Truist Ready Now Loan Review
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Our Take
Truist’s Ready Now loan is available to existing customers and may be a smart way to cover an unexpected expense.
Pros
- Charges fixed fee.
- Offers small loans up to $1,000.
- No credit score requirement.
Cons
- Must be an existing bank customer.
- Only one repayment term available.
Lender | Est. APR | Loan amount | Min. credit score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
7.49-
18.00% | $250-
$50,000 | None | Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
29.00-
35.95% | $300-
$10,000 | None | Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
8.99-
18.00% | $500-
$50,000 | 660 | Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
8.98-
35.99% | $1,000-
$40,000 | 600 | Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | |
8.49-
35.99% | $1,000-
$50,000 | 560 | Visit Lenderon Upgrade's website on Upgrade's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
Full Review
Editor's note: As of October 2023, Truist no longer provides new Ready Now loans. The lender will continue to service existing Ready Now loans and provide other personal loans.
The Ready Now loan, a small-dollar loan from Truist Bank, is available for existing checking account customers. The loan comes in $100 increments up to a maximum of $1,000 and charges $5 for every $100 borrowed.
Depending on your approval, loans can be funded the same day or the next day. The loan is repaid over six monthly installments with no other interest or fees.
Though the Ready Now loan may be a convenient way for Truist customers to cover an unexpected expense, small-dollar loans typically aren't a good option for repeated borrowing since interest rates can be high.
» COMPARE: Best small personal loans
Truist Ready Now loan at a glance
Minimum credit score | None. |
APR | 16.94%. |
Fees | $5 fee per $100 borrowed. |
Loan amount | $100 to $1,000. |
Repayment terms | 180 days. |
Time to fund after approval | Same- or next-day funding. |
Loan eligibility | Must be a Truist checking account customer. |
Truist Ready Now loan requirements
To be eligible for a Ready Now loan, you must have a Truist personal checking account open for at least six months and have a positive balance when you apply. You'll also need a Social Security number and must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Truist doesn't list a minimum credit score requirement, but it may conduct a hard credit pull when evaluating your application. Hard credit inquiries are common when you apply for credit and temporarily knock a few points off your credit score. The lender will likely review your Truist transactions, banking history and credit information as well.
If approved, you should receive the funds in your Truist account either the same day or the next, depending on when you're approved. If your application is approved during the latter half of the day, you may not be funded until the next business day. The application and funding process is entirely online.
You can only have one Ready Now loan at a time. Once your loan is paid off, you must wait 30 days before applying for another.
Truist Ready Now loan costs
The Truist Ready Now loan costs $5 for every $100 borrowed, with a term of six months. That translates to an annual percentage rate of 16.94%.
It's a significantly cheaper option than other short-term loans, such as payday loans, which carry an average APR of 400%. The Ready Now loan also has a much longer repayment period when compared with the typical two-week turnaround of a payday loan.
Truist lists no other fees for the Ready Now loan, including no late fees and no fee for paying off the loan early.
Loan example: A $500 loan with an APR of 16.94% repaid over six months would carry:
Monthly payments — $87.50.
Total interest — $25.
Total amount due — $525.
How the Truist Ready Now loan compares
The Ready Now loan's APR doesn't exceed 36%, which is the maximum APR a loan can have to be affordable, according to consumer advocates. It also has a longer repayment period than small-dollar loans from other banks, including Bank of America's Balance Assist, U.S. Bank's Simple Loan and Wells Fargo's Flex Loan, which have terms of three to four months.
If you're looking for an even longer repayment term, a small personal loan from a credit union could be another option. Not only do credit union repayment terms tend to start around one year, but credit unions typically have lower interest rates for borrowers with fair or bad credit (credit scores of 689 or lower) compared with other lenders. You'll most likely need to become a credit union member before applying.
Online lenders also offer personal loans, though loan amounts usually start at $1,000. Depending on your credit score, rates may also be higher with an online lender.
» COMPARE: Best bad-credit online loans
Truist Ready Now loan isn't a good idea if:
Your main goal is to build credit. Truist reports Ready Now payments to the credit bureaus, so it could help build credit. But financing products with longer terms, such as a secured credit card or a credit-builder loan, can help you build a longer history. Paying down debt can also improve your credit. If you don't know your credit score, get it free on NerdWallet.
You struggle to budget. The Ready Now loan can help you cover a one-time expense, but it's not a good option if you're always short on cash, since paying interest on the money you've borrowed may exacerbate your cash shortage. Before applying, consider how Ready Now's monthly payments fit your budget.
You can get cash elsewhere. Paying with cash is always cheaper since there's no interest. Consider earning extra money before borrowing from a bank or another lender.
Alternatives to Truist Ready Now loan
Here are alternatives that may be cheaper than Truist's Ready Now loan.
If you need to cover expenses such as rent, food, utilities, clothing and transportation costs, seek assistance from local nonprofits, charities and religious organizations.
Tap your network before turning to a traditional lender. Borrowing from friends or family or forming a lending circle can help you cover unexpected expenses while potentially avoiding interest.
Apply for a payday alternative loan, a type of 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.
Ask your employer for a paycheck advance or use a cash advance app to borrow against your next paycheck.
If you need to cover an essential purchase, consider a buy now, pay later option that offers a zero-interest payment plan.
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NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points from each lender 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.
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