NetCredit Personal Loans: 2024 Review

NetCredit is an online lender that offers personal installment loans with high interest rates to borrowers with bad credit.

NetCredit does a hard credit check before approving borrowers but says it approves those with low credit scores and considers information beyond credit when making a loan decision.

Consider a NetCredit loan a last-resort option. Though the lender offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment terms, the lender’s high rates can make these loans difficult to repay. NerdWallet recommends avoiding loans with rates above 36% unless you’ve ruled out all alternatives.

» MORE: Best personal loans for bad credit

NetCredit personal loan rates, fees and terms

NetCredit’s rates, fees and repayment terms may vary by state. Here’s what the lender offers across all states where it operates:

How to qualify for a NetCredit personal loan

NetCredit does a hard credit pull before providing a personal loan, a process that temporarily lowers applicants’ credit scores.

This step is usually done before approval to give a lender a detailed look at applicants’ history with other types of credit, like previous loans and credit cards, to help determine whether they’re likely to repay a new loan. However, NetCredit only does a hard pull after approval.

The lender also says it may request access to applicants’ bank account transaction history to verify income.

Requirements:

• Must be at least 18 years old — in most states.

• Must have a verifiable source of income.

• Must have a personal checking account.

• Must have an email address.

NetCredit says it approves borrowers with good, fair and bad credit, but those with good or fair credit (a score above 630) may qualify for lower-rate loans elsewhere.

» MORE: Best personal loans for fair credit

NetCredit personal loan pros and cons

A NetCredit loan is an option for borrowers who don’t qualify for a lower-rate loan from a different lender. Before you borrow, consider the pros and cons.

Pros

Borrowers with low credit scores may qualify. NetCredit says it evaluates borrowers based on their full financial picture, not just their credit history. A bad credit score (629 or lower) may not prevent you from getting this loan.

Adjustable payment date. NetCredit lets borrowers choose the frequency of payments (biweekly or monthly) and adjust the due dates to match their payment schedule. This is a helpful feature if you change jobs and have a new payday or need to balance expenses. The lender requires two business days’ notice to adjust a payment date. Borrowers can move individual due dates or update their full payment schedule online, but more flexibility may be available by phone.

Fast funding. NetCredit says it makes an approval decision within minutes and typically sends funds by the following business day.

» MORE: Compare the best installment loans

Cons

High interest rates. Most consumer advocates say 36% is the highest annual percentage rate (APR) a loan can have and still be considered affordable. NetCredit’s rates reach nearly 100% in some states.

Interest may add up to more than 50% of the loan amount. You may end up paying more than half of what you borrowed in interest alone, depending on the rate and repayment term. For example, a $5,000 loan repaid over two years at 80% APR (the average, according to NetCredit) would cost $5,158 in interest alone — more than the loan itself.

Reports payments to two credit bureaus. NetCredit reports payments to Experian and TransUnion but not Equifax. Having your payments reported to two credit bureaus is better than none, but your lender would ideally report to all three. That way, if you make on-time payments toward a NetCredit loan and apply for credit elsewhere, the new lender is guaranteed to see your positive payment history and may give you a better rate.

Does not offer pre-qualification. NetCredit does not allow borrowers to check their potential loan amount, rate and repayment term through pre-qualification. The pre-qualification process lets you preview loan offers with a soft credit pull before submitting a formal application.

Should you get a NetCredit personal loan?

Consider NetCredit loans as a last-resort option in an emergency. It can be easy to fall behind on payments toward high-interest loans. Missing a payment will hurt your credit and put you in a worse financial situation than when you started.

Depending on your goal, you may have better options. NetCredit isn’t a good idea if:

• Your main goal is to build credit: NetCredit reports on-time payments to two of the three major credit bureaus to help borrowers build credit. But there are ways to build credit without incurring high-interest debt.

• You can get cash elsewhere: NerdWallet recommends exhausting all your options before considering a lender with high interest rates. Even in an emergency, you may have cheaper options.

How NetCredit compares

Oportun personal loans have maximum APRs below 36% but are still available to borrowers with little or no credit history. Like NetCredit, Oportun boasts fast funding, but the lender reports on-time payments to the three major credit bureaus.

OppLoans offers smaller loans than NetCredit, but it does not do a hard credit check. Rates are slightly higher than NetCredit’s.

Regulatory action against NetCredit

In 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Enova International, NetCredit's parent company, to pay a $3.2 million penalty for violations that included withdrawing funds from consumers' accounts without permission and failing to honor loan extensions.

In November 2023, the CFPB announced that the lender hadn't complied with that consent order and would pay an additional $15 million penalty, according to a press release from the bureau.

Enova said in a press release that the violations were caused by unintentional technical systems and processing errors. The lender says it has since updated its payment processing system. The CFPB also ordered Enova to stop making short-term loans, which it offered through its subsidiary CashNetUSA, but the company said it had sunsetted that product in 2022.

Alternatives to NetCredit loans

Before you get a NetCredit personal loan

• Exhaust all other options: If rent or bills are coming up, try to buy time from your creditor or work out a payment plan. Also, consider facing the short-term consequences of not paying, like a late fee.

• Compare the cost of taking out the loan to the cost of not taking it out: Calculate the overall cost of not having funds for your purpose, then weigh that against the typical cost of a NetCredit loan in your state.

If a NetCredit personal loan is your best option, do what you can to carve out room in your budget to pay it off as quickly as possible. For most people, this loan is too expensive to become a long-term or repeat solution.

How to get a NetCredit loan

Here are the steps to get a NetCredit loan:

1. Select "Check Your Eligibility" on NetCredit’s website and you’ll be asked questions about how much money you want to borrow and why.

2. Enter your address, birthday, whether you rent or own, your email address and your Social Security number.

3. Create an account with your name, phone number and email address.

4. If approved, choose a loan amount and repayment term that work for you.

5. When you submit a formal application, the lender may ask for more information to verify your income and identity. According to NetCredit, loans are typically funded within a business day.

How we rate NetCredit

NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:

• Category definitions

  Affordability (30%)

  An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared with other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.

  Underwriting and eligibility (25%)

  Reviews borrowers credit reports and credit history, and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan, before making a final application decision.

  Loan flexibility (20%)

  A flexible loan is one that lets users customize terms and payments. That means offering a wide range of repayment term options, allowing the borrower to change their payment date, offering loans in most states and funding the loan quickly.

  Customer experience (15%)

  A good customer experience can include a fully online application process, financial education on the lender’s website and a customer service team that’s available most of the time and can be reached multiple ways.

  Transparency (10%)

  A transparent lender makes information about the loan easy to find on its website, including rates, terms and loan amounts. Transparency also means allowing users to pre-qualify online to preview potential loan offers and reporting payment information with the major credit bureaus.

  Discretionary (not weighted)

  A lender’s score may be lowered for recent regulator actions or lawsuits, accusations of predatory tactics by a reputable source or other features and incidents that may be harmful to personal loan borrowers. Scores may also be raised if a lender offers consumer-friendly features that are above and beyond the expectations of a typical personal loan.