Pros
- No origination fee.
- Fast funding.
- Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
- Joint loan option.
- Options to choose and change your payment date.
Cons
- No option to pre-qualify with a soft credit check.
- Available in a limited number of states.
- No rate discount.
- Does not clearly display loan amounts on website.
Lender | Est. APR | Loan amount | Min. credit score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024BEST PERSONAL LOANOVERALL 5.0 Visit Lenderon SoFi's website on SoFi's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 8.99-29.99% | $5,000-$100,000 | None | Visit Lenderon SoFi's website on SoFi's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
4.5 Visit Lenderon LightStream's website on LightStream's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 6.99-25.49% | $5,000-$100,000 | 660 | Visit Lenderon LightStream's website on LightStream's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
5.0 Visit Lenderon Discover's website on Discover's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 7.99-24.99% | $2,500-$40,000 | 660 | Visit Lenderon Discover's website on Discover's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
5.0 Visit Lenderon Upstart's website on Upstart's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 7.80-35.99% | $1,000-$50,000 | None | Visit Lenderon Upstart's website on Upstart's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
5.0 Visit Lenderon Upgrade's website on Upgrade's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet | 8.49-35.99% | $1,000-$50,000 | 580 | Visit Lenderon Upgrade's website on Upgrade's website Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet |
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Full Review
Truist Bank offers personal loans with fast funding, but the loans don’t include some features that are common among other lenders, like pre-qualification or a rate discount.
The bank lends in 17 states and Washington, D.C., and you don’t have to be an existing customer to borrow.
» MORE: Best bank loans
Table of contents
Truist personal loans at a glance
Where Truist personal loans stand out and fall short
Do you qualify for a Truist personal loan?
How to apply for a Truist personal loan
How Truist personal loans compare
How we rate Truist personal loans
Truist personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | Not disclosed. |
APR | 8.19% - 17.24%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $3,500 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 1 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | Funds may be available the same day if it’s a banking business day. |
Loan availability | Loans available in AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KY, MD, MS, NJ, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV and Washington, D.C. |
Where Truist personal loans stand out
Fast approval and funding: For borrowers who need quick cash, Truist can approve and fund personal loans quickly, which isn’t always the case with banks. According to the lender’s website, as long as it’s a business banking day, borrowers can receive the money in their account the same day they’re approved.
No origination fee: Few banks charge an origination fee, and Truist is no different. Origination fees typically range from 1% to 10% of the loan amount and increase the overall cost of borrowing.
Joint loan option: Truist offers joint loans, meaning you can add a co-borrower to your application. Co-borrowers with better credit and a higher income may help you qualify for a lower rate or higher loan amount. Co-borrowers also have access to the loan funds and are equally responsible for missed payments.
Direct payment to creditors: If you want to consolidate high-interest debts with a personal loan, Truist will send the funds directly to your creditors, leaving you with just your loan payment. Though not a must-have for a debt consolidation loan, this perk removes the task of sending the funds yourself.
Payment date flexibility: Truist will let you choose your payment date before signing the loan documents, and you can change it multiple times after. This level of flexibility isn’t offered by all lenders, and it can be helpful, especially if the date you get paid changes over the life of the loan.
» COMPARE: Best debt consolidation loans
Where Truist personal loans fall short
No option to pre-qualify: Unlike some of its competitors, Truist doesn’t allow borrowers to pre-qualify and see their potential loan amount, rate and monthly payment before formally applying. Pre-qualifying will not affect your credit score, and doing so with multiple lenders is the best way to compare loans.
No rate discount: Some lenders offer rate discounts for setting up automatic payments or sending the loan funds directly to pay off creditors. This discount typically ranges from 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points and is applied directly to the loan’s annual percentage rate, or APR. Truist does not offer a rate discount.
Transparency: The Truist website includes a product page that explains some features of its personal loan, including rate and funding timeline. However, it doesn’t clearly display its full range of loan amounts, and it doesn’t have a dedicated FAQ page that answers basic loan questions like how to apply or make payments.
» MORE: Fast personal loans
Do you qualify for a Truist personal loan?
Truist Bank doesn't publicly disclose many of its personal loan requirements, but it accepts borrowers with excellent credit (720 credit score or higher). Here’s what you need to apply:
Personal and contact information, including a U.S.-based cell phone number.
Two years of address and employment history.
Financial information including income, debts and other personal obligations, like rent or mortgage.
According to the lender, once you submit an online application, Truist will contact you via email with a decision or call to request more information.
Before you apply
Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.
Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.
Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments impact your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses in order to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
Gather your documents. Truist may require proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub or tax document, as well as proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.
How to apply for a Truist personal loan
Here are the steps to apply for a Truist loan.
Apply on Truist’s website or by phone if you’re a customer. Because Truist doesn’t let you pre-qualify for a loan, your first step is to submit a formal personal loan application. This could require documentation, like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements to confirm your information. Truist will do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Stay on top of your loan payments. Truist reports payments to the three main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), 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.
Check rates on NerdWallet
Compare Truist 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.
Discover and SoFi accept borrowers with similar credit profiles as Truist and offer debt consolidation loans. Borrowers can apply online and be funded in all 50 states.
Truist Bank vs. Discover
Discover offers personal loans to borrowers with a minimum credit score of 660, and it can send loan proceeds to creditors within one business day of being approved, so it’s a great debt consolidation option. Borrowers don’t have the option to add a co-borrower, but you can see if you qualify on your own with a soft credit check.
» MORE: Read our review of Discover
Truist Bank vs. SoFi
SoFi accepts good- and excellent-credit borrowers and offers unique perks like free financial advising and unemployment protection. Similar to Truist, it has a joint loan option. SoFi also offers multiple rate discounts, including a discount for sending loan funds directly to creditors if you take out a debt consolidation loan.
» MORE: Read our review of SoFi
How we rate Truist 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 | Star rating |
---|---|
Affordability | |
Underwriting | |
Transparency | |
Loan flexibility | |
Customer experience | |
Overall |
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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