Universal Credit Personal Loans Review

Universal Credit is an online provider of consumer loans. It is a subsidiary of Upgrade and differs from its parent brand by approving borrowers lower down the credit spectrum, while still offering many of the same perks and features.

Loan Options

• Universal Credit offers only unsecured personal loans between $1,000 and $50,000.

• Loan lengths run from 36 to 60 months, so 3 to 5 years.

• Universal Credit does not currently support joint loan applications or the inclusion of cosigners.

• Loan proceeds can be sent straight to your existing creditors rather than to your own account, and doing so is one of the two conditions attached to their lowest advertised rate.

Interest & Fees

• APR: 11.69%-35.99%. The floor is conditional: their disclosure states that the lowest rates require both autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly.

• Origination Fee: 5.25%-9.99%, deducted from the loan proceeds. The origination fee is included in the APR above, so the APR is the figure to compare on.

• Prepayment Penalty: Borrowers do not incur any fees if they wish to pay off their loan early.

• Late Payment: Not disclosed on the Universal Credit website, but their parent company Upgrade state a late fee of up to $10 if the full payment is not received within 15 calendar days of the due date, charged once per late payment.

• Unsuccessful payment: Again undisclosed by Universal Credit, but Upgrade charge $10 for any failed electronic or check payment. This fee may be on top of charges imposed by your own bank.

• Discounts: Universal Credit name the two conditions but not their value. NerdWallet report the autopay discount as 0.5 percentage points and the direct-to-creditor discount as 1 to 4 percentage points. Both are already assumed in the 11.69% floor, so they are not reductions below the advertised range but the conditions for reaching the bottom of it.

How long to receive funds?

Universal Credit state that funds are sent within one business day of clearing the necessary verifications, with the caveat that when they land depends on your own bank.

The exception is the route they discount you for taking. Money sent directly to third party creditors may take up to two weeks to clear, so if you are consolidating, keep paying those balances until you see them settled rather than assuming the transfer has landed.

Geographical Availability

Universal Credit do not publish a state list. NerdWallet report that their personal loans are available in all 50 states but not in Washington DC. Universal Credit's own disclosure says only that certain loan offers may not be available in every state.

Loan Eligibility

Universal Credit publish no minimum credit score, and the third parties that estimate one disagree: Bankrate say 580 while NerdWallet say 560. Their stated requirements are that you are a US citizen or permanent resident, or living in the US on a valid visa; at least 18, or 19 in Alabama; and able to provide a valid email address and a verifiable bank account.

Income Requirements

No publicly stated income requirements.

Are they legit?

Yes. Universal Credit is owned by the online lending platform, Upgrade, but is positioned towards borrowers with lower credit scores than Upgrade's core customer base. They say plainly that they are not a bank: they are a facilitator of loans issued by their bank partner, which their bank partners page lists as Cross River Bank. Universal Credit handles the customer service, application process and loan management, while the actual funds are provided by the bank.

Reviews & News

At the time of writing, Universal Credit had approximately 85% 5-star reviews on Trustpilot from a total of just over 3,400, with an average rating of 4.7/5.

On their A+ accredited BBB profile, they have an average rating of 4.74/5 from 287 reviews, alongside 9 complaints over three years and 3 closed in the last year. That is an unusually good BBB rating for a personal loan provider, where a customer score below 2 is more typical.

Do They Report to the Credit Bureaus?

Yes, though not on the strength of anything Universal Credit publish: neither they nor Upgrade set out a credit reporting policy, so the specifics sit in your borrower agreement rather than on their website. NerdWallet report that Universal Credit report your payment history to the three main credit bureaus, which are Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Regular on-time payments in your credit file will likely increase your credit score and improve your chances of qualifying for credit in the future. However, failure to satisfy your repayment obligations could damage your credit score, making it more difficult to borrow again.

Get in touch

You can reach the Universal Credit customer service team by calling toll-free (877) 418-9765, 5AM-7PM PT (Monday-Friday) and 6AM-5PM PT (Saturday and Sunday). Alternatively, you may choose to email them at support-universal@upgrade.com or support@universal-credit.com.

What we like?

Multiple discounts available: Borrowers can reduce their APR (and save money) by accepting one or both of the autopay or direct payment to creditor discounts. Autopay can help borrowers avoid missed payments and potential damage to their credit score, while automatic payments on your existing debt could help you get out of debt faster.

Direct creditor payments: Universal Credit will send the loan straight to the accounts you are paying off rather than to your own bank account, which removes the step where the money arrives and does not reach the balances. It is also one of the two conditions for their lowest rate, so on a consolidation loan the discount and the mechanism point the same way.

Check your rate: Borrowers can check their rate on the Universal Credit website and app, without any impact to their credit score. Even if you have an offer elsewhere, it might be worth seeing if Universal Credit can beat it.

Flexible loan amounts: Universal Credit personal loans cater for all types of borrower needs. With loans between $1,000 and $50,000, they can be used to cover short-term emergencies and longer-term projects.

Well-rated app: Universal Credit customers can manage their loans through the free Upgrade app, where they can make payments, receive updates and track their credit score. You can also seamlessly browse additional financial products, such as checking accounts and credit cards. The app is available for both Apple and Android.

What we don't like?

Origination fees: Universal Credit will charge origination fees of 5.25%-9.99% on the approved loan amount. Origination fees are automatically paid at the time of funding. For example, if you are approved for $10,000 loan with a 5.25% origination fee, you'll only receive $9,475 in your bank account. Many lenders don't charge origination fees, so you may wish to look elsewhere to avoid them. Note that the floor here is 5.25%, so there is no fee-free option.

No joint/cosigned loans: Unlike its parent company, Upgrade, Universal Credit does not support loans with multiple applicants, either joint or cosigned applications. A cosigner or joint applicant can sometimes increase your chance of approval or give you better terms, so it might be worth checking out alternative lenders that provide this option.

No secured loans: Again, unlike its parent company, Universal Credit does not currently offer collateral backed personal loans. Securing your loan with an asset (e.g. vehicle) is one way to achieve a lower rate, though it puts that asset at risk if you fall behind.

Uninformative website: Compared to its parent company's website, the Universal Credit website is a little sparse. Its FAQ section answers the basics but sends you to Upgrade for anything about fees, and the site carries no educational resources that might help borrowers make better financial choices.

Summary

With flexible loan amounts and risk-free prequalification, Universal Credit is a reasonable option for borrowers with fair or bad credit. However, the relatively high origination fees and lack of joint or secured loan options may push stronger applicants toward Upgrade or other competitors.