OppLoans Personal Loans: 2024 Review

OppLoans are no-credit-check small loans with fast funding but very high rates. You may have cheaper options.
Annie MillerberndAmrita Jayakumar
By
and
Last updated on June 20, 2023
Edited by
✅ Fact checked and reviewed
Kim Lowe
Edited by
✅ Fact checked and reviewed

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Our Take

1.5

NerdWallet rating
The Nerdy headline:

An option for borrowers with bad credit; due to high rates, though, this loan should be considered only as a last resort.

Jump to:Full Review
OppLoans
OppLoans

Est. APR
160.00-179.00%
Loan amount
$500 - $4,000
Min. credit score
None
on NerdWallet

Pros

  • Fast funding.
  • Reports payments to the three major credit bureaus.
  • Payment due date is tied to borrowers’ pay schedules.

Cons

  • High interest rates.
  • Interest may make up more than 50% of the loan amount.
  • Does not perform a hard credit check.
  • Does not offer pre-qualification.
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Full Review

OppLoans are short-term installment loans offered by the lender Opportunity Financial, or OppFi. OppLoans borrowers don’t undergo a hard credit check, and while the company markets these loans as affordable alternatives to payday loans, it charges 160% APR on all loans.

NerdWallet doesn't recommend loans with annual percentage rates above 36%, unless you’ve exhausted all other borrowing options.

» COMPARE: Best bad credit loans

OppLoans rates, fees and terms

APR

160% - 179%.

Loan amount

$500-$4,000.

Fees

No origination, late or prepayment fees.

Repayment terms

9, 12 and 18 months.

States where available

AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, DE, FL, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI and WY.

How to qualify for an OppLoans loan

OppFi says it does a soft credit check before lending, but not a hard credit check. A hard inquiry temporarily causes loan applicants’ credit scores to dip, but it provides the lender a more detailed look at their repayment history with other creditors. A lender that only does a soft inquiry may not have as rigorous an underwriting process as those that do hard inquiries, which may mean they can’t as accurately predict whether the applicant will repay the loan.

OppFi also reviews bank account transaction data to determine whether borrowers have enough income to repay the loan.

Here’s what you need to qualify for a loan.

  • Minimum credit score: None disclosed.

  • Minimum monthly gross income: $1,500 in most states.

  • A bank account.

  • A regular source of income. 

  • Receive your paychecks through direct deposit.

OppLoans pros and cons

Pros

Fast funding. OppFi says it makes loan approval decisions immediately and may be able to fund a loan the same day for applications sent by 12 p.m. Central time. The lender may fund loans as quickly as the next business day for all other applications.

Reports payments to the three major credit bureaus. OppFi reports payments 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.

Repayment date is set according to the borrower's pay schedule. 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 they must provide updated pay stubs to move to a less frequent cycle.

Choose your payment due date. Once approved for a loan, borrowers can choose from a handful of payment due dates and frequencies. Borrowers can also change the payment frequency by contacting the lender’s customer service representatives. The lender says how often borrowers can change their payment due dates is at the representatives’ discretion.

Cons

High interest rates. All installment loans from OppFi have annual percentage rates of 160%. Most consumer advocates say an affordable loan’s APR should be below 36%. Triple-digit interest rates are often a sign that a loan may be difficult to repay on time. High rates are common among lenders that offer no-credit-check loans because they take on more risk and make up for it by charging high rates.

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 $2,000 at 160% APR with a nine-month repayment term, you’d repay a total of $1,551 in interest.

Does not offer pre-qualification. Unlike some of its competitors, OppFi doesn’t allow borrowers to check their potential loan offers through pre-qualification. This process lets you see your potential loan amount, rate and repayment term without having to submit a formal application.

No joint or co-signed loans. The lender doesn’t allow borrowers to add a co-applicant to improve their chances of getting a lower rate or larger loan amount. This offering is more common among lenders that charge rates below 36%.

🤓

Nerdy Tip

OppFi offers a refinancing option that may allow borrowers to borrow more or extend their loan term and lower monthly payments. Though this option may be helpful in some instances, refinancing a high-interest loan means slower progress paying down the loan’s principal and exorbitant interest costs over the longer term.

OppLoans personal loan example

A $1,500 OppLoans installment loan with a repayment term of nine months at 160% APR would carry:

  • Monthly payments: $296.

  • Total interest: $1,163.

  • Total amount due: $2,663.

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 payments 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 compares

Here’s how OppLoans compares with similar loans.

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.

Personify Financial also charges high rates, but offers pre-qualification and does a hard credit check before approving a loan application. Funding is about as fast as OppFi.

Lawsuit against OppFi

OppFi settled a lawsuit with Washington, D.C.’s attorney general in November 2021 that alleged the company made loans that violated the state’s 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 locations where OppFi makes loans.

OppFi sued California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in March 2022 in an effort to prevent the regulator from enforcing the state’s 36% interest rate cap on OppLoans. A month later, the DFPI sued OppFi and alleged it violated that rate cap. The legal battle is ongoing, and OppFi still provides loans with 160% APRs in California.

OppFi says it adheres to federal laws because it uses banks in Utah, where there is no interest rate cap, to fund the loans.

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:

If you take an OppLoans 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, such as 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 an OppFi loan in your state.

If an OppFi installment 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 an OppLoans personal loan

  1. Go to OppLoans.com and select “Apply Now."

  2. Enter your name and additional personal information, including your Social Security number. Then, enter information about the loan amount you want.

  3. Submit the application.

  4. You’ll receive an email letting you know if you’ve been approved. OppFi typically sends the funds to your bank account the same day or next day after approval.

How we rate OppLoans

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

Star rating

Affordability

Underwriting

Loan flexibility

Transparency

Customer experience

Overall

  • Affordability (30%)

    An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to 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 it 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.

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Methodology

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial institutions. We collect over 45 data points from each lender, interview company representatives and compare the lender with others that seek the same customer or offer a similar personal loan product. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.

Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.

This methodology applies only to lenders that cap interest rates at 36%, the maximum rate most financial experts and consumer advocates agree is the acceptable limit for a loan to be affordable. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings.

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