Why do I need a loan?
The answer to this question depends on your financial circumstances, and more often than not the availability of a loan when needed can be a life saver.
Loans are required to meet short term funding needs e.g. buying a car, paying school fees, buying equipment for your business, repayment of an existing loan facility and several other reasons.
A loan comes with interest charges by your lender over a certain duration. You should ensure that you are capable of repaying what you are borrowing with the interest, as missed payments may have detrimental effects on your credit worthiness.
In some cases, the lenders also charge admin fees, which you can add to the loan or pay separately. Please review the small prints carefully.
How much should I borrow?
This depends on why you need to borrow and what you need the money for. Generally, you will consider the duration, cost of the loan, your ability to repay, frequency of repayments etc.
It is standard that you will be charged on your borrowing, however some lenders offer some incentives i.e. interest free loans, interest holidays, repayment holidays to help with your repayment.
There is really no point to borrowing extensively at any point because you will incur cost according to the size of your borrowing. On the flip side too, try to borrow as much as you need as you may be charged a lower rate of interest on repayment.
How long should I borrow for?
This depends on the type of loan and your circumstances. Most lenders offer terms of 12 months, 2 years, 3 and 5 years etc. which can also be staggered. Use our loan calculator to give you an idea of what you can work with.
Will I be charged a Loan fee?
Some lenders charge arrangement fees or transaction charges, which adds to the total cost of borrowing. In some cases, if you repay your loan earlier than the agree term, you may pay early repayment charge as well. Ensure you review the small print before signing up.
What can I use personal loan for?
Car Finance
Medical Emergency
Salary Advance
Home improvements, Fixtures and Fittings
Holidays
Events and Occasions
Other uses
What are the types of loans out there?
Broadly speaking, there is Secured and Unsecured loan. You may require a loan for different reasons, for example, a wedding, salary advance, to repay debts, to pay school fees, for holidays, business use etc. and they typically fall under the categories of the following types of loans which includes ; personal loan, car loan, debt repayment, salary advance, business loan etc.
How do how calculate the cost of the loan?
To make things easier, we have developed a loan calculator that can give you an idea what the loan will cost you. All you need to do is to provide how much you want to borrow, interest rate and for how long, our calculator will do the rest.
Ensure you focus on your monthly repayment for you to gauge affordability. Note that some lenders may add fees, admin charges etc., therefore check the small print carefully.
Secured vs. Unsecured
Secured loan:
This is when your borrowing is secured against an asset, some sort of collateral to minimise the risk the lender bears and to guarantee your payment. The lender is obligated to take possession or ownership of your asset in case you default, or are unable to further service your loan.
Think carefully before you apply for this type of loan, as you may lose your valuable asset if you become unable to afford the repayment.
Unsecured loan:
This sort of borrowing is not secured against any asset or collateral, the lender bears the risks. Do you have more questions about the types of loans? Read our loan guides.
Is it possible to repay my loan if I want to?
Yes, absolutely. You have an option to repay the loan in full at any point in time but please check the small print as this is also dependent on the terms and conditions of agreement.
Generally though, you should be able to repay unsecured personal loans without incurring early repayment charge or additional fees, but some secured loans come with fees if you repay early.
Where can I get a loan?
Use our search tools and provide some basic information, we will search across a wide range of lenders for you. We partner with a panel of accredited and reputable providers and we display their products so you can make informed decisions.
If you are happy with what you see, follow the instructions and we’ll work with you to ensure you get the right product that meets your needs. Our panel of providers include Banks, finance houses, micro-finance banks, asset firms, money brokers and a host of other types of lenders.
You have the first option of getting a loan from your bank, but you can always get a better deal somewhere else, so why not start comparing now?