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Happy Money Personal Loans Review, August 2025

Happy Money offers competitive credit card consolidation loans up to $40,000 to qualifying applicants.

Author
By Nick Dauk

Written by

Nick Dauk

Freelance writer

Nick Dauk has covered personal finance for more than three years, with expertise on travel, student and personal loans, and credit. His work has been featured by Business Insider, CBS News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, and the New York Post.

Written by

Nick Dauk

Freelance writer

Nick Dauk has covered personal finance for more than three years, with expertise on travel, student and personal loans, and credit. His work has been featured by Business Insider, CBS News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, and the New York Post.

Edited by Barry Bridges
Barry Bridges

Written by

Barry Bridges

Editor

Barry Bridges is the personal loans editor at Credible. Since 2017, he’s been writing and editing personal finance content, focusing on personal loans, credit cards, and insurance.

Barry Bridges

Written by

Barry Bridges

Editor

Barry Bridges is the personal loans editor at Credible. Since 2017, he’s been writing and editing personal finance content, focusing on personal loans, credit cards, and insurance.

Reviewed by Meredith Mangan

Written by

Meredith Mangan

Senior editor

Meredith Mangan is a senior editor at Credible. She has more than 18 years of experience in finance and is an expert on personal loans.

Written by

Meredith Mangan

Senior editor

Meredith Mangan is a senior editor at Credible. She has more than 18 years of experience in finance and is an expert on personal loans.

Updated August 7, 2025

Editorial disclosure: Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we receive compensation from our partner lenders, whom we will always identify, all opinions are our own. Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS # 1681276, is referred to here as “Credible.”

Featured

Advertiser Disclosure

We receive compensation from the companies below if you purchase a product. Amount of compensation does not impact the ranking or placement of a particular product. Not all available financial products and offers from all financial institutions have been reviewed by this website. This content is not provided by Credible or any of the Providers on the Credible website. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Credible.

Happy Money: Best interest rates for fair credit debt consolidation

Happy Money

4.2

Credible Rating

Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. We collected thousands of data points on dozens of lenders for personal loans, mortgages, and student loans. Specific criteria vary by loan type, but generally include interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirements, transparency, funding times, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more.
Read our full methodology.

on Credible's website

Est. APR

7.95 - 29.99%

Loan Amount

$5,000 to $40,000

Min. Credit Score

640

Who are Happy Money personal loans best for?

The borrowers best suited for Happy Money personal loans are those trying to consolidate and pay off credit card debt.

Best for consolidating credit card debt

The Payoff Loan, Happy Money's signature offering, provides borrowers a lump-sum personal loan that can be used to pay off credit cards and other debt. You can choose to have your loan deposited into your bank account or sent directly to your creditors

Happy Money offers lower rates than the average credit card interest rate, which is 21.76%, according to the Federal Reserve. It also offers lower rates than most of its competitors. On the downside, the loans come with origination fees and may be less accessible to some less qualified borrowers. Loans are not available in Iowa, Massachusetts, or Nevada.

Great for low APRs for debt consolidation

When you compare personal loan lenders, you'll see that many have maximum APRs as high as 35.99%. Happy Money stands out from the pack with a max APR under 20%. However, you'll need a FICO score of 640 or higher to qualify.

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Note

Minimum loan amounts in New Mexico are $5,100 and $6,100 in Maryland.

Pros and cons of Happy Money personal loans

Happy Money's The Payoff Loan has advantages for borrowers specifically looking to take care of their credit card debt. However, its limits on eligibility, term length, and loan amount may not be suitable for borrowers with extreme credit card debt.

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Pros

  • Low maximum APRs
  • Some fair-credit borrowers are eligible
  • Online chat
  • Mobile app
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Cons

  • Wait time of 3-6 business days for funding
  • No discounts available for paying creditors directly or for autopay
  • Origination fee

How to qualify for a Happy Money personal loan

Happy Money encourages potential borrowers to get preapproved and see their potential rate in a matter of minutes. The company offers a breakdown of the factors it might evaluate, which include:

  • Credit score, ideally 640 or higher
  • Current delinquencies, ideally zero
  • Debt-to-income ratio
  • Age of credit history
  • Open and satisfactory trades
  • Credit utilization

Credit score and financial history

Your credit history is one of the most important elements of your financial identity, as it's used by lenders to anticipate how likely you are to make payments on a loan. You should have a credit score of 640 or higher to get approved for a Happy Money loan and, ideally, no current delinquencies on your report.

Income and employment

Happy Money puts a strong focus on borrower credit scores and delinquencies, but those aren't the only factors it assesses for borrower eligibility. Other aspects that affect approval include your income. Happy Money has a minimum annual income requirement of $30,000 when you apply via Credible's site.

Happy Money will evaluate your debt-to-income ratio, the age of your credit history, the utilization of your available credit, and any open lines of credit (such as auto loans or mortgage loans you've made consistent, on-time payments for).

Happy Money personal loan purposes

The Payoff Loan is specifically designed to help you pay off credit card or other debt. Although The Payoff Loan is Happy Money's specialty product, the company website says, "We may be able to assist with certain personal unsecured installment loans as well." An online agent confirmed that the Payoff Loan can be used for any personal, family, or household purpose.

Happy Money personal loan fees and penalties

Happy Money doesn't charge some of the typical fees that other lenders routinely charge.

Loan origination fees

Loan origination fee amounts will vary based on factors like the quality of your credit, loan amount, and loan term. Origination fees range from 1.5% to 5.5%.

Early repayment penalties

Happy Money does not have any prepayment fees or penalties.

Other fees

Happy Money does not charge any late fees, bounced check fees, or failed ACH fees.

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Good to know

ACH (Automated Clearing House) refers to an electronic processing network used by financial institutions. A failed ACH transaction — resulting from the sender’s account having insufficient funds, for example — typically carries a fee between $2 and $5.

How Happy Money compares to other lenders

Happy Money

Credible rating

Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more.
Read our full methodology.

APR from7.95 - 29.99%
Loan Amount$5000 to $40000
Term Length2 - 5
Min. Credit Score640
Upstart

Credible rating

Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more.
Read our full methodology.

APR from6.60 - 35.99%
Loan Amount$1000 to $50000
Term Length3, 5
Min. Credit Score620
Read Our Review
Avant

Credible rating

Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more.
Read our full methodology.

APR from9.95 - 35.99%
Loan Amount$1000 to $35000
Term Length2 - 5
Min. Credit Score550
Read Our Review

What to consider when consolidating debt

If you want to pay off debt, the next step is to review your current credit card or other debt accounts. Make a list, including your outstanding balances, monthly payment amounts, and current APRs. Then, use a credit card interest calculator to calculate how long it will take to pay off each card and how much each will cost you in interest.

For example:

Outstanding balance
APR
Monthly payment amount
Payoff time
Interest charges
Credit card 1
$500
20%
$35
17 months
$66
Credit card 2
$1,500
30%
$50
54 months
$1,199
Credit card 3
$950
30%
$45
30 months
$376
Totals
$2,950 total owed
28.30% weighted average APR
$130 total per month
54 months until all are paid off
$1,641 total cost

With the above information, you can figure out the total loan amount you need, along with the APR, term, monthly payment amount, and overall cost you want to beat. Then, you'll be ready to start shopping for a loan. Check your rate with Happy Money and other lenders and look for the best overall value in terms of cost and service quality.

How to contact Happy Money

Happy Money has a live chat button located at the bottom right corner of each screen, allowing you to first speak with a chatbot that will then connect you to a live agent.

You can also contact Happy Money directly by phone or email. Agents are available via phone Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:30 pm ET at 1-800-878-0901. You can also email [email protected].

Before contacting Happy Money by email or phone, keep in mind that it has a self-service help center. The help center has prompts in the form of frequently asked questions, which link to relevant articles. You can also peruse articles based on account, lender, loan, and security topics.

About Happy Money personal loans

Happy Money works with lenders to offer borrowers competitive rates and terms for paying off credit card debt and for other loan purposes. This approach is designed to streamline the borrowing and pay-off process. 

"We believe lending can and should be a tool for happiness, which is why we have designed an application process and simple loan product with borrowers' best interests in mind," says Matt Tomko, chief revenue officer at Happy Money.

With only an origination fee charged, borrowers can use The Payoff Loan to potentially pay less on the overall lifetime of their loan while also having an opportunity to boost their FICO credit score.

Rating Happy Money personal loans

Credible evaluated 30 lenders and over 800 data points to find the best personal loans and lenders. Our team of experts considered internal proprietary data, including prequalification rates by lender, credit score minimums, and approved loan purposes. We also gathered information from each lender's website, customer service department, directly from our partners, and via email support. We chose the best lenders based on the following weighted categories:

  • Rates and fees: 18%
  • Loan terms: 18%
  • Customer experience: 17%
  • Eligibility: 14%
  • Customer satisfaction: 10%
  • Efficiency: 10%
  • Options for poor credit and no credit: 9%
  • Discounts: 4%

Each data point was sourced and verified by a senior editor to make sure it was accurate and up to date. Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our personal loans lender rating methodology.

FAQ

Is Happy Money a reputable company?

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Where does Happy Money operate?

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How long does it take to get a personal loan from Happy Money?

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What fees does Happy Money charge?

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Does applying with Happy Money affect your credit score?

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Meet the expert:
Nick Dauk

Nick Dauk has covered personal finance for more than three years, with expertise on travel, student and personal loans, and credit. His work has been featured by Business Insider, CBS News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, and the New York Post.