Splash Financial Review: Student Loan Refinancing

Item: Splash Financial Student Loan Refinance
Rating: 5
Author: Cecilia Clark

Splash Financial is a marketplace that gives you offers from multiple lenders to refinance your student loans.

May 17, 2023

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Our Take

5.0

NerdWallet rating

The bottom line:

Splash Financial is an online marketplace founded in 2013 that offers student loan refinance loans from multiple partner lenders. It's best for borrowers who want quotes from more than one lender.

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Full Review

Splash Financial Student Loan Refinance

Min. credit score

650

Fixed APR

5.34-8.37%

Variable APR

7.27-7.27%

Check rate

on Splash Financial's website

Pros & Cons

Pros

Select from multiple repayment options between 5 and 25 years.
You can see if you’ll qualify and what rate you’ll get without a hard credit check.

Cons

Loan features vary by lender.
Forbearance and death discharge may not be available.
You may need to become a member of a credit union to qualify.

Compare to Other Lenders

NerdWallet rating Check rate	NerdWallet rating Check rate
Min. credit score 650	Min. credit score 660
Fixed APR 5.34-8.37%	Fixed APR 5.24-10.99%
Variable APR 7.27-7.27%	Variable APR 4.99-10.89%

Full Review

Splash Financial is a marketplace which offers student loan refinance loans originated by various credit unions and banks. You can receive offers from these lenders by completing a single application on the Splash Financial website. This is similar to Credible and other sites with online loan marketplaces, including NerdWallet.

Splash Financial loan details vary by partner lender and application channel. This review outlines features that are available to Splash customers who prequalify via NerdWallet.

Because Splash Financial works with different credit unions and banks, if you're looking for specific benefits, you'll need to contact the lender or Splash directly.

Splash Financial student loan refinancing at a glance

Complete one application to get offers from multiple refinance lenders.
Loan features and policies vary by lender and application channel.
Offers personalized rate estimates via a soft credit check.

How Splash Financial could improve

Splash Financial could improve by:

Offering consistent policies on forbearance, co-signing loans and other features that all partner lenders must adhere to.
Allowing customers who prequalify via NerdWallet to apply with a cosigner.
Offering deferment to all borrowers who return to school.

Splash Financial student loan refinancing details

Splash Financial was founded in 2013 and offers loans from multiple lenders. The details below include all features you could receive by refinancing with Splash via NerdWallet.

Interest rates, fees and terms

Soft credit check to qualify and see what rate you’ll get: Yes.
Loan terms: Multiple options between 5 and 25 years.
Loan amounts: $5,000 to $500,000.
Can transfer a parent loan to a child: No.
Application or origination fee: No.
Prepayment penalty: No.
Late fees: Yes; late fees vary by lender and are usually charged 15 days from the payment due date.

Compare Splash Financial’s range of interest rates with other student loan refinance lenders. Your actual rate will depend on factors including your credit history and financial situation. To see what rate Splash Financial will offer you, apply on its website.

Requirements

Financial

Minimum credit score: 650.
Minimum income: None.
Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: 767.
Typical income of approved borrowers: $80,361.
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Maximum DTI is 65%.
Can qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy: Yes, after 7 years.

Other

Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Location: Available in all 50 U.S. states.
Must have graduated: Yes, borrowers need an associate degree or higher.
Must have attended a school authorized to receive federal aid: Yes.
Percentage of borrowers who have a co-signer: No co-signer option if you apply via NerdWallet.

Repayment options

Academic deferment: No.
Military deferment: No.
Forbearance: Depends on the lender. Some offer hardship forbearance while others do not.
Co-signer release available: No.
Death or disability discharge: Depends on the credit union or bank funding the loan.
Loan discharge if co-signer dies or becomes disabled: N/A.

Repayment Preferences

Allows greater-than-minimum payments via autopay: Yes.
Allows biweekly payments via autopay: No.

Customer service

Loan servicer: Firstmark or First Tech, depending on the lender.
In-house customer service team: Yes.
Process for escalating concerns: Yes.
Borrowers get assigned a dedicated banker, advisor or representative: No.
Average time from approval to payoff: 5 business days from when the customer signs the credit agreement.

Before refinancing with Splash Financial

You can apply for a Splash Financial refinanced student loan on its website. Before deciding on a student loan refinance lender, compare multiple student loan refinance options to make sure you’re getting the best rate you qualify for. In addition to interest rates, compare lenders’ repayment options and the flexibility they offer borrowers who are struggling to make payments.

If you aren’t eligible to refinance with Splash Financial

If Splash Financial denies your refinance application, the lender will let you know why. Depending on the reason, you may want to consider other lenders or need a co-signer.

NerdWallet recommends prequalifying with multiple refinance lenders before you apply. This will let you know which lenders you may be eligible with, without affecting your credit.

STUDENT LOAN REFINANCE RATINGS METHODOLOGY

Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and the top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.

We consider 41 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.

The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.

Read more about our ratings methodologies for student loan refinance and our editorial guidelines.

on Splash Financial's website

Find the Right Student Loan

Frequently asked questions

Splash Financial was founded in 2013. It offers refinanced student loans originated from lending partners that include third-party credit unions and banks.

Splash Financial is an online marketplace. When you complete an application on its website, your information is shared with multiple lenders to see which would refinance your student loans and at what terms.

Splash Financial is not a part of Laurel Road, but you can refinance student loans with Laurel Road (as well as other Splash lending partners) by applying via Splash. Splash partners with multiple lenders.