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SoFi Personal Loan Review

Published: Mar 17, 2020 9 min read

Not all lenders are the same and choosing the right lender can save you money and boost your credit rating. Social Finance (SoFi) offers personal loans, mortgages, student loan refinance and banking and investment services. Read on to find out if a SoFi personal loan is right for you.

Table of contents:

  • About SoFi
  • How SoFi works
  • Details of SoFi personal loans
  • Getting started
  • Is SoFi safe?
  • Customer support
  • Pros and cons

What is SoFi?

In 2011, a Stanford alumnus founded SoFi to help young grads refinance their student loans. Since then, it’s expanded to offer various financial services, including loans, investments (including crypto), banking and insurance. SoFi doesn't charge fees, but its members are eligible for many benefits.

SoFi usually doesn't grant loans to people with a credit score lower than 680 and an annual income of less than $50,000. In fact, the average household income of a SoFi borrower is over $100,000. However, due to its rigorous application process, SoFi can offer low interest rates to those who qualify.

An outline of SoFi personal loans

  • Loans: $5,000 to $100,000
  • Availability: 49 states (not in Mississippi)
  • Terms: two to seven years
  • Credit score: 680 or above
  • Income: $50,000 per year
  • Co-signer: not allowed, but a co-applicant is
  • Interest rates: 8.99 to 23.43% APR (with autopay)
  • Discounts: 0.25% for autopay

How does SoFi work?

Most lenders will give you a personal loan for almost any purpose. SoFi limits its lending to your family or household needs. So you could get a loan to move house, consolidate your debt, pay medical bills or have work done on your home, but not to finance a business, investment or real estate. Compared with other providers, SoFi is more selective about who it loans to.

SoFi will need your personal information before deciding if you're eligible for a loan, and if you are and accept the offer, you'll become a member, which is unique from other personal loan providers. SoFi members also get exclusive perks and events, such as happy hours and local networking events.

Details of SoFi personal loans

Are the perks of membership worth taking out a loan with SoFi? They can be if its rates and terms suit your needs.

How much will SoFi lend?

SoFi offers low interest rates on loans from $5,000 to $100,000, which is quite a large amount for a personal loan. The minimum varies by state but tends to be higher than other lenders.

SoFi personal loan terms

Repayment terms range from two to seven years, which is fairly standard in the industry.

More and more lenders are offering same-day or next-day loans; however, a SoFi loan takes a few days to appear in your account.

SoFi personal loan rates

SoFi offers fixed-rate personal loans, with lower rates for customers that set up autopay, which is becoming more common in the industry.

SoFi typically lowers your rate by 0.25% if you enroll in autopay, resulting in rates from 7.99% and up.

SoFi personal loan fees

SoFi doesn't charge origination or late fees and does not issue penalties for prepayment.

Unemployment protection

SoFi offers unemployment protection, so if you lose your job and it wasn't your fault, you can apply to postpone your payments for up to 12 months. This protects your credit score, but interest will still accrue.

Getting started

To apply for a SoFi, the process is relatively simple. To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and at least 18 years old.

If you’re unemployed, SoFi may still consider you if you have proof that you will begin a job in 90 days. You'll need to create a password-protected account online, and you’ll be able to browse pre-qualification rates before submitting your application.

SoFi will ask for the following information:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Social Security number
  • Annual income before taxes
  • Employer information
  • Loan amount
  • Desired repayment terms

SoFi carries out a soft credit check to decide if you pre-qualify, which won't affect your credit score. If you like the qualification rates and decide to move forward, SoFi will carry out a hard credit check and set your final interest rate.

If SoFi rejects your application, ask for clarification, as there may have been a mistake. If not, apply for a copy of your credit report to see what is affecting your score.

SoFi allows co-applicants for personal loans, but not co-signers. What's the difference? A co-applicant benefits from the loan, whereas a co-signer does not.

Is SoFi safe?

SoFi has excellent security to protect your data. It stores all information on servers and in facilities inaccessible to anyone outside the company. It also encrypts all data using Transport Layer Security to defeat hackers. No lender can guarantee data security, but SoFi meets all the industry standards for cyber and data protection.

SoFi customer support

SoFi has an excellent customer support team to deal with any questions, and you can contact them at (855) 456-7634 during the following hours:

  • Monday through Thursday, 5 am to 7 pm Pacific (8 am to 10 pm Eastern)
  • Friday through Sunday, 5 am to 5 pm Pacific (8 am to 8 pm Eastern)

The customer support team does more than solve technical problems. They're also financial experts and can help you plan your financial future. SoFi also has career coaches who can help you with your resume, LinkedIn profile and networking skills.

SoFi personal loans pros and cons

SoFi has no fees, low interest rates and excellent customer service, but it also has some drawbacks. Here's a summary of its advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

  • No fees: You won’t pay any origination, prepayment or late fees.
  • Online: The entire process happens online.
  • Excellent support: SoFi offers technical support, financial advisers and career coaches.
  • Flexible repayment: You can change your payment date once a year.
  • Unemployment protection: You can benefit from a 12-month loan forbearance.

Disadvantages

  • No direct payment to creditors: If you take out a loan to consolidate your debt, SoFi won't pay your other creditors directly.
  • High minimum: The minimum loan is $5,000, and even higher in some states.

Is SoFi legitimate?

With a history of nearly 10 years, SoFi is a legitimate company.

SoFi is constantly adding to its loan options and offering unsecured personal loans to qualified applicants at the lowest interest rates on the market. SoFi knows it's competing with other lenders for well-qualified applicants, hence its wide range of membership benefits.

Who is unsuitable for a personal loan from SoFi?

If you don't have an excellent credit score or live in Mississippi, you won't get a SoFi personal loan. But this doesn't mean you can't find a personal loan elsewhere. Some lenders will grant loans to applicants with credit scores in the 600s, and sometimes as low as 580.

To protect your credit history, apply with a lender that uses a soft credit check to determine pre-qualification. Companies like Avant or OneMain Financial consider applicants with poor credit scores, but their interest rates will be higher. However, taking out a loan and meeting all its requirements can improve your credit score.

Update: This article has been updated to reflect current information about SoFi.

Disclaimer: This story was originally published on March 17, 2020, on BetterCreditBlog.org. To find the most relevant information concerning SoFi Personal Loans, please visit their website: https://www.sofi.com/personal-loans/