Happy Money Personal Loans Review 2026

Our take on Happy Money

We rate Happy Money personal loans 4.2 out of 5 stars. Its minimum credit score requirement and low maximum APR make it a solid choice for some borrowers with fair credit, but borrowers with good or excellent credit may find lower rates elsewhere.

Who (or what) is Happy Money best for?

• The lowest interest rates for fair credit: Of all Credible partners, Happy Money had the absolute lowest rates for borrowers with fair credit, and not by a small margin either. Interest rates for fair credit averaged just under 17% APR with Happy Money, while average rates for several competitors approached or exceeded 30%.*
• Borrowers with high-interest debt: Happy Money's signature offering, The Payoff Loan, could help you get a lower rate than what you're currently paying and save money on interest. Happy Money's maximum APR of 29.99% could make it particularly useful if you have credit card debt. Credit card APRs can exceed 30% and, unlike personal loans, rates are typically variable rather than fixed.
• Borrowers with “almost” good credit: With a minimum credit score requirement of 640, Happy Money could be suitable if your credit score falls in the mid-to-high range of FICO's fair-credit tier (580 to 669). 

Who is Happy Money not best for?

• Borrowers with good or excellent credit: Although Happy Money's starting APR is lower than that of some other lenders, having good or excellent credit could help you qualify for a lower rate with a competitor. According to Credible personal loans data, borrowers with good FICO scores (670-739) received lower APRs, on average, from SoFi, LendingClub, Splash Financial, and LightStream than from Happy Money.
• Borrowers with low incomes: Although its minimum income requirement of $30,000 isn't much of an outlier compared with some other lenders, Happy Money may not be ideal for borrowers seeking low-income personal loans.

Pros and cons of Happy Money personal loans

Details on the pros

• Lowest rates for fair credit: Fair-credit borrowers received lower rates from Happy Money, on average, than any other Credible lending partner.
• Low maximum APRs: APRs on personal loans can go as high as 35.99%. Happy Money's lower maximum APR could mean saving money on interest.
• Some fair-credit borrowers are eligible: You may qualify if you have a fair credit score in the mid-600s — closer to good than bad. But higher is better — the average credit score for borrowers who took out a Happy Money loan on the Credible marketplace was 705, firmly in “good credit” territory.
• Available in most states: Happy Money personal loans are currently available in every state except Iowa, Massachusetts, and Nevada.

Details on the cons

• Wait time of 3 or more business days for funding: Happy Money says it typically takes 3 to 7 business days to review your application. The average funding time for Happy Money loans through Credible was 9 days. A few lenders offer same-day personal loans, but qualifying with fair credit may be a challenge.
• No discounts for paying creditors directly or for autopay: Some lenders offer small rate discounts for setting up automatic payments or sending debt consolidation loan funds straight to your creditors, but Happy Money does not.
• Origination fee: Happy Money charges a loan origination fee of 2% to 5% of the amount borrowed. While Happy Money's fee is relatively modest, a few lenders offer no-origination-fee personal loans.

How to qualify for a Happy Money personal loan

Criteria for approval of a Happy Money personal loan include: 

• Credit score of 640 or higher
• Annual income of $30,000 when applying through Credible

Other general criteria that Happy Money will consider include:

• Current delinquencies, ideally zero: Delinquencies on your credit report could mark you as a risky borrower. 
• Debt-to-income ratio: Although Happy Money doesn't specify a number, lenders typically prefer a DTI below 36% for personal loans.
• Age of credit history: The length of your credit history can affect your credit score. A longer credit history indicates that you're an established borrower.
• Credit utilization: The percentage of available credit you're using (the lower, the better) gives lenders an idea of how you manage debt. 

Happy Money personal loan purposes

• Debt consolidation
• Credit card refinancing
• Other personal, family, or household expenses

Happy Money personal loan fees and penalties

Happy Money's loan origination fees range from 2% to 5% of the amount borrowed, based on factors including the quality of your credit, loan amount, and loan term. The lender that funds your personal loan through the Happy Money platform may charge fees such as:

• Late fees
• Bounced check fees
• Failed ACH fees 

Happy Money vs. other lenders

Happy Money company details and history

Founded in 2009, Happy Money is headquartered in Torrance, California. The Happy Money lending platform partners with several banks and credit unions. The company has worked with lending partners to fund over $6.5 billion in personal loans.

“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.

How to contact Happy Money

You can contact Happy Money Monday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m (ET).

• By live chat
• By phone at 1-800-878-0901

You can also email [email protected].

The website also has a self-service help center with frequently asked questions that link to relevant articles. 

Corporate headquarters

Happy Money

21515 Hawthorne Blvd

Suite 200

Torrance, CA 90503

(949) 430-0630

Methodology

Credible evaluated 32 lenders across 1,216 data points to choose the best lender overall, plus top picks for different borrowers and use cases. Across lenders, we collected data on customer experience and service options, minimum and maximum fixed interest rates, minimum and maximum loan amounts, funding times, loan terms, fees, discounts, third-party reviews, and more.

We assigned a numerical value to each attribute based on how that feature compared with the same feature for every other lender in the set. Attributes were grouped into categories, scores were compiled, and categories were weighted according to their relative importance — for instance, rates and fees were weighted highest since loan cost is among the most important factors in determining loan value.

• Rates and fees: 18.75%
• Eligibility and options for bad and no credit: 17.5%
• Availability: 12.5%
• Loan amounts and terms: 10%
• Customer satisfaction: 10%
• Customer service: 10%
• Efficiency and fund delivery: 10%
• Discounts: 7.5%
• Credible proprietary data: 3.75%

We also considered each of our partner lenders' statistics over a 12-month period — including average funding times, average credit scores for approved applicants, and average rates. Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our full personal loans lender rating methodology.

* Rates are based on 12 months of closed loans data from the Credible personal loan marketplace; fair credit is between 580 and 669 on the FICO score scale.