If you’ve ever been hit with a sudden bill or unexpected expense, and payday still felt like it was miles away, you may have considered looking for a payday loan.
Payday loans allow you to get the money you need to tide yourself and your family over until the next time you receive a dose of cash to your bank account. However, while many people have heard of payday loans today, most don’t know how to get the best deals on the market.
More often than not, when people apply for payday loans, they’re looking for cash that they can access quickly to pay for an emergency. This means that they don’t have a lot of time to waste looking for the right provider. Sometimes, the rush that people are in when applying for payday loans can mean that they simply accept the first form of credit that they’re approved for.
However, if you know anything about loans, you’ll know that sometimes you need to do some research if you want to avoid paying over the odds.
So, how do you find a payday loan that’s right for you?
Before you can find the right £200 loan for your needs, you’ll need to understand exactly how these lending solutions work. Payday loans are a form of short-term cash advance designed to help you borrow a small amount of money quickly. Usually, payday loans are offered on an unsecured basis, and they don’t always need a guarantor for you to get approval.
A payday loan is different to a regular personal loan for many reasons. For instance, with a payday loan, you’ll only be able to borrow a limited amount of cash. Most providers will only offer up to a few thousand pounds at a time. Additionally, most payday loan providers will require you to pay the money that you owe back quickly.
In fact, some payday loan companies even ask for their customers to give back the money that the owe on the day that they next receive their monthly income. That’s where the name “payday loan” comes from. However, there are providers out there that will allow you to make your repayments in instalments.
While payday loans aren’t always the right option for every customer, they are an excellent opportunity for people who need to borrow money fast. When you apply for a payday loan, you’ll often find that the eligibility criteria is very simple. Most of the time, all you’ll need to do is prove that you have a regular source of income, and make sure that you’re a resident of the UK.
Additionally, payday loan providers can only give a cash advance to an adult over the age of 18. This means that you may have to provide some form of ID to prove that you’re a resident of the UK and that you’re the right age.
Aside from being very easy to apply for, payday loans can have other benefits too. For instance, they ensure that you can access money a lot faster than you would be able to with a traditional personal loan for example. Payday loans come with:
The best payday loan is something of a subjective concept. It all depends on what you’re looking for from your loan. For instance, if you need to borrow money quickly, then the best loan for you will come from a provider that can give you your money as quickly as possible, without any complicated application forms.
On the other hand, if you’ve got a bad credit history, then your best loan provider will be someone who isn’t concerned by your credit report. Instead, these providers will be able to look at other factors besides your credit rating to decide what kind of rates and support you should be given. One easy way to make sure that you’re getting a good deal with your payday loans is to turn to comparison websites for help.
With a comparison website, you can look at each of the lenders available in your area and evaluate their loan offers on a like for like basis. This simply means that you ensure that you’re getting the same amount of money and the same term from every provider. Comparison websites make it much easier to figure out who you should be borrowing your money from. However, it’s also a good idea to look at things like reviews and testimonials too.
Although some comparison websites won’t necessarily show details from all of the lenders you can access, there’s nothing to stop you from using multiple sites to get a complete overview of the market. The comparison sites that you use will help you to make a more informed decision about the money that you’re borrowing, so you can ensure that you’re not paying more than you should be for your loan. While the thing you choose to compare with your lenders will often depend on what matters most to you with your loan, some of the concepts you might look at include:
Ideally, it’s a good idea to avoid comparing your payday loan providers through a broker. Even if you’re only looking for £500. You’ll rarely get the best payday loans this way, as brokers give lenders extra fees to worry about. On the other hand, when you can borrow from a provider directly, you can often save some money, as your provider won’t be recouping the costs of finding new clients through a brokerage website. Comparison websites have practically eliminated the need for payday loan brokers altogether. However, it’s worth making sure that you’re not dealing with a broker before you start searching for the right loan.
One other thing to keep in mind when you’re looking for the best payday loan is that you should never trust a provider who guarantees that they can approve your loan before checking your credit. It’s also worthwhile to ignore any companies that claim that they can provide money without any credit check at all.
Remember that the financial conduct authority asks all payday loan providers to conduct credit checks before they give money to a customer. This means that any business that doesn’t conduct credit checks is not following the rules put in place by the FCA. This could also mean that they do other things that they shouldn’t too, such as charging more interest than necessary, or demanding huge fees when you’re late on your repayment.
Checking that your lender is compliant with the FCA rules and regulations is a good way to make sure that you stay safe with your payday loans. After all, the best payday lending option will often be one that you know you can pay back with as little stress as possible.
Only you can decide what the best payday loan looks like for your needs. The good news is that thanks to comparison websites, it’s easier than ever to find a range of affordable options to choose from.
Whether you’re looking for a lender that specialises in bad credit loans or someone who can help you when you’re living as a student without a full-time income, there are plenty of choices out there. Comparing your selections carefully will make sure that you’re always getting the right deal on your loans.
While comparing loans can take some extra time out of your schedule, the small amount of additional work is often well worth it in the long-term.