OneMain Financial Personal Loans: 2024 Review

OneMain Financial’s personal loans are expensive compared to other online loans. However, they have some consumer-friendly features that make them an option for borrowers who struggle to qualify elsewhere.

» COMPARE: Best personal loans for bad credit

Table of Contents

OneMain Financial loans at a glance

Where OneMain Financial personal loans stand out and fall short

How to use OneMain Financial personal loans

Regulatory action against OneMain

OneMain Financial personal loan customer reviews

Do you qualify for a OneMain Financial personal loan?

How to apply for a OneMain Financial personal loan

Compare OneMain Financial personal to other lenders

How we rate OneMain Financial personal loans

OneMain Financial personal loans at a glance

• Disclosure from OneMain

  You must complete a loan application and continue to meet any criteria used to select you for a loan offer. Not all applicants are approved. Loan approval and actual loan terms depend on applicant’s state of residence and ability to meet OneMain Financial credit standards such as a responsible credit history, sufficient income after monthly expenses, and if applicable, availability of eligible collateral. Not all approved applicants qualify for larger loan amounts, lower APRs, or the most favorable loan terms. For example, larger loan amounts typically require a first lien on a motor vehicle that is no more than ten years old, meets our value requirements, and is titled in applicant’s name with valid insurance. APRs are generally higher on loans not secured by a vehicle. Example Loan: A $6,000 loan with a 24.99% APR that is repayable in 60 monthly installments would have monthly payments of $176.07. OneMain charges origination fees allowed by law. Depending on the state where the loan is opened, the origination fee may be either a flat amount or a percentage of the loan amount. Flat fees vary by state, ranging from $25 to $500. Percentage-based fees vary by state, ranging from 1% to 10% of the loan amount subject to certain state limits on the fee amount. For information about these fees and minimum and maximum loan sizes available in certain states, visit omf.com/loanfees. Current OneMain Customers: Loan offers presented to a consumer assume the individual has no active loan with OneMain or one of its affiliates. If a customer applies for a new loan offer, a OneMain representative will discuss available options. Active-duty military, their spouse or dependents covered by the Military Lending Act (MLA) may not pledge any vehicle as collateral. If you are covered by the MLA, you are not eligible for secured loans. Loan proceeds cannot be used for postsecondary educational expenses as defined by the CFPB’s Regulation Z such as college, university or vocational expense; for any business or commercial purpose; to purchase cryptocurrency assets, securities, derivatives or other speculative investments; or for gambling or illegal purposes. Time to Fund Loans: Funding within one hour after loan closing through SpeedFunds® must be disbursed to a bank-issued debit card. Disbursement by check or ACH may take up to 1-2 business days after closing.

^ Back to table of contents

Where OneMain Financial personal loans stand out

Secured and joint loan options: OneMain lets borrowers use a vehicle such as a car, truck, motorcycle, boat or RV to secure a loan. The vehicle must be under 10 years old and requires an appraisal before approval. Borrowers may also add a co-applicant to get a joint personal loan.

Both options can improve your chance of qualifying and getting a lower rate, but they come with potential consequences. If you stop repaying a secured loan, the lender can take your collateral. If you stop making payments on a joint loan, your co-borrower must repay it.

» MORE: Secured personal loans

Choose and change your payment date: OneMain Financial borrowers can pick their payment date when they sign a loan agreement and change the due date twice during repayment. This feature is helpful if your income and expenses change due to a new job or different payday, for example.

Fast funding: OneMain Financial says it may conditionally approve a loan application instantly. In-person applicants may get the lender’s fastest funding time of an hour; however, it may take one to two business days for online applicants to receive funds via direct deposit. Some lenders boast same-day funding, but a day or two is standard for most personal loans.

Direct payment with debt consolidation loans: Borrowers who use a OneMain Financial loan to consolidate other high-interest debts can have the loan funds sent directly to up to 10 other creditors. This feature eliminates the payoff step for the borrower, but it’s still important to monitor your accounts until their balances reach zero. A debt consolidation loan is only a good idea if your new loan will have a lower rate than your other debts, which may be hard to achieve with OneMain’s high rates.

» COMPARE: Best debt consolidation loans

Branch access: OneMain operates branches in each of the 44 states where it offers personal loans. Though borrowers can get unsecured loans without visiting a branch, the option to apply with a loan officer in person is available to those who prefer it.

Seven-day cancellation policy: Borrowers have seven days to change their mind and cancel the loan without having to make payments.

» MORE: Personal loans for fair credit

Where OneMain Financial personal loans fall short

High rates: The biggest drawback with OneMain is its high annual percentage rates. OneMain’s starting APR is 18%, while other lenders offer personal loans with single-digit starting rates, even if fair- and bad-credit borrowers (with credit scores below 690) may not qualify for them.

No rate discounts: OneMain Financial doesn’t offer any rate discounts. The most common discount with personal loans is for setting up automatic payments, and it’s usually an APR reduction of 0.50 percentage points or less. Some lenders offer discounts for using the direct payment feature on debt consolidation loans.

Origination fee: OneMain loans come with origination fees, which aren’t uncommon for online lenders. In some states, OneMain charges a flat fee of $25 to $500; in other states, the fee is 1% to 10% of the loan amount. Origination fees are typically deducted from the loan proceeds, effectively reducing the loan amount. Be sure the loan is enough to cover your expenses after the fee is applied.

Pre-qualification doesn't include APR: Like most other online lenders, OneMain Financial allows borrowers to check their potential personal loan offer through pre-qualification, but OneMain only shows borrowers their potential loan amount and whether they qualify for a secured loan, an unsecured loan or both. The lender requires a formal application with a hard credit pull to show your rate and repayment terms.

Credit insurance: OneMain may offer optional credit insurance with secured or unsecured loans. This insurance adds to the loan costs and may not be necessary if borrowers already have life insurance, so it's worthwhile to learn about the pros and cons of credit insurance before buying it.

» MORE: Best emergency loans

^ Back to table of contents

How to use OneMain Financial  personal loans

^ Back to table of contents

Regulatory action against OneMain Financial

In May 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered OneMain to pay $20 million for deceptive sales practices. According to the bureau, OneMain led loan customers to believe they could not get a loan without signing up for an add-on product like roadside assistance or identity theft protection. The bureau says OneMain also failed to refund interest charges to customers who canceled the products in accordance with the lender's refund policies.

The bureau ordered OneMain to pay $10 million in refunds and a $10 million penalty. It also required OneMain to make it easier to cancel add-on products.

The lender said in a press release that it will bring more consistency to its refund policies.

^ Back to table of contents

OneMain Financial personal loan customer reviews

As of September, 2024, OneMain Financial has 4.7 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Customers mention helpful and knowledgeable customer service representatives and loan officers. OneMain is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and has an A- rating as well as 4 out of 5 stars from customer reviews.

The lender’s mobile app received 4.3 stars across 4,700 reviews on Google Play and 4.5 stars across 4,400 reviews on the Apple App Store.

^ Back to table of contents

Do you qualify for a OneMain Financial personal loan?

Most lenders have basic requirements to apply and some have financial requirements or recommendations to qualify.

To apply for a OneMain Financial personal loan, you must:

• Have a Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number.

• Be at least 18 in most states.

OneMain Financial ’s borrowing requirements

OneMain Financial says it uses an algorithm that accounts for many different criteria in underwriting, but it has few hard requirements for borrowers. Here’s what to know about OneMain’s qualification requirements.

• Minimum credit score: None; the lender doesn’t have a minimum credit score, but it says an applicant should have some credit history.

• Minimum income: None; OneMain requires borrowers to have enough income to support their own expenses, plus the new loan’s monthly payment. This lender accepts income from employment, a partner, alimony, retirement, child support and Social Security payments.

• Minimum credit history: One active account.

• OneMain’s average borrower snapshot

  • Average gross annual income: $55,000 to $60,000 per year, but the lender prioritizes net disposable income on an application.

  • Average loan APR: About 25%.

  • Most common loan purpose: Debt consolidation, recreation and home or car repairs.

^ Back to table of contents

How to apply for a OneMain Financial personal loan

Here are the steps to apply for a OneMain Financial loan, based on information from the lender and our experience completing the pre-qualification process.

1. Pre-qualify on OneMain Financial’s website. Choose the “Check for offers” button on OneMain’s website and enter your requested loan amount. Then, enter your name, address, email and income. Answer questions about your employer and whether you have a vehicle that’s paid off. Finally, enter your birth date and SSN or ITIN. There is no hard credit pull at this stage.

2. Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. OneMain will show you what types of loans you qualify for. At this stage, you won’t see repayment terms or your potential APR. Instead, qualified applicants may see a secured loan offer, unsecured loan offer or both. The lender requires a formal application to show you a full loan offer, which will cause your credit score to temporarily dip.

3. Submit an application. OneMain Financial says it instantly tells most applicants whether they’ve been conditionally approved after they apply. Final approval requires more verification. Upon final approval, the lender says it can fund most loans in one or two days.

4. Make a plan to repay the loan. OneMain Financial reports payments to all three major credit bureaus, so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.

^ Back to table of contents

Compare OneMain Financial to other lenders

Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh other options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.

LendingPoint and Avant both offer personal loans with lower rates than OneMain Financial, and they offer slightly larger loans.

LendingPoint

» MORE: LendingPoint personal loan review

Avant

» MORE: Avant personal loan review

^ Back to table of contents

How we rate OneMain Financial personal loans

NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:

• Category definitions

  Affordability (25%)

  An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.

  Customer experience (20%)

  A good customer experience includes allowing borrowers to choose and change their repayment date, a fully online application process, a mobile app to manage the loan and a customer service team with wide availability.

  Underwriting and eligibility (20%)

  The lender reviews borrowers’ credit reports and credit history and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan. It offers loans in most states and doesn’t restrict eligibility by requiring a pre-existing relationship.

  Application process (20%)

  Borrowers can pre-qualify to check their potential rate, loan amount, repayment term and APR without affecting their credit score. They can easily find answers to questions about the personal loan on the lender’s website. The application process is fast enough to allow funding within a couple of days or less.

  Loan flexibility (15%)

  A flexible loan is one that offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment term options. It includes common features like additional loan types and direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.

  Discretionary

  A lender’s star rating can be reduced if the lender is sued by a state or federal regulator for unfair consumer practices or has been accused by a reputable source of suspicious business practices.

^ Back to table of contents