Santander Personal Loans: 2024 Review

Last updated on September 19, 2024
Written by 
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade
Lead Writer
Kim Lowe
Edited by 
Kim Lowe
Lead Assigning Editor
Fact Checked
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade
Lead Writer
Kim Lowe
Edited by 
Kim Lowe
Lead Assigning Editor
Fact Checked

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

  • 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.
NerdWallet's personal loans content, including articles, reviews and recommendations, is produced by a team of writers and editors who specialize in consumer lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, USA Today, The New York Times, MarketWatch and many other national, regional and local publications. They have been cited in publications including The Harvard Kennedy School, and appeared on NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast as well as local TV and radio.

Our Take

4.0

NerdWallet rating
The Nerdy headline:

Santander personal loans may be a solid option for good- or excellent-credit borrowers looking for large loans and flexible terms, but they're not available in all states.

Jump to:Full Review
Santander Personal Loan
Santander Personal Loan

Est. APR
7.99-24.99%
Loan amount
$5,000 - $50,000
Min. credit score
700
on NerdWallet

Pros

  • No origination fee.
  • Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
  • Mobile app to manage loan.
  • Fast funding.

Cons

  • No option to change payment date.
  • No co-sign, joint or secured loan option.
  • No hardship program.
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None
6.99- 25.29%
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660
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Full Review

Santander is a global bank that offers unsecured personal loans in select states across the U.S. The lender is ideal for borrowers with good to excellent credit (scores above 689) who have an existing relationship with the bank.

With no origination fee and direct payment to creditors, Santander’s personal loan is a strong option for debt consolidation. This lender lets existing customers pre-qualify for a personal loan online. Non-customers can preview potential loan offers, including their interest rate, through affiliate sites like NerdWallet.

» COMPARE: Best bank loans

Table of Contents

Santander personal loans at a glance

Minimum credit score

680.

APR

7.99% - 24.99%.

Fees

Late fee: $20 or 10% of loan payment.

Loan amount

$5,000 to $50,000.

Repayment terms

3 to 7 years.

Time to fund after approval

1 to 2 days.

Loan availability

Loans are available in AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA and Washington, D.C.

  • Personal Loans are subject to individual approval and meeting our credit standards. Your primary residence must be located in AZ, CA, CT, CO, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NH, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA, VT, or WA. The fixed loan Annual Percentage Rate (APR) will depend on your creditworthiness and use of automatic payments (ePay) from any deposit account. The APR on a Personal Loan will increase by 0.25 percentage points and the payment will increase, if ePay is not elected or is discontinued. Fixed loan APRs (with ePay) range from 7.99% - 24.99% Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $50,000. Loan repayment terms range from 36 months to 84 months. APRs and other terms are accurate as of 8/23/2024 and are subject to change without notice. Personal Loans cannot be used to finance post-secondary educational expenses. Based on the time your application is received, same-day funding is available in many cases, depending on your creditworthiness and the funding instructions you provide. Santander Bank, N.A. is a Member FDIC and a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A. ©2024 Santander Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Santander, Santander Bank and the Flame logo are trademarks of Banco Santander, S.A. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.

Where Santander personal loans stand out

No origination fee: Santander does not charge an origination fee on personal loans, unlike some online lenders. Origination fees typically range from 1% to 10% of the loan amount and are usually taken from the loan proceeds before disbursement.

Offers direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans: For borrowers who want to consolidate debt, Santander can send personal loan proceeds directly to creditors. This feature simplifies the process of paying back individual creditors. Just be sure your balances reach zero before you stop making payments toward other debts.

Mobile app to manage the loan: Santander's mobile app allows borrowers to manage their personal loan, contact customer service and make payments from their phones. Mobile apps are relatively common among lenders, but some still don't have one.

Fast funding: Santander says it can usually make an approval decision the same day a borrower applies for a personal loan. From application to funding, the whole process takes about two days on average, according to the lender.

Where Santander personal loans fall short

No co-signed, joint or secured loan options: Santander only offers unsecured personal loans for one applicant. This means you cannot add a co-borrower or co-signer to the loan, or secure it with collateral, like a bank account or vehicle. These options, which other lenders offer, can help borrowers get approved or receive a lower rate or larger loan amount.

No option to change your payment date: Borrowers can select their loan payment date before finalizing their Santander loan. However, you can’t change the payment date once the loan is approved. The ability to change the due date is helpful if you get a new job and your pay schedule changes, for example.

No hardship program: Santander does not offer a hardship program for borrowers who become unemployed or face financial difficulty. Most other lenders have programs that allow borrowers to delay loan payments.

How to use Santander personal loans

You can use a Santander personal loan for:

  • Home improvement projects.

  • Debt consolidation.

  • Emergencies.

  • Medical bills.

  • Moving.

  • Vehicle financing.

Santander prohibits the use of its personal loans for:

  • College expenses.

Santander personal loan customer reviews

As of September 2024, Santander has 1.6 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. The rating includes customer reviews from many products the bank offers, including bank accounts and credit cards, and from consumers in other countries. Customer service is a focus of many negative reviews on the site.

The lender’s mobile app received 4.4 stars across 56,400 reviews on Google Play and 4.7 stars across 364,300 reviews on the Apple App Store.

Do you qualify for a Santander personal loan?

To be eligible to apply online for a Santander personal loan, you must be an existing customer or have an offer code.

Eligible borrowers also must:

  • Be 18 years or older. 

  • Have a primary residence in a qualifying state.

  • Have a smartphone (if applying for a loan online). 

  • Provide a valid tax identification or Social Security number.

The lender doesn’t provide many of its minimum borrowing requirements, such as credit history or maximum debt-to-income ratio, but borrowers must have a credit score of 680 or higher.

    • Average borrower’s credit score: 745.

    • Average loan amount: $22,000.

    • Average repayment term: 5 years.

    • Average APR: 14%.

    • Most common loan purpose: Debt consolidation.

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 Santander personal loan

Here are the steps to apply for a Santander loan online.

  1. Pre-qualify online to preview potential loan offers. Before you can check your rate on the Santander's website, the bank asks if you’re an existing customer. If not, you’ll see a message asking for an offer code and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Non-customers and those without an offer code can check their rates via an affiliate website.

  2. Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you accept a loan offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This could require more documents, like W-2s, pay stubs and tax documents to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. Santander will also do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.

  3. Stay on top of your loan payments. Santander reports payment to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but 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 Santander 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.

For borrowers with excellent credit, Discover and LightStream are online lenders that don’t require an existing relationship before applying.

Discover

Minimum credit score

660.

APR

7.99% - 24.99%.

Fees

Late fee: $39.

Loan amount

$2,500 to $40,000.

Repayment terms

3 to 7 years.

Time to fund after approval

1 business day.

Loan availability

Loans available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories.

LightStream

Minimum credit score

660.

APR

6.99% - 25.29%.

Fees

No fees.

Loan amount

$5,000 to $100,000.

Repayment terms

  • 2 to 7 years for most loan amounts and purposes.

  • Up to 12 years on boat and RV loans over $25,000.

  • Up to 20 years on home improvement loans over $25,000.

Time to fund after approval

Same-day funding.

Loan availability

Loans available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

How we rate Santander 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

  • 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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Methodology

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.

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