Truist Bank Personal Loans: 2023 Review
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Our Take
4.5
The bottom line:
Truist Bank offers fast personal loans to good- and excellent-credit borrowers, but it lacks some benefits of other lenders.
Full Review
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Pros & Cons
Pros
- No origination fee.
- Fast funding.
- Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
- Option to add a co-signer.
Cons
- No option to pre-qualify with a soft credit check.
- Available in a limited number of states.
- No rate discount.
- Does not clearly display loan amounts on website.
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Full Review of Truist Bank Personal Loan
Truist Bank, formerly BB&T, offers personal loans with fast funding, but the loans don’t include some features that are common among other lenders, like pre-qualification or a rate discount.
The bank lends in 17 states and Washington, D.C., and you don’t have to be an existing customer to borrow.
Truist also offers a separate small-dollar loan called the Ready Now loan.
» MORE: Best bank loans
Table of contents
Truist Bank personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | Not disclosed. |
APR | 7.34% - 15.99%. |
Fees | Late fee: Not disclosed. |
Loan amount | $3,500 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | Funds may be available the same day if it’s a banking business day. |
Loan availability | Loans available in AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KY, MD, MS, NJ, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV and Washington, D.C. |
Where Truist Bank personal loans stand out
Fast approval and funding: For borrowers who need quick cash, Truist can approve and fund personal loans in one day. According to the lender’s website, most loan decisions happen in less than 15 minutes, and as long as it’s a business banking day, borrowers can receive the money in their account that same day.
No origination fee: Few banks charge an origination fee, and Truist is no different. Origination fees typically range from 1% to 10% of the loan amount and increase the overall cost of borrowing.
Co-signed loans: Truist offers co-signed loans, and applicants who add a co-signer with better credit and a higher income may qualify for a lower rate or higher loan amount. Though co-signers are equally responsible for missed payments, they can’t access the loan funds.
» MORE: Personal loans with a co-signer
Direct payment to creditors: If you want to consolidate high-interest debts with a personal loan, Truist will send the funds directly to your creditors, leaving you with just your loan payment. Though not a must-have for a debt consolidation loan, this perk removes the task of sending the funds yourself.
» COMPARE: Best debt consolidation loans
Where Truist Bank personal loans fall short
No option to pre-qualify: Unlike some of its competitors, Truist doesn’t allow borrowers to pre-qualify and see their potential loan amount, rate and monthly payment before formally applying. Pre-qualifying will not affect your credit score, and doing so with multiple lenders is the best way to compare loans.
No rate discount: Some lenders offer rate discounts for certain moves like setting up automatic payments or sending the loan funds directly to pay off creditors. This discount typically ranges from 0.25 percentage points to 0.5 percentage points and is applied directly to the loan’s annual percentage rate, or APR. Truist does not offer a rate discount.
Transparency: The Truist website includes a product page that explains some features of its personal loan, including rate and funding timeline. However, it doesn’t clearly display its full range of loan amounts, and it doesn’t have a dedicated FAQ page that answers basic loan questions like how to apply or make payments.
» MORE: Fast personal loans
How to qualify for a Truist Bank personal loan
Truist Bank doesn't publicly disclose many of its borrower requirements, but according to a loan specialist, the lender accepts applications from good- and excellent-credit borrowers (690 credit score or higher). Here’s what you need to apply:
Must provide personal and contact information, including a U.S.-based cell phone number.
Must provide two years of address and employment history.
Must provide financial information including income, debts and other personal obligations, like rent or mortgage.
According to the lender, once you submit an online application, Truist will contact you with a decision or to ask additional questions.
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 affect your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
Gather your documents. Truist Bank may request proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, as well as photo identification, like a driver’s license or passport. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.
How to apply for a Truist Bank personal loan
Apply on Truist’s website or at a branch. Because Truist doesn’t let you pre-qualify for a loan, your first step is to submit a formal personal loan application. This could require documentation, like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements to confirm your information. Truist will also do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Stay on top of your loan payments. Truist reports payments to the three main credit bureaus, so on-time payments will help build your credit, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and watching your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.
Compare Truist Bank with 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.
Discover accepts borrowers with similar credit profiles compared with Truist and offers debt consolidation loans. Borrowers can apply online and be funded in all 50 states.
Truist Bank vs. Discover
Discover offers personal loans to borrowers with a minimum credit score of 720, and it can send loan proceeds to creditors within one business day of being approved. Unlike with Truist, borrowers don’t have the option to add a co-signer, but you can see if you qualify with a soft credit check.
» MORE: Read our review of Discover
How we rate Truist Bank 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 | |
Transparency | |
Loan flexibility | |
Customer experience | |
Overall |
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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. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
