OppLoans Personal Loans: 2023 Review
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Our Take
3.0
The bottom line:
An option for borrowers with bad credit; due to high rates, should only be considered as a last resort.
Full Review
on NerdWallet's secure website
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Reports payments to the three major credit bureaus.
- Assistance finding better rates.
- Payment due date is based on your pay schedule.
- Fast funding.
Cons
- High interest rates.
- Interest may make up more than 50% of the loan amount.
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Full Review of OppLoans
OppLoans are short-term installment loans offered by the lender Opportunity Financial, or OppFi. OppLoans borrowers don’t undergo a credit check, and while the company markets OppLoans as fast, affordable alternatives to payday loans, rates can still reach 160%.
NerdWallet doesn't recommend loans with annual percentage rates above 36% unless you’ve exhausted all other borrowing options. OppFi also encourages borrowers to seek cheaper loans if they qualify.
The lender offers loans directly in some states and services loans funded by FinWise, First Electronic and Capital Community banks in many other states.
» MORE: Best installment loans
OppLoans rates, fees and terms
APR range | 59% - 160%. |
Loan amount | $500 - $4,000. |
Fees | No origination, late or prepayment fees. |
Repayment terms | 9 to 18 months. |
States where available | AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, DE, FL, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI and WY. |
How to qualify for an OppLoans loan
OppFi doesn't check your credit score, but it does review data provided by alternative credit bureau Clarity Services, an offshoot of credit bureau Experian that collects information on consumers with low credit scores.
Information like your history with online small-dollar lenders, auto title loans and payday loans may be included on this report. OppFi also reviews bank account transaction data to see an applicant’s monthly cash flow.
Here are some things you need to qualify for a loan.
Minimum credit score: None required.
Minimum monthly gross income: $1,500.
Have a bank account in your name with 40 days of history.
Receive your paychecks through direct deposit.
Live in one of the states that offers OppLoans.
OppLoans pros and cons
Pros
Reports payments to the three major credit bureaus. Though OppFi doesn’t do a hard credit pull, the lender does report payments on its OppLoans product to all three major credit bureaus. This means on-time payments may help build your credit, while missed payments could hurt it. Some high-interest lenders report payments to one or two credit bureaus, but few report to all three.
Assistance finding better rates. OppFi sends applicants to other lenders to see whether they’ll qualify for a lower rate than what OppFi can offer them. OppFi says less than 2% of consumers who opt into this feature close a loan with another lender.
Repayment date is set according to the borrower's pay schedule. Many lenders set bi-weekly or monthly payments, but OppFi says it sets a loan’s repayment schedule according to when a borrower gets paid. Borrowers can request a more frequent payment schedule, but must provide updated pay stubs to move to a less frequent cycle.
Offers financial education. OppFi offers free, public courses on spending, saving, credit and debt. The courses consist of a couple short videos and quizzes. These types of courses can help you understand your finances and make smart choices.
Cons
High interest rates. Lenders that offer no-credit-check loans take on more risk than those that check credit. They often make up for that risk by charging high rates. Most consumer advocates say an affordable loan’s annual percentage rate should be lower than 36% — lower than even OppFi’s lowest APRs. Triple-digit interest rates are often a sign that a loan may be difficult to repay on time.
Interest may make up more than 50% of the loan principal. OppLoans’ interest costs can make up more than half of what you borrowed. For example, if you borrow $1,000 at 150% APR with a nine-month repayment term, you’d repay $1,721 in total interest. This can happen when a lender charges high rates and offers long repayment terms on small loans.
Should you get an OppLoans personal loan?
Consider OppLoans a last resort in an emergency. It can be easy to fall behind on payments or spend more than you intended on high-interest loans. Because OppFi reports payment to the three major credit bureaus, on-time payments can help build your credit score, while missed payments can hurt it.
Depending on your goal, you may have better options. OppLoans is not a good idea if:
You are trying to build credit: There are faster and cheaper ways to build credit, including a secured credit card or credit-builder loan. If you don’t know your score, you can get it for free on NerdWallet.
You can get cash elsewhere: Cheaper alternatives are not always fast or convenient, and sometimes they require asking for help. But those alternatives could save you from overpaying in interest and getting caught in a cycle of debt.
How OppLoans compare
Here’s how OppLoans compare with similar loans.
SeedFi offers a personal loan and credit-builder loan in one. The lender distributes part of the loan to a borrower and holds the rest in a savings account. Once borrowers have paid off their portion of the loan, they can access the rest and use it as savings. APRs are capped at 29.99%.
Oportun loans have a 36% maximum APR. The lender considers credit history if a loan applicant has it, but it’s not a requirement. Oportun also says it processes most loan applications and funds loans the same day.
» MORE: See your bad-credit loan options
Lawsuit against OppFi
In some states, OppLoans' interest rates are higher than those states' mandated maximums. In California, for example, the Fair Access to Credit Act caps annual simple interest rates on loans from $2,500 to $10,000 at about 36%, but the OppLoans website lists rates up to 160% for loans in that range.
OppFi says it adheres to federal laws because it funds loans using banks in Utah, where there are no interest rate caps.
The lender settled a lawsuit in November 2021 with Washington D.C.’s attorney general. The lawsuit alleged that OppFi offered loans to district residents at APRs above D.C.'s 24% interest rate cap between February 2018 and May 2020. In a statement, the attorney general's office also accused OppFi of misrepresenting the loans as helping borrowers to build credit.
OppFi agreed to pay $1.5 million in refunds to district customers and $250,000 to the district. Washington, D.C. isn’t on the list of states where OppFi makes loans.
OppLoans personal loan example
The lender says its average borrower is approved for a loan with a 150% APR. A $1,400 OppLoans installment loan with a repayment term of nine months at 150% APR would carry:
Monthly payments: $267.
Total interest: $1,010.
Total amount due: $2,410.
Alternatives to OppLoans
Here are some alternatives that may be cheaper than borrowing.
For help meeting basic needs: Seek assistance from local nonprofits, charities and religious organizations. They can help you get food, clothing and access to transportation for job interviews.
For help with rent or utilities: Contact your utility company, landlord or mortgage issuer for help deferring a payment. If you need long-term help, consider seeking other housing, or contact a housing counselor.
To pay medical bills: Learn about ways to cover medical costs, including payment plans.
To cover other one-time emergency expenses:
Ask a friend or family member for a loan, or form a lending circle to borrow from those you trust without accruing interest.
Ask your employer for a paycheck advance, or use a loan app to borrow against your next paycheck.
Get a payday alternative loan or a small personal loan from a credit union. You have to be a member to use this option, but it’s one of the most affordable ways to pay for an emergency.
Try other ways to make money. You need some extra time to make this option work.
If you take an OppLoans personal loan
After considering alternatives and weighing the costs, you may decide that taking an OppLoans installment loan is your best option. In that case, try to carve out room in your budget to pay the loan off as quickly as possible. For most people, this loan is too expensive to be a long-term or repeat solution.
How to get an OppLoans personal loan
Go to OppLoans.com and select “Apply Now."
Enter your name and additional personal information, including your Social Security number. Then, enter information about the loan amount you want.
Submit the application.
You’ll receive an email letting you know if you’ve been approved. OppFi typically sends the funds to your bank account one or two business days after approval.
on NerdWallet's secure website
Methodology
NerdWallet rates lenders that offer high-interest personal loans separately from other lenders due to the consumer risk associated with these loans. We define high-interest loans as those with rates that exceed 36%, which is the maximum rate financial experts and consumer advocates agree is the acceptable limit for a loan to be affordable. The maximum allowable rating for high-interest lenders that we review is four stars. We award points to lenders that offer loans that minimize harm to consumers through affordability, transparency and practices that prioritize consumers’ needs. This includes: checking credit and reporting payments to credit bureaus, monthly payments that don’t exceed 5% of a borrower’s monthly income, fully amortizing repayments, transparency of loan rates and fees, and accessible customer service and financial education. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings.
Read more about our methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
Find the Best Personal Loan
Frequently asked questions
OppLoans are installment loans from OppFi, which directly originates loans in some states but services loans through banks in many others. The loans have high interest rates (up to 160%) that may exceed state-mandated interest rate caps. Though not technically illegal, consumer advocates contest this practice.
If your goal is to build credit, there are cheaper ways to go about it.
OppLoans does not have a minimum credit score requirement for borrowers. Instead, it uses data from Clarity Services, an Experian offshoot that collects data from small-dollar lenders, check cashers and prepaid card issuers. To make a loan decision, OppLoans also considers an applicant’s income, bank account transaction data and information about how often an applicant has applied for a loan.
Yes. OppLoans reports payments to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for borrowers in all states where OppLoans are available, except for Texas and Ohio.
