{
  "retrievedAt": "2026-08-24",
  "methodology": "Each provider's rate/terms/disclosure pages on the lender's own domain were loaded directly (WebFetch) and read; numbers quoted in aprRange, originationFee, loanAmounts, termMonths, lateFee, and prepaymentPenalty were transcribed from that live page unless a field's source entry says otherwise. Where an official page did not render a number (dynamic/personalized content that only resolves inside the lender's own application flow) or could not be loaded at all, WebSearch was used to locate high-quality secondary sources (rate-comparison aggregators such as NerdWallet, Credible, WalletHub, Forbes Advisor, LendingTree, CNBC Select), which are marked sourceType: 'secondary' and are never presented as if they were read directly from the lender. 'verified: true' is set at the provider level ONLY when the headline APR range (the figure the buyer-beware analysis depends on) was read by this process directly from the lender's own live page. Where the APR range itself came from a secondary aggregator (LightStream's dynamic max-APR placeholder did not render outside its application flow; Universal Credit's marketing site returned no crawlable content; Oportun does not publish a clean min-max APR range on its consumer pages, only per-loan examples plus a 2020 corporate policy commitment), the provider is marked verified: false even if some individual fields (fees, loan amounts, structure) were read from an official page -- those fields carry their own sourceType in the per-field source list. No number in this file was estimated, rounded from a range, or inferred without a citation; fields the reviewed sources did not publish are recorded as null with an explanatory note rather than guessed. Marcus by Goldman Sachs was researched and EXCLUDED: Goldman Sachs stopped originating new Marcus personal loans in January 2023 as part of its exit from consumer lending, and as of this pull (August 2026) Marcus still does not accept new personal loan applications (confirmed via American Banker reporting and multiple 2026-dated lender reviews); including it in a 'best/worst' ranking of loans a consumer can actually get today would be misleading. The 36% benchmark used throughout the worst-tier analysis is the Military Lending Act 'Military Annual Percentage Rate' (MAPR) cap that applies to active-duty servicemembers, their spouses, and covered dependents (10 U.S.C. Section 987; 32 CFR Part 232). It is cited here because it is a real, specific, federally codified consumer-protection ceiling on all-in loan cost -- not because every lender in this file is a military lender or subject to the MLA on every loan it makes to civilians. The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has separately advocated a 36% all-in APR cap as a general rate-cap benchmark for consumer installment lending, which is why 36% is a defensible, citable line for a general 'buyer beware' flag rather than an arbitrary number chosen by this site. A provider's max advertised APR sitting below 36% is not an endorsement or a claim that the loan is affordable for a given borrower -- it only means that specific number does not cross this specific benchmark.",
  "benchmarks": {
    "mlaAprCap": 0.36,
    "mlaCitation": "10 U.S.C. Section 987 (Military Lending Act); 32 CFR Part 232 (Department of Defense implementing regulation, the 'Military Annual Percentage Rate' / MAPR cap of 36% on covered consumer credit extended to active-duty servicemembers, their spouses, and covered dependents)",
    "additionalBenchmarkNote": "The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has advocated a 36% all-in APR cap as a general consumer-lending rate ceiling, reinforcing 36% as a recognized (not site-invented) line for evaluating installment loan cost.",
    "typicalOriginationFeeRange": "0%-8%",
    "numericConventionNote": "aprRange, originationFee, and other rate/fee fields in this file are expressed as percentage-point numbers (e.g., 35.99 means 35.99% APR). The benchmarks.mlaAprCap field above is expressed as a decimal fraction (0.36 = 36%) to match the literal statutory/regulatory figure; per-provider worstTierAnalysis fields re-express the same 36% line in percentage-point units (36) for direct comparison against aprRange.max."
  },
  "excludedProviders": [
    {
      "brandName": "Marcus by Goldman Sachs",
      "reason": "Goldman Sachs ended new Marcus personal loan originations in January 2023 as part of its exit from consumer lending; as of this August 2026 pull, Marcus is not accepting new personal loan applications and only services existing loans (roughly half of the legacy portfolio was sold to Rithm Capital and Varde Partners). Marcus continues to operate as a savings/CD brand only. Excluded because it cannot currently be recommended as a place to get a NEW personal loan.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.americanbanker.com/news/goldman-to-exit-personal-loans-as-marcus-reshuffle-continues",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "American Banker reporting on Goldman's exit from Marcus personal loan originations."
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "providers": [
    {
      "legalName": "SoFi Bank, N.A. (NMLS #696891); in some states loans are made by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS #1121636",
      "brandName": "SoFi",
      "slug": "sofi",
      "aprRange": { "min": 6.99, "max": 35.49 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 0, "note": "SoFi's published rate table covers only 'no origination fee' term options; SoFi's marketing consistently advertises no origination fee on personal loans." },
      "lateFee": null,
      "lateFeeNote": "Search of SoFi's own support.sofi.com content indicates SoFi does not charge a late fee, but this process did not itself load a page stating a specific late-fee dollar amount or policy, so the field is left null with this note rather than asserting a number.",
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 5000, "max": 100000 },
      "loanAmountsNote": "Read from secondary sources (SoFi's own support.sofi.com 'Basics of a SoFi Personal Loan' article as surfaced via search, plus Experian/U.S. News reviews); this process did not itself load the SoFi eligibility-criteria page that states this range, so it is marked secondary despite being SoFi's own published figure.",
      "termMonths": { "min": 24, "max": 84 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Advertised APR range (6.99%-35.49% for a representative $30,000 loan) includes both a 0.25% AutoPay discount and a 0.25% Member Rate discount; without AutoPay and the deposit/subscription-based Member Rate discount, rates are higher.",
        "The published rate table explicitly reflects 'no origination fee' term options only; SoFi's site references an origination-fee alternative pricing path ('Direct Pay' / fee vs. no-fee tradeoffs) that was not fully itemized on the pages reviewed.",
        "Lowest advertised rates are reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers and, per SoFi's own search-surfaced content, for loan amounts above $100,000."
      ],
      "availability": "State restrictions apply per SoFi's Eligibility Criteria page; not itemized by this review.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.sofi.com/personal-loans/personal-loan-rates/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official SoFi 'Compare Rates and Terms' page; read directly. States the payment-example table with APR ranging 6.99% (2-year term) to 35.49% (across all terms shown), with AutoPay + Member Rate discounts applied, no-origination-fee options only."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.sofi.com/personal-loans/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official SoFi personal loans landing page; read directly. Confirms the 0.25% AutoPay discount and 0.25% Member Rate discount mechanics and eligibility conditions."
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.49, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.51, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 0, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": false },
      "buyerBeware": false,
      "buyerBewareReason": null
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Truist Bank (LightStream is a lending division/d.b.a. of Truist Bank)",
      "brandName": "LightStream",
      "slug": "lightstream",
      "aprRange": { "min": 6.49, "max": 24.89 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 0 },
      "lateFee": null,
      "lateFeeNote": "LightStream's official page states loans carry 'no fees' generally but does not separately itemize a late-fee dollar figure on the page reviewed.",
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": null, "max": null },
      "loanAmountsNote": "The official page did not display a numeric loan-amount range in the static content reviewed (loan amount is selected per loan purpose in the application flow); not recorded rather than guessed.",
      "termMonths": { "min": 24, "max": 240 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "LightStream 'only approves good-to-excellent credit profiles' per its own site; no numeric minimum credit score is published.",
        "Advertised rates are quoted WITH the AutoPay discount; rates without AutoPay are 0.50 percentage points higher.",
        "Florida borrowers: a state documentary stamp tax (~0.35% of loan amount, roughly $35 per $10,000 borrowed) is added to the loan amount if approved; this tax is not included in the quoted APR.",
        "At least 33.00% of approved applicants applying for the lowest advertised rate actually received it, per LightStream's own disclosure (data window 04/01/2026-06/30/2026)."
      ],
      "availability": "No state exclusions found; Florida-specific documentary stamp tax noted above.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.lightstream.com/personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official LightStream page; read directly. Confirms 'no fees or prepayment penalties,' AutoPay discount mechanics (0.50-point spread), the Florida doc-stamp-tax disclosure, and the 24-240 month term-range statement ('Loan terms range from 24 - 240 months depending on the loan type'). The page's own 'Maximum APR for a LightStream loan is ___' sentence rendered as a blank placeholder in this fetch (it resolves dynamically inside LightStream's app), so the actual min/max APR numbers below are sourced secondarily."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.nerdwallet.com/personal-loans/reviews/lightstream-personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "2026-dated NerdWallet review reporting LightStream APR range as 6.49%-24.89% with AutoPay (25.39% max without AutoPay), consistent with several other 2026 aggregator reviews found in the same search."
        }
      ],
      "verified": false,
      "verificationNote": "Fee/structure/term facts were read directly from LightStream's own page; the specific APR min/max numbers could not be read directly (dynamic placeholder) and are secondary-sourced, so the provider is marked unverified overall.",
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 24.89, "percentagePointsVsCap": -11.11, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 0, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": false },
      "buyerBeware": false,
      "buyerBewareReason": null
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Capital One, N.A. (Discover Bank was merged into Capital One, N.A. following Capital One's 2025 acquisition of Discover Financial Services; the site now identifies itself as 'Discover, a division of Capital One, N.A.')",
      "brandName": "Discover Personal Loans",
      "slug": "discover",
      "aprRange": { "min": 6.99, "max": 24.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 0 },
      "lateFee": { "min": 0, "max": 0 },
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 2500, "max": 40000 },
      "termMonths": { "min": 36, "max": 84 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Discover's own site footer now reads '© 2026 Discover, a division of Capital One, N.A., Member FDIC' -- Discover Personal Loans is now a Capital One brand, not an independent Discover Financial Services product.",
        "Requires a minimum individual or household annual income of $25,000 and a valid U.S. SSN; no numeric minimum credit score is published.",
        "Discover's own on-page competitor-comparison widget (accessed 2026-08-24) shows its 6.99%-24.99% APR range as the narrowest of the 7 lenders it compares itself against (Citibank, LendingClub, SoFi, Wells Fargo, Prosper, Upstart), for reference."
      ],
      "availability": "State restrictions may apply; not itemized on the page reviewed.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.discover.com/personal-loans/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Discover Personal Loans page; read directly. Meta description states 'APRs from 6.99% to 24.99%, flexible terms, no fees.' On-page comparison table confirms 'No fees for any customer: yes' and 'No prepayment penalties: yes' for Discover, and states '36-84 month repayment terms available for all loan amounts.' Footer confirms the Capital One, N.A. legal-entity change."
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 24.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -11.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 0, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": false },
      "buyerBeware": false,
      "buyerBewareReason": null
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Upstart Network, Inc. (NMLS #936133) operates the marketplace and is not itself the lender; loans are made by Upstart's regulated bank/credit union partners",
      "brandName": "Upstart",
      "slug": "upstart",
      "aprRange": { "min": 6.2, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 12 },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 1000, "max": 75000 },
      "loanAmountsNote": "State-specific minimums apply: Georgia $3,100, Hawaii $1,500, Massachusetts $7,000, per Upstart's own footnote.",
      "termMonths": { "min": 36, "max": 60 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Upstart's AI-driven underwriting model does not publish a hard minimum FICO score; it considers education, employment, and other non-FICO signals in addition to credit history.",
        "Upstart's own representative example: a $10,000 / 60-month loan with a 17.50% interest rate and a 7.25% origination fee ($725) yields a 21.23% APR (example current as of March 2026 rate data).",
        "The 0%-12% origination fee range is corroborated by multiple 2026 rate-aggregator reviews (Credible, CNBC Select, WalletHub) rather than a single explicit 'our fee range is X-Y%' sentence on Upstart's own marketing pages, though Upstart's own footnoted examples show fees in the 7.25%-8.15% band."
      ],
      "availability": "Available loan amounts and rates vary by state.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.upstart.com/learn/is-my-loan-origination-fee-reasonable/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Upstart-published article (upstart.com/learn); read directly. Footnote 7 states: 'APRs from 6.2% - 35.99%, with 3 or 5 year terms' with a representative example (interest rate 17.50%, origination fee 7.25%, APR 21.23% on a 5-year $10,000 loan)."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.upstart.com/personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Upstart personal loans page; read directly. States loan amounts $1,000-$75,000 and fixed rates '6.3% - 35.99% APR' (a slightly different min than the 6.2% figure on the other official page, both read directly; the discrepancy is Upstart's own, not this dataset's)."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.credible.com/personal-loan/upstart-personal-loans-review",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "2026 review corroborating the 0%-12% origination fee range."
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "verificationNote": "APR range read directly from two official Upstart pages (which disagree slightly on the minimum, 6.2% vs 6.3% -- both recorded in sources; 6.2% used as the min here since it appears on the more detailed disclosure page). Origination fee range is secondary-corroborated.",
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 12, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Origination fee can run up to 12% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling, even though Upstart's advertised max APR (35.99%) sits just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Upgrade, Inc. (NMLS #1548935); loans made by Upgrade's bank partners",
      "brandName": "Upgrade",
      "slug": "upgrade",
      "aprRange": { "min": 7.74, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 1.85, "max": 9.99 },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 1000, "max": 50000 },
      "termMonths": { "min": 24, "max": 84 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Lowest advertised rates require enrolling in Autopay AND applying loan proceeds to pay off existing debt directly; additional discounts are available for securing the loan with a vehicle or, for homeowners, with home fixtures (not a home-equity lien).",
        "Representative example on Upgrade's own site: a $10,000 / 36-month loan with a 5% origination fee ($500) and 17.59% APR (13.94% interest rate) nets the borrower $9,500 and totals $12,293.46 over the life of the loan.",
        "Origination fee is deducted from loan proceeds before disbursement."
      ],
      "availability": "Certain loan offers may not be available in all states, per Upgrade's own disclosure; specific exclusion list not published on the page reviewed.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.upgrade.com/personal-loans/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Upgrade personal loans page; read directly. Footnote states: 'Personal loans made through Upgrade feature Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) of 7.74%-35.99% and a 1.85%-9.99% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds... Repayment terms from 24 to 84 months.'"
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 9.99, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Origination fee can run up to 9.99% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling; max advertised APR (35.99%) is just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Marlette Funding, LLC (brand: Best Egg); loans made by Cross River Bank or Column N.A., Member FDIC",
      "brandName": "Best Egg",
      "slug": "best-egg",
      "aprRange": { "min": 6.99, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0.99, "max": 9.99 },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 2000, "max": 50000 },
      "loanAmountsNote": "State minimums: Massachusetts $6,500, Ohio $5,001, Georgia $3,001.",
      "termMonths": { "min": 36, "max": 60 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Origination fee on loan terms of 4 years or longer is at least 4.99% (i.e., the low end of the 0.99%-9.99% fee range is only available on shorter terms).",
        "Not available to residents of Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, or U.S. territories.",
        "For a second Best Egg loan, total existing Best Egg loan balances cannot exceed $100,000."
      ],
      "availability": "Not offered in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, DC, or U.S. territories.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.bestegg.com/personal-loans/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Best Egg personal loans page; read directly. Footer discloses: 'Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) range from 6.99%-35.99%. ...reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 0.99%-9.99% of your loan amount... The origination fee on a loan term 4 years or longer will be at least 4.99%.' Also: 'Loan amounts range from $2,000-$50,000' and 'minimum term of 36 months and a maximum term of 60 months,' plus the state-exclusion and state-minimum disclosures."
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 9.99, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Origination fee can run up to 9.99% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling; max advertised APR (35.99%) is just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Avant, LLC (Nationwide Multistate Licensing System #1246731); Avant-branded credit products are issued by WebBank",
      "brandName": "Avant",
      "slug": "avant",
      "aprRange": { "min": 9.95, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 9.99, "label": "Administration fee" },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 2000, "max": 35000 },
      "termMonths": { "min": 24, "max": 60 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Avant calls its origination-style charge an 'Administration fee' (up to 9.99%); it is deducted from loan proceeds and is treated as part of the loan principal, meaning interest accrues on it.",
        "Representative example on Avant's own site: a $5,700 loan with a 9.99% administration fee, financing $5,130.57 over 36 months, carries a 29.95% APR.",
        "Avant is a loan solicitor, not the lender; Avant states the underlying lender 'may not be subject to all Vermont lending laws' and may not accept applications from residents of certain states (exact excluded-state list is generated dynamically in Avant's own state-selector tool and was not captured by this static page read)."
      ],
      "availability": "Some states are not currently accepted per Avant's dynamic state-selector; exact list not captured.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.avant.com/personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Avant personal loans page; read directly. States: 'Loan amounts range from $2,000 to $35,000. APR ranges from 9.95% to 35.99%. Loan lengths range from 24 to 60 months. Administration fee up to 9.99%.'"
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 9.99, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Administration fee can run up to 9.99% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling, and the fee itself accrues interest as part of principal; max advertised APR (35.99%) is just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "OneMain Financial Group, LLC (NMLS #1339418), a subsidiary of OneMain Holdings, Inc.",
      "brandName": "OneMain Financial",
      "slug": "onemain-financial",
      "aprRange": { "min": 11.99, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 1, "max": 10, "note": "Percentage-based fee where used by state (1%-10% of loan amount, subject to state limits); in other states the fee is a flat amount ranging from $25 to $500 instead of a percentage." },
      "lateFee": { "min": 5, "max": 30, "unit": "USD flat, OR 1.5%-15% of the payment amount depending on state", "note": "OneMain's own fee-disclosure page gives both a flat-dollar range and a percentage-based range depending on state law; both are reproduced here rather than collapsed into one number." },
      "prepaymentPenalty": null,
      "prepaymentPenaltyNote": "Not stated on the loan-fees/disclosure pages reviewed; not recorded as 'none' because this process did not find an explicit statement to that effect on an official page.",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 1500, "max": 30000 },
      "loanAmountsNote": "State-specific minimums (e.g., California $3,000, Georgia $3,100) and maximums (e.g., Maine $7,000, West Virginia $13,500, North Carolina $11,000) apply.",
      "termMonths": { "min": 24, "max": 60 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "OneMain offers both secured (vehicle-collateral) and unsecured loans; APRs are generally higher on loans not secured by a vehicle.",
        "Active-duty military, spouses, or dependents covered by the Military Lending Act may not pledge a vehicle as collateral, per OneMain's own disclosure -- a direct, lender-acknowledged MLA interaction.",
        "Not offered in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, DC, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, or U.S. territories."
      ],
      "availability": "Not offered in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, DC, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, or U.S. territories.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.onemainfinancial.com/personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official OneMain personal loans page; read directly. States: 'Fixed rates ranging from 11.99% - 35.99% APR,' loan amounts $1,500-$30,000, terms 24-60 months, and the MLA vehicle-collateral restriction."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.onemainfinancial.com/legal/loan-fees",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official OneMain 'Loan Amounts and Fees' disclosure page; read directly. Details origination fee structure (flat $25-$500 or 1%-10% depending on state), late fee structure (flat $5-$30 or 1.5%-15% depending on state), NSF fees ($10-$50), and the full state exclusion / min-max loan size lists."
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 10, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "In states where OneMain charges a percentage-based origination fee, that fee can run up to 10% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling; max advertised APR (35.99%) is just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Oportun, Inc. / Oportun, LLC (NM and WI loans); other states originated by Pathward, N.A. or Column N.A., Member FDIC",
      "brandName": "Oportun",
      "slug": "oportun",
      "aprRange": { "min": null, "max": 35.95 },
      "aprRangeNote": "Oportun does not publish a clean 'our rates range from X% to Y%' statement on its consumer-facing pages. The 35.95% figure is the APR shown in Oportun's own current representative example for an unsecured personal loan (34.95% for a secured example). In July 2020 Oportun publicly committed via an investor press release to cap all newly originated loans at an 'all-in' 36% APR nationwide; the live 2026 product-page examples (35.95% unsecured, 34.95% secured) are consistent with that self-imposed cap still holding five years later. No verified low-end APR figure was found on an official page, so aprRange.min is left null rather than borrowed from a secondary aggregator's estimate.",
      "originationFee": { "min": 10, "max": 10, "label": "Administrative fee", "note": "Oportun's own examples consistently show a flat 10% administrative fee; the site does not describe a lower-fee tier." },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 300, "max": 18500 },
      "loanAmountsNote": "$300-$10,000 for unsecured personal loans (varies by originating partner and state; some states have higher floors, e.g., not below $3,100 in Georgia); $2,525-$18,500 for secured personal loans (car-title-secured), available only in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas, and Utah per the page reviewed.",
      "termMonths": { "min": null, "max": null },
      "termMonthsNote": "Not published as a clean range on the pages reviewed; individual examples show terms of 30-40 months, but no official min-max term statement was found.",
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Oportun explicitly states 'a prior credit history is not required to qualify' -- it targets thin-file/no-credit-history borrowers, which is part of why its rates sit at the high end of the mainstream personal-loan market.",
        "Oportun's own 2020 investor press release stated its historical average APR had been 34%, 'but in some cases could exceed 36%,' before the company adopted its 36% all-in cap; this dataset's max-APR figure reflects the post-cap era (current live product examples), not the pre-2020 history.",
        "The 10% administrative fee is charged on both unsecured and secured products in the examples reviewed."
      ],
      "availability": "Operates online/by phone and in person; per the current product page, personal loans are originated in most U.S. states but not all (a roughly 35-state list plus NM/WI is given on the page; several states, e.g. Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, New York, Washington, are absent from that list and appear not to be served).",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://oportun.com/personal-loans/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Oportun personal loans page; read directly. Gives the representative examples (unsecured: $3,333 principal, 10% fee, 35.95% APR; secured: $7,778 principal, 10% fee, 34.95% APR) and the state-by-state lender/availability disclosure."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://investor.oportun.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/71/oportun-to-cap-new-loan-originations-at-an-all-in-36",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Oportun investor-relations press release (originally dated July 28, 2020, page footer copyright updated to 2026); read directly. Confirms the company's self-imposed 'all-in' 36% APR cap policy on all newly originated loans nationwide."
        }
      ],
      "verified": false,
      "verificationNote": "Fee (10% administrative fee) and the sub-36% ceiling are confirmed directly from official sources; a clean official min-max APR range was not found, so the provider is marked unverified for the aprRange field specifically.",
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.95, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.05, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 10, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Administrative fee is a flat 10% of principal in both examples Oportun publishes, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling. Oportun's own self-imposed 'all-in' cap keeps total APR at or below 36% (its current live examples show 34.95%-35.95%), i.e. it sits right at, not above, the Military Lending Act benchmark used here."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "LendingPoint LLC (NMLS #1424139); loans funded by FinWise Bank, Coastal Community Bank, or LendingPoint directly in certain states",
      "brandName": "LendingPoint",
      "slug": "lendingpoint",
      "aprRange": { "min": 7.99, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 10 },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": null,
      "prepaymentPenaltyNote": "Not explicitly stated on the pages reviewed.",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 1000, "max": 36500 },
      "loanAmountsNote": "State minimums: Georgia $3,500, Colorado $3,001, Hawaii $2,000 (or $1,500 per a second disclosure block on the same page).",
      "termMonths": { "min": 24, "max": 72 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Requires a minimum annual income of $35,000 from employment, retirement, or another source, per LendingPoint's own eligibility FAQ.",
        "Not available to residents of Nevada or West Virginia.",
        "Representative example on LendingPoint's own site: a $10,000 / 48-month loan for a 'well-qualified' customer at 26.59% APR with a 10% origination fee has a $340.52 monthly payment and $16,345.12 total cost."
      ],
      "availability": "Not available in Nevada or West Virginia.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.lendingpoint.com/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official LendingPoint homepage; read directly. States: 'Personal loans from $1,000 to $36,500 with flexible financing options and rates ranging from 7.99% to 35.99% APR, with terms from 24 to 72 months.' Footnote adds: 'Origination or other fees up to 10% may apply depending upon your state of residence,' the $35,000 minimum-income eligibility requirement, and the NV/WV exclusion."
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 10, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Origination fee can run up to 10% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling; max advertised APR (35.99%) is just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "NetCredit is a brand operated by a member of the Enova International family of companies, or by a lending partner bank (Quill Bank or Republic Bank & Trust Company) depending on the borrower's state",
      "brandName": "NetCredit",
      "slug": "netcredit",
      "aprRange": { "min": 34.99, "max": 99.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 0, "max": 0 },
      "lateFee": { "min": 0, "max": 0 },
      "prepaymentPenalty": "none",
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 1000, "max": 10000 },
      "termMonths": { "min": 6, "max": 60 },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "NetCredit's own FAQ states outright: 'this is an expensive form of credit. Other credit options may be less expensive' -- a direct, lender-published warning about its own product.",
        "No origination, prepayment, or NSF/late fees are charged on the personal installment loan product per NetCredit's own FAQ (a separate Line of Credit product has a distinct 10% cash-advance fee and a statement-balance fee schedule, which is NOT the personal loan product recorded in this row).",
        "Exact rate and product availability (personal loan vs. line of credit vs. both) vary by state; NetCredit's own Rates & Terms page requires selecting a state to see the applicable figures, which this review could not extract in bulk."
      ],
      "availability": "Product mix (personal installment loan and/or line of credit) and exact rates vary by the borrower's state of residence; not offered identically nationwide.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.netcredit.com/personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official NetCredit personal loans page; read directly. FAQ states: 'The interest rates and fees for a personal loan through NetCredit range from 34.99% to 99.99%, depending on a customer's creditworthiness and the state they live in.' Also states loan amounts $1,000-$10,000, terms 6-60 months, and 'You will not be charged application, prepayment, non-sufficient funds, or late fees.'"
        }
      ],
      "verified": true,
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 99.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": 63.99, "exceedsCap": true },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 0, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": false },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Advertises personal loan APRs up to 99.99%, on its own published Rates & Terms disclosure -- 63.99 percentage points above the 36% Military Lending Act cap that applies to servicemembers, and nearly 2.8 times that benchmark. Even the low end of the advertised range (34.99%) sits just under the cap; the high end is nearly triple it."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Universal Credit is an online lending brand associated with Upgrade, Inc.; exact originating-bank entity not independently confirmed in this review",
      "brandName": "Universal Credit",
      "slug": "universal-credit",
      "aprRange": { "min": 11.69, "max": 35.99 },
      "originationFee": { "min": 5.25, "max": 9.99 },
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": null,
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 1000, "max": 50000 },
      "termMonths": { "min": 36, "max": 60 },
      "minCreditScore": 580,
      "keyCaveats": [
        "This entire row is secondary-sourced: universalcredit.com returned no crawlable content to this review's WebFetch tool (the site appears to be a JavaScript-only application shell), so none of these figures were read directly from an official page.",
        "Multiple 2026 rate-aggregator reviews (Forbes Advisor, LendingTree, NerdWallet) independently and consistently report the same APR range, fee range, loan-amount range, and 580 minimum credit score, which is why the figures are included despite not being independently verified against the lender's own site.",
        "NerdWallet's review states Universal Credit is 'powered by the fintech firm Upgrade,' consistent with the fee structure closely resembling Upgrade's own disclosed 1.85%-9.99% origination fee range."
      ],
      "availability": "Not confirmed in this review.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-loans/universal-credit-review/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "Forbes Advisor 2026 review."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/reviews/universal-credit/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "LendingTree 2026 review; reports APR 11.69%-35.99%, origination fee 5.25%-9.99%, loan amounts $1,000-$50,000, terms 36-60 months, minimum credit score 580."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.nerdwallet.com/personal-loans/reviews/universal-credit-personal-loans",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "NerdWallet 2026 review noting Universal Credit is powered by Upgrade."
        }
      ],
      "verified": false,
      "verificationNote": "Official site (universalcredit.com) could not be loaded/crawled by this review's tools; every figure in this row comes from convergent secondary aggregator reporting, not a direct read of the lender's own page.",
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 35.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -0.01, "exceedsCap": false },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": 9.99, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": true },
      "buyerBeware": true,
      "buyerBewareReason": "Secondary-sourced origination fee can run up to 9.99% of the loan amount, above the 0%-8% typical range used as this dataset's fee-burden ceiling; max reported APR (35.99%) is just under the 36% Military Lending Act cap. This entire assessment rests on secondary sources because the lender's own site could not be crawled."
    },
    {
      "legalName": "Happy Money, Inc. (NMLS #1396805); loans funded by Happy Money's community-focused bank/credit union lending partners",
      "brandName": "Happy Money",
      "slug": "happy-money",
      "aprRange": { "min": 8.95, "max": 29.99 },
      "aprRangeNote": "The 8.95% minimum was read directly from two official Happy Money pages. The 29.99% maximum was NOT read directly from an official page (Happy Money's own /rates and /rates-and-terms URLs returned no crawlable content to this review's tools); it reflects the figure most consistently cited across 2026 rate-aggregator reviews. Other 2026 secondary sources report a wider maximum of 35.99% for the same product, so this number should be treated as the more conservative of two conflicting secondary reports, not a confirmed figure.",
      "originationFee": { "min": null, "max": null },
      "originationFeeNote": "Not published on the official pages reviewed and not found in a consistent form across secondary sources; left null rather than guessed.",
      "lateFee": null,
      "prepaymentPenalty": null,
      "loanAmounts": { "min": 5000, "max": 50000 },
      "termMonths": { "min": null, "max": null },
      "minCreditScore": null,
      "minCreditScoreNote": "Secondary sources report a minimum credit score of 620-640 (accounts differ), plus a requirement of at least three years of credit history; because the two most-cited numbers disagree and neither was read on an official page, this field is left null rather than picking one.",
      "keyCaveats": [
        "Branded product name is 'The Payoff Loan'; marketed specifically for paying off credit card debt / debt consolidation, not general-purpose personal loans.",
        "Advertised 'as low as 8.95% APR' includes an AutoPay-style discount (marked with a double-dagger footnote on Happy Money's own site) whose exact mechanics were not itemized on the pages reviewed.",
        "This provider's data has more unresolved gaps (origination fee, max APR, exact minimum credit score, term range) than any other prime/near-prime lender in this dataset; treat the entries here as directionally useful, not fully verified."
      ],
      "availability": "Not confirmed in this review.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://happymoney.com/",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Happy Money homepage; read directly. States: 'Personal loans between $5,000-$50,000. Rates as low as 8.95% APR with autopay.'"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://happymoney.com/payoff-loan",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "official",
          "note": "Official Happy Money 'Payoff Loan' product page; read directly. Repeats the $5,000-$50,000 loan-amount range and the 'rates as low as 8.95% APR' figure; does not state a maximum APR."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.credible.com/personal-loan/happy-money-personal-loans-review",
          "dateAccessed": "2026-08-24",
          "sourceType": "secondary",
          "note": "2026 review; one of the sources citing a 29.99% maximum APR figure."
        }
      ],
      "verified": false,
      "verificationNote": "Minimum APR and loan-amount range read directly from two official pages; maximum APR, origination fee, minimum credit score, and term range could not be confirmed on an official page and rely on conflicting secondary reports.",
      "maxAprVsFedBenchmark": { "mlaCapPercent": 36, "providerMaxAprPercent": 29.99, "percentagePointsVsCap": -6.01, "exceedsCap": false, "note": "Uses the more conservative of two conflicting secondary-reported maximums (29.99% vs. 35.99% reported elsewhere); if the higher figure is correct this would still sit under the 36% cap." },
      "feeBurden": { "originationFeeMaxPercent": null, "exceedsTypicalCeiling": null, "note": "Origination fee not confirmed from any source; cannot be assessed against the 8% ceiling." },
      "buyerBeware": false,
      "buyerBewareReason": null
    }
  ]
}