Reach Financial Personal Loans: 2024 Review
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- 35+ personal loans reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
- 20+ years of combined experience covering personal loans and financial topics.
- Objective, comprehensive star rating system assessing 20+ categories and 70+ data points.
- Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
Our Take
4.5
Reach Financial personal loans are suitable for good-credit borrowers looking to consolidate debt. Loans are funded fast, but they lack some key features offered by other lenders.
Pros
- Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
- Fast funding.
- Customizable repayment terms.
- Hardship program for borrowers in need.
Cons
- Origination fee.
- No joint, co-signed or secured loan options.
- Reports payments to only two of the three major credit bureaus.
Lender | Est. APR | Loan amount | Min. credit score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 BEST PERSONAL LOAN OVERALL | 8.99-
29.99% | $5,000-
$100,000 | None | Visit Lenderon SoFi's website on SoFi's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
 Visit Lenderon LightStream's website on LightStream's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 6.99-
25.29% | $5,000-
$100,000 | 660 | Visit Lenderon LightStream's website on LightStream's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
7.99-
24.99% | $2,500-
$40,000 | 660 | Visit Lenderon Discover's website on Discover's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
7.80-
35.99% | $1,000-
$50,000 | None | Visit Lenderon Upstart's website on Upstart's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
9.99-
35.99% | $1,000-
$50,000 | 580 | Visit Lenderon Upgrade's website on Upgrade's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
Full Review
Reach Financial provides personal loans to good-credit borrowers exclusively for the purpose of consolidating credit card and other unsecured debts.
Reach loans can be funded quickly and may come with more flexible repayment terms than other lenders, but repayments aren’t reported to all three credit bureaus. Reach also doesn’t offer co-signed, joint or secured loans.
» MORE: Compare personal loans
Table of Contents
Reach Financial personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | 660. |
APR | 5.99% - 35.99%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $3,500 to $40,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | Same day. |
Loan availability | Loans not available in CO, CT, ME, NV, NH, OR, TN, UT, and VT. |
Where Reach Financial personal loans stand out
Direct payment to creditors: Reach personal loans can only be used for debt consolidation, and the lender says it sends funds directly to borrowers’ creditors. Having a lender send the funds for you streamlines the payoff process.
» MORE: Best debt consolidation loans
Fast funding: Reach says it sends funds electronically to creditors the same day the loan is approved. If the creditor does not accept electronic payments, Reach will send an overnight check. Keep repaying your debts until you see the account balances hit zero to avoid missed payments while funds are processing.
Customizable repayment terms: Reach allows pre-qualified applicants to choose any repayment term in monthly increments from 24 to 60 months — a rare feature for personal loans. This feature allows borrowers to see how different repayment terms affect monthly payments and gives them a preferred timeline to clear their debts. Borrowers can also choose whether to repay their loan on a monthly, bi-weekly or semi-monthly schedule.
Hardship program for borrowers in need: Borrowers struggling to make payments can request a payment pause for up to 90 days. Reach also offers options for borrowers to change their payment date or split up late payments over a period of time.
Where Reach Financial personal loans fall short
Origination fee: Reach charges an origination fee from 4% to 8% of the loan amount. Rather than deducting the fee from the loan proceeds, the lender adds it to the total loan amount, which means borrowers’ payments include the origination fee.
No co-signed, joint or secured loans: Reach only provides unsecured personal loans. Borrowers can’t get a co-signed or joint personal loan with someone who has better credit and income. Reach also doesn’t provide secured loans backed by a vehicle or bank account. Co-signed, joint and secured loans typically have lower rates than unsecured loans.
Reports payments to only two of three major credit bureaus: Reach reports personal loan payments to Experian and TransUnion, but not Equifax. This means if, after repaying a Reach personal loan, a consumer applies for credit with a lender that only checks Equifax, that lender won’t see any positive payment history from Reach. Choosing a lender that reports to all three credit bureaus ensures you’ll get credit for on-time payments.
How to use Reach Financial personal loans
Reach Financial’s personal loans are specifically for consolidating credit cards and other debts. The lender says borrowers may qualify for a loan that’s larger than their amounts owed on other debts. In that case, Reach will pay off the borrower’s other creditors and send the remaining money to the borrower’s bank account to be used for other purposes.
Reach Financial personal loan customer reviews
As of September 2024, Reach has 4.9 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Customers mention the company’s helpful customer service representatives. The lender also has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and 4.7 out of 5 stars across more than 200 BBB customer reviews.
Do you qualify for a Reach Financial personal loan?
To qualify for a personal loan from Reach, you must be a U.S. resident who lives in one of the 41 states where the company does business, or Washington, D.C. Reach says it approves fair-, good- and excellent-credit borrowers.
Reach Financial’s borrowing requirements
Minimum credit score: 660.
Minimum credit history: 3 years and 1 account.
Minimum net income: $1,000 left after monthly bills, such as rent and other debt installments, are paid.
Acceptable income sources: Employment, alimony, retirement, child support, Social Security payments and disability benefits.
- Reach Financial’s average borrower snapshot
Average credit score: 698.
Average loan amount: $19,000.
Average APR: 20%.
Most common loan term: 4 years.
Before you apply
Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.
Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.
Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments impact your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses in order to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
Gather your documents. Most lenders require proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, as well as proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.
How to apply for a Reach Financial personal loan
Here are the steps to apply for a Reach Financial loan.
Pre-qualify on Reach's website. Click “Apply Now” on Reach’s website, and you’ll be taken to a form that first asks for your requested loan amount. You’ll then enter your name, email, phone number, birth date, address and information about your employment and income. There is no hard credit pull at this stage, but Reach will conduct a soft credit pull to evaluate your creditworthiness.
Preview loan offers and accept one that fits your budget. Pre-qualified applicants can preview multiple loan offers that include the loan amount, repayment term, APR, monthly payment and total interest costs. Once you choose the loan offer that fits your budget, you’re ready to submit a formal loan application, at which time Reach does a hard credit pull. The lender could require more documents, like pay stubs, to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification.
Stay on top of your loan payments. Reach reports payments to two credit bureaus (Experian and TransUnion), meaning on-time payments can help build your credit score, while missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.
Compare Reach Financial to other lenders
Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh other options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.
Like Reach, Happy Money’s personal loans are specifically designed for debt consolidation. Upgrade is a solid option for debt consolidation loans, though its loans can be used for a variety of purposes.
Happy Money
» MORE: Read our review of Happy Money
Minimum credit score | 640. |
APR | 8.95% - 17.48%. |
Fees | Origination fee: Up to 7%. |
Loan amount | $5,000 to $40,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 3 business days. |
Loan availability | Loans not available in IA, MA or NV. |
Upgrade
» MORE: Read our review of Upgrade
Minimum credit score | 580. |
APR | 9.99% - 35.99%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $1,000 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 7 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 1 business day. |
Loan availability | Loans available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
How we rate Reach Financial personal loans
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 | |
Customer experience | |
Underwriting and eligibility | |
Loan flexibility | |
Application process | |
Overall |
- Category definitions
Affordability (25%)
An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.
Customer experience (20%)
A good customer experience includes allowing borrowers to choose and change their repayment date, a fully online application process, a mobile app to manage the loan and a customer service team with wide availability.
Underwriting and eligibility (20%)
The lender reviews borrowers’ credit reports and credit history and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan. It offers loans in most states and doesn’t restrict eligibility by requiring a pre-existing relationship.
Application process (20%)
Borrowers can pre-qualify to check their potential rate, loan amount, repayment term and APR without affecting their credit score. They can easily find answers to questions about the personal loan on the lender’s website. The application process is fast enough to allow funding within a couple of days or less.
Loan flexibility (15%)
A flexible loan is one that offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment term options. It includes common features like additional loan types and direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.
Discretionary
A lender’s star rating can be reduced if the lender is sued by a state or federal regulator for unfair consumer practices or has been accused by a reputable source of suspicious business practices.
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Find the Best Personal Loan
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. 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. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. 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.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
