Top 3 key factors to consider when choosing a personal loan partner | Mint

Personal loans help in securing one’s economic future. They help the borrower in navigating difficult financial challenges in a seamless way. That is why it is important to select a lender that offers the best interest rates, customer care services and flexibility in loan repayment.

It is also important to carefully check the fees and charges levied along with other terms and conditions before availing the loan. The key to succeed in this is to choose a reputed, trustworthy and transparent loan partner.

Here are three important points to always keep in mind while selecting a loan partner for your future needs:

Seamless online services and interest rates

It is important for loan applicants to opt for flexible interest rates and repayment terms primarily taking into account one’s financial capacity, needs and repayment potential. For this one should consider opting for the lowest possible available rates. As even a minor difference in percentage terms might cost you a lot of money later on when we take into consideration the larger scheme of things.

Further, one should opt for a lender who provides an easy to understand, friendly online interface for applying for loans, submitting documents and tracking requests.

Therefore, it is crucial to remember that a friendly online interface helps in eliminating paper work, doubts and errors along with adding transparency and seamlessness in the overall experience of availing loans.

Proper customer services portal and flexibility in loan repayment

A prompt after sales service, customer support staff and provision of a resolution mechanism is another important factor to always consider before going for a particular lender. It is hence not just about securing a loan quickly. It is also about how responsive, inclusive and prompt the customer support team of a loan disbursing firm are both before and after disbursal of the loan amount.

Further, while opting for a lender, one should always align loan amount and repayment tenure with one’s financial requirements and comfort. The overall repayment structure should be transparent, flexible and not unreasonably expensive for the borrower.

To make things easy, an accommodative lender would offer variants in loan amount and flexibility in the terms of repayment. This will be irrespective of the kind of loan an individual is applying for i.e., a short-term loan or even a long-term loan depending on the needs of the applicant. Along with the same, a clear and transparent explanation of the terms and conditions of the loan will also be provided to the borrower while applying for the loan.

Transparency in terms and conditions and lender reputation

A good lender is the one who clearly highlights not only the interest rates associated with the loan but even the hidden charges associated with the loan amount, i.e., late payment charges, processing charges or pre-payment penalties.

Further, a proper background check on the lenders after sales services, reputation, track record, client satisfaction score along with other associated issues should definitely be done by the prospective loan applicant so as to get a feel of how he might be treated in the future if he or she enters in an association with the loan disbursing firm.

Hence, to conclude we can say that it is imperative for aspirational loan applicants to carry out thoughtful background checks and perform due diligence on their own before committing to join a personal loan lender.

Note: Raising a loan comes with its own risks. So, due caution is advised