay a fee to us, or to pay before receiving a loan, is not acting for our service.