OneMain Financial Personal Loans: 2024 Review

OneMain Financial is a lender that specializes in helping nonprime and subprime customers get loans. The company currently offers secured and unsecured personal loans, along with credit-building credit cards. If you have bad to fair credit (a FICO score between 300 to 669) and keep getting denied by personal loan lenders, OneMain Financial could be a good fit. However, if you have good to excellent credit, you'll likely find a better deal elsewhere.

Best personal loans for bad credit

OneMain Financial is a standout personal loan lender for borrowers with bad credit because they don't have a minimum credit score requirement to get approved for a loan if you apply directly on their site. However, they do take your credit history into account, as well as your income after monthly expenses. If you apply through Credible, you must have a 540 credit score.

In many cases, you may find it more difficult to get a personal loan if you have poor to fair credit. Many lenders have higher requirements, like Discover, which requires you to have a credit score of 660 or higher.

OneMain Financial offers an alternative, helping eligible nonprime and subprime borrowers access larger loan amounts and longer repayment periods. While the rates are on the higher end as far as personal loans go, they're much more affordable than alternatives like payday loans and other no-credit check loans.

Great for secured personal loans

If you're having trouble getting approved for an affordable unsecured personal loan, pledging an asset as collateral may help. The problem is that not all personal loan lenders offer secured options. However, OneMain Financial does - the lender accepts a wide range of collateral, such as boats, campers, automobiles, and RVs.

Pros and cons explained

Pros

• Flexible eligibility requirements: OneMain specializes in extending loans to nonprime borrowers.
• Offers secured options: You can strengthen your loan application by pledging collateral.
• Competitive bad-credit loans: The loan amounts, terms, and rates are competitive in the bad-credit loan market.
• Physical presence: If you prefer in-person customer service, OneMain Financial has more than 1,300 branches in the U.S.

Cons

• Accessibility: Loans are not available in 6 states (Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont).
• Origination fees: OneMain charges origination fees up to 10% of your loan amount or $500 (depending on your state).
• High starting APR: The APR range starts higher than the ranges of many other personal loan lenders.

What to consider before applying

• Your credit: Check your credit scores and reports. You can get a free copy of your report from AnnualCreditReport.com. Ensure all the information on your credit reports is correct and check where your scores fall (poor, fair, good, very good, or exceptional). If your credit is under 660, OneMain may be a good fit. If not, another lender will likely be better.
• Your budget: Review your income and expenses to determine how much money you have left over each month. Then, decide how much you're comfortable allotting to a monthly loan payment. It's helpful to know your ceiling before you collect quotes.
• The costs: Although OneMain Financial has more flexible eligibility requirements than many lenders, it also has higher costs. The APR range starts at 18.00% and may include an origination fee up to 10%. While better than alternatives like payday loans, the cost is still high. Weigh other options, such as holding off to save money or improve your credit.

Lastly, there's no shortage of personal loan lenders in the market. While OneMain Financial is a leader in the bad-credit loans space, it's not the only option. Shop around and get a few quotes before picking a loan.

You can prequalify with most lenders without hurting your credit score. Prequalification provides an estimate of what your rates could be with the lender, but is not an official offer of credit.

How to qualify for a loan with OneMain Financial

OneMain Financial evaluates borrowers based on their income, expenses, credit history, and collateral (when applicable). However, it doesn't say exactly what's required to get approved on its website. For example, there's no minimum credit score or monthly income requirement if you apply directly through their site. If you apply through Credible, the minimum credit score requirement is 540. The good news is that you can check if you prequalify through a quick online application that doesn't hurt your credit score.

How to apply for a loan with OneMain Financial

1. Visit the OneMain Financial website and navigate to the Personal Loans page.
2. Click "Check for offers."
3. Enter the amount of money you need.
4. Enter your name, address, email address, and phone number.
5. Enter your monthly take-home pay.
6. Select your employment situation (employed, self-employed, retired, or other).
7. Share if you have a car and whether you own, lease, or have a loan on it.
8. Enter your birth date and the last four digits of your Social Security number or tax ID.
9. Review the terms and disclosures.
10. If all looks good, agree and request offers.

If you prequalify, OneMain Financial will present you with an estimation of the loan(s) you can get. If you decide you want to move forward, you'll select a loan. The official application requires a valid government-issued ID, Social Security card, proof of residence, and proof of income. Additionally, you'll need to allow a hard credit check, which will ding your credit score temporarily. The lender will then do a final review to determine if you qualify. If approved, you'll receive an official loan offer.

Contact information

You can contact OneMain Financial by phone, email, contact form, or in person.

If you want to call, the lender has dedicated phone lines for:

• Existing loans: 833-390-2034
• Loan applications: 800-525-0451
• Web and mobile app help: 800-325-2146

Customer service representatives are available Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

If you'd prefer to email, you can reach customer support at [email protected] or through the online form on the lender's Contact page.

Additionally, you can visit one of the company's 1,300+ physical locations if you'd like to talk to someone in person. Most Americans (about 90%) live within 30 miles of a OneMain Financial branch, if available in their state.

How OneMain Financial compares

OneMain Financial specializes in lending to borrowers with bad credit, which is somewhat rare. The higher costs and smaller loans help OneMain account for the increased risk it assumes.

It's important to find a lender that's a good fit for your credit score before applying. This is because if you apply for a loan and don't meet a lender's credit score requirements, your application will likely get denied and a hard credit inquiry will be registered on your credit report. (Hard inquiries can pull your score down.) On the other hand, if you apply with a lender that caters to borrowers with your credit score, you can avoid this.

OneMain Financial can be the right fit if your credit score is under 660, but it's still a good idea to get quotes from a few lenders.

Methodology

Credible evaluated personal loan lenders based on factors such as customer experience, minimum fixed rate, maximum loan amount, funding time, loan terms, and fees. Credible's team of experts gathered information from each lender's website, customer service department, in-house resources, and via email support. Each data point was verified to make sure it was accurate at the time of publication.

Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our Personal Loans Lender Rating Methodology.

FAQ

Is OneMain Financial a trustworthy company?

Yes, OneMain Financial has served approximately 18 million customers since 2006 and has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2015. The lender also has an average star rating of 4/5 with the BBB after 2,121 customer reviews.

Is it difficult to get a OneMain Financial personal loan?

OneMain Financial specializes in serving nonprime borrowers, which are borrowers with credit scores under 660. As a result, it may be easier to get approved with OneMain than many other personal loan lenders in the market.

How fast can I get a personal loan from OneMain Financial?

You can get a personal loan from OneMain Financial pretty quickly. It only takes a few minutes to request offers, apply, and get a decision. Then, if you get approved and accept the loan, the funds can be in your account within one hour. However, this only applies to borrowers with SpeedFunds debit cards. It may take up to two business days for other borrowers.

What annual income do you need for a OneMain Financial loan?

OneMain Financial does consider income when evaluating applications but hasn't published a specific annual income requirement. If you're curious about whether you'll qualify, consider checking your estimated rates on the lender's website.