The COVID-19 crisis is impacting financial matters. Although Congress may offer a second relief package to help with the financial gap caused by unemployment and other hardships, some people will still need loans. You may need assistance if you have a personal loan.
Some personal loan lenders have increased approval requirements. Others have offered low-rate loans for those in financial distress. Lenders who had previously provided a catchall plan for customers affected by COVID-19 are now taking a case-by-case approach.
You need to borrow money!!!
It may be worth calling your local credit unions, charities, or nonprofits for low-cost emergency funds. If you are looking for short-term cash, these lenders may help.
Capital Good Fund
Capital Good Fund offers a Crisis Relief Loan to consumers within the six states it operates in: Delaware, Florida and Illinois. These loans are small and provide a low annual interest rate with deferred payments for the initial three months.
Maximum loan amount: $300 to $1500
All approved borrowers are eligible for an APR of 5%
The term is 15 months, with the payment starting after three months. If the COVID-19 crisis persists beyond that, payments can be delayed further. CEO Andy Posner states that interest will accrue for 90 days.
In its underwriting process, the lender will consider banking history. Posner states that Capital Good Fund will not use a borrower’s income or expenses to determine if they can afford the loan. If they cannot, the lender will examine whether the applicant could have made the loan payments before the crisis.
These loans do not require collateral and have no application, closing, or prepayment fees. Posner states that applicants for the Crisis Relief Loan can expect to receive a decision within two days of submitting their application.
Salary Finance
Salary Finance offers loans through employers and Equifax partners to give companies insight into employees’ finances. According to Salary Finance CEO Dan Macklin, the partnership was already in place before the COVID-19 crisis began. The company’s offering is not dependent on the economic impact of the pandemic.
Macklin states that employers can view anonymized credit information about workers through the partnership. Companies can use the data to identify the most financially stressed groups and help them address them.
Macklin states that Human resource departments usually offer salary Finance to employees as a benefit. All three credit bureaus report payments made on Salary Finance loans.
Maximum loan amount: $1,000 to $5,000.
APR: 5.9% to 9.9%
Term: 6 to 36 Months
Concerned about paying your bills?
Consumers in financial hardship may be eligible for assistance from lenders, such as deferred payments or waived late fees. You may also find other financial assistance options if you don’t see your lender.
Best Egg
Best Egg encourages borrowers to log in to their accounts to view available options.
According to a spokesperson for the company, customers may have the option of payment deferrals or adjusted payments.
Explore
Discover offered a one-month delay. The spokesperson for the company confirmed that the program was over and encouraged borrowers to call the company instead.
HSBC
You can call 800-524-9686 to request a hardship plan if you have difficulty paying an HSBC personal loan. The company offers different hardship programs and does not specify which modifications are available to private loan borrowers. A spokesperson did not answer multiple requests for clarification.
LendingClub
According to a spokesperson, LendingClub still allows COVID-19-affected borrowers to defer payment and only pay interest while deferral is in effect.
A spokesperson for the company stated that the tool would still be available to customers even after the COVID-19 crisis had passed.
LightStream
LightStream might allow customers who have been affected by the pandemic, or other natural disasters, to delay loan payments. Email customerservice@lightstream.com to receive a phone number to connect you with someone who can discuss your hardship. If you are within two days of automatic payment, you can’t delay a payment.
Credit bureaus report deferments as a natural disaster. They won’t affect your credit score and are not reported to credit agencies. These payments will be added to your loan’s end, and interest will accrue while they are deferred.
OneMain
OneMain can help borrowers who are having trouble making their payments. According to a spokesperson, the lender’s borrower assistance program can help borrowers get deferred or reduced monthly payments. This was included in the loan before the pandemic.
Oportun
Oportun offers customers deferred and reduced payments. If you have made arrangements before, the company won’t report missed payments to credit bureaus as late. Customers can reach the company via email at customercare@oportun.com or 650-419-5779.
OppLoans
CEO Jared Kaplan says OppLoans offers 30 days of missed payments without any questions asked for anyone who has been affected by COVID-19. Customers can then apply for a 90-day hardship program to reduce their costs by half. These accommodations will not adversely affect credit scores, he says.
PenFed
PenFed offers to waive payment for eligible borrowers. Log in to your account, and choose “Financial assistance for members affected by COVID-19.”
PNC
PNC may offer reduced or postponed payments to customers with loan obligations who are currently in hardship or have their hardship plans about to expire. The company can verify eligibility for assistance within minutes for most customers. Visit the coronavirus page of PNC and click “Apply to Consumer Loan Hardship Assistance.”
Possible Finance
Possible Finance offers a forbearance program that allows customers to send out payments. Although the lender has not released much information about the plan since March’s blog post, customers can still contact customer service via its general inquiry form.
Start
According to Upstart spokesperson, Upstart offers loan modification options to customers who have been affected by COVID-19. These include an extended loan term and forbearance. Customers could previously defer two months’ worth of payments without penalty or interest.
