Universal Credit Personal Loans: 2024 Review

Universal Credit personal loans are best for borrowers with low credit scores who want a loan with features that will help their scores. Universal Credit’s starting rates are high compared to other bad-credit lenders, so compare loan offers before you apply.

Universal Credit is operated by online lender Upgrade. The main difference between the two is that borrowers with bad credit scores (629 or lower) and more debt may more easily qualify for a Universal Credit loan. Upgrade offers a more flexible personal loan that’s particularly good for debt consolidation.

Once approved, Universal Credit customers can access features offered by Upgrade, including credit building tools, a mobile app and a discount for directly paying off creditors on debt consolidation loans.

» MORE: See your bad-credit loan options

Table of Contents

Universal Credit loans at a glance

Where Universal Credit personal loans stand out and fall short

How to use Universal Credit personal loans

Universal Credit personal loan customer reviews

Do you qualify for a Universal Credit personal loan?

How to apply for a Universal Credit personal loan

Compare Universal Credit to other lenders

How we rate Universal Credit personal loans

Universal Credit personal loans at a glance

• Universal Credit disclosure

  Personal loans made through Universal Credit feature Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) of 11.69%-35.99%. All personal loans have a 5.25% to 9.99% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Lowest rates require Autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly. Loans feature repayment terms of 36 to 60 months. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 36-month term and a 28.47% APR (which includes a 22.99% yearly interest rate and a 7% one-time origination fee), you would receive $9,300 in your account and would have a required monthly payment of $387.05. Over the life of the loan, your payments would total $13,933.62. The APR on your loan may be higher or lower and your loan offers may not have multiple term lengths available. Actual rate depends on credit score, credit usage history, loan term, and other factors. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. There is no fee or penalty for repaying a loan early. Personal loans issued by Universal Credit's bank partners. Information on Universal Credit's bank partners can be found at Universal Credit | Bank Partners. Accept your loan offer and your funds will be sent to your bank or designated account within one (1) business day of clearing necessary verifications. Availability of the funds is dependent on how quickly your bank processes the transaction. From the time of approval, funds sent directly to you should be available within one (1) business day. Funds sent directly to pay off your creditors may take up to 2 weeks to clear, depending on the creditor.

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Where Universal Credit personal loans stand out

Rate discounts:

• Autopay discount: Universal Credit offers a 0.50 percentage point discount for setting up automatic payments. This discount is common with personal loans, and setting up autopay ensures you’ll make payments on time.

• Direct pay discount: If you’re using a Universal Credit loan to consolidate other high-interest debts, the lender will directly pay off those debts (leaving you with one monthly loan payment) and discount your rate by 1 to 3 percentage points. Many lenders can directly pay other creditors, but few include a discount. To use this feature, at least half of the loan must go toward consolidating debt.

» MORE: Compare debt consolidation loans

Credit-building tools: Through Upgrade, Universal Credit borrowers have free access to their VantageScore, a credit score simulator, credit monitoring and customized credit-building recommendations. Many lenders offer credit score monitoring, but the simulator tools and recommendations are unique.

Fast funding: Universal Credit personal loans can be approved and funded as quickly as two days after you apply. The lender says approval can take one to a few days, and funds are usually available the day after approval. This process may be faster with other lenders — some approve you the day you apply and fund the loan the next day — but two or three days from application to funding is decent timing for a personal loan.

» MORE: Fast personal loans

Where Universal Credit personal loans fall short

No joint, co-signed or secured loans: Universal Credit borrowers cannot add collateral, a co-signer or a co-borrower to a loan application. Adding collateral or a co-applicant with better credit or higher income can mean a lower rate, a higher loan amount or could improve your chances of qualifying. Many bad-credit lenders offer at least one of these options.

» MORE: Compare co-sign and joint loans

Charges an origination fee: Universal Credit charges an origination fee ranging from 5.25% to 9.99%. The lender takes this fee from the loan before it’s deposited into your account, reducing your loan amount by a few hundred dollars or more. This fee is somewhat common with bad-credit online loans. Be sure the loan amount is still enough to cover your expense once the origination fee is applied.

» MORE: Best loans with no origination fee

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How to use Universal Credit personal loans

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Universal Credit personal loan customer reviews

As of August, 2024, Universal Credit Has 4.7 stars on Trustpilot, a website that collects consumer reviews. Customers mention the company’s fast and easy application process and quick funding. The lender’s mobile platform uses parent company Upgrade’s app, which received 4.7 stars across 23,500 reviews on Google Play and 4.9 stars across 50,800 reviews on the Apple App Store.

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Do you qualify for a Universal Credit personal loan?

You may be able to qualify for a Universal Credit with fair or bad credit. The lender also says qualified borrowers can have debt-to-income ratios up to 75%, including your mortgage payment.

To apply for a Universal Credit personal loan, you must be:

• A U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or living in the U.S. on a valid visa.

• At least 18 years old in most states.

• Able to provide a verifiable bank account.

• Able to provide a valid email address.

Universal Credit's borrowing requirements

Here are Universal Credit’s minimum requirements to qualify for a loan. (Meeting these requirements doesn't guarantee approval.)

• Minimum credit score: 580. Universal Credit uses FICO score version 9 from TransUnion.

• Minimum credit history: 1 account and 2 years.

• Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 75%, including mortgage payments.

• Minimum income requirement: None. This lender accepts income from alimony, retirement, child support, Social Security and other sources.

• Universal Credit average borrower snapshot

  • Average credit score: 655.

  • Average annual income: $90,000.

  • Average loan amount: $8,950.

  • Average loan term: 5 years.

  • Most common loan purpose: Credit card refinancing and debt consolidation.

» MORE: How to apply for a personal loan

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How to apply for a Universal Credit personal loan

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

1. Pre-qualify on Universal Credit’s website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow and what the funds are for, as well as some personal information like your name, birthdate and address. The lender will ask for your individual income and additional income, which can include a partner’s income, alimony, child support and other sources. You’ll then create an account with an email address and password. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.

2. Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. If you qualify, you’ll preview multiple Universal Credit loan offers with different amounts, rates and repayment terms. Once you accept an offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This may require more documents, like W-2s, pay stubs and tax documents to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. Universal Credit will do a hard credit check when the loan is funded, which may cause a temporary dip to your score.

3. Receive your funds within a business day or two. The lender says it may take up to a few days to approve an application. Universal Credit can send loan funds the day after approval. If you’re consolidating debt, it may take longer for the funds to reach other creditors. Continue making debt payments until you’re sure they are paid off.

4. Make a plan to repay the loan. Universal Credit reports payments to all three major credit bureaus, so on-time payments will help build your credit, 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.

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Compare Universal Credit to other lenders

Compare Universal Credit with other lenders to decide whether it offers the right personal loan for you. Lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh your options. The best personal loan is the one with the lowest APR and most affordable monthly payments.

Upgrade and Upstart offer lower rates than Universal Credit, and both say they may approve fair- and bad-credit borrowers.

Upgrade

» MORE: Read our review of Upgrade

Upstart

» MORE: Read our review of Upstart

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How we rate Universal Credit personal loans

NerdWallet experts 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.

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