Happy Money Personal Loan Review
8.95% - 17.48%
24 to 60 months
$5,000 - $40,000
640
LendingTree rating: 3.9/5
Accessibility: 4.1/5
Rates and terms: 3.2/5
Repayment experience: 4.5/5
Happy Money offers personal loans specifically designed to refinance credit card debt. This lender’s personal loans are funded by their partners on their lending network and are available to borrowers with credit scores above 640.
- Low rates: While some companies charge loan annual percentage rates (APRs) as high as 36%, Happy Money’s maximum APR is well below that mark, at 17.48%.
- Will pay your credit cards directly: To streamline the debt consolidation process, Happy Money will repay your current creditors directly using your loan funds. If you’d rather repay your debts yourself, the lender can also deposit funds into your bank account.
- Free monthly credit score updates: Happy Money customers get access to their free monthly FICO Score, so you can work on building your credit while you pay down your debt.
- Can only be used for credit card refinancing (usually): Many lenders will let you use a personal loan for just about anything. But you can only use a Happy Money loan to consolidate credit card debt. Happy Money may allow you to consolidate unsecured personal loans, too (or, personal loans that don’t require collateral).
- Charges an origination fee: Happy Money customers have to pay an origination fee, ranging from 1.50% - 5.50%. This is a one-time fee that will be taken out of your loan funds before they are sent to you.
- Can’t include a second person to your loan: Unfortunately, Happy Money doesn’t offer joint loans or allow cosigners. This means that you’ll have to qualify for a Happy Money loan on the strength of your credit alone.
- Best for credit card consolidation: Qualifying for a lower rate on your high interest credit card debt with a Happy Money loan may save you money in interest payments. This lender may also be a good fit if you’re looking to improve their credit.
Happy Money pros and cons
Happy Money offers many benefits to credit card borrowers who want to consolidate their debt. However, it’s not a good fit for everyone, particularly those with bad credit.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Will send your loan to your credit card companies on your behalf Free FICO scores Rates are capped at 17.48% Reports to all three credit bureaus | Can only use for debt consolidation Keeps 1.50% - 5.50% out of every loan as an origination fee Can’t boost your approval odds by getting a cosigner or co-borrower Can take up to seven days for an approval decision Doesn’t offer any interest rate discounts |
Paying off a bunch of credit cards with a debt consolidation loan can be as tedious as juggling the credit card bills themselves. Happy Money can make the process easier by sending your loan to your credit card companies on your behalf.
Another big benefit to Happy Money are its low rates. Happy Money isn’t a lender. Instead, it connects borrowers (like you) with partner lenders. It often works with credit unions and by law, federal credit unions can’t charge rates higher than 18%.
However, unlike many other personal loan companies, Happy Money loans can only be used to pay off credit cards (and some unsecured installment loans). The lending platform also doesn’t offer any rate discounts.
Happy Money personal loan requirements
Unlike many lenders, Happy Money offers clear eligibility requirements for potential borrowers.
| Minimum credit score | 640 |
| Payment history | Zero current delinquencies |
| Residential requirements | Loans not offered in Iowa, Massachusetts or Nevada |
| Required documents |
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If Happy Money’s loan options won’t work for your borrowing needs, be sure to shop around for a lender that helps you meet your financial goals and can offer you the best-fitting rates, terms and amounts.
How to get a Happy Money personal loan
Getting a personal loan from Happy Money is a straightforward process, similar to other lenders.
Check your credit
Check your credit score and credit reports before applying for a Happy Money personal loan. This can help you determine whether you meet Happy Money’s basic loan requirements and if you have any incorrect information on your credit reports that could be holding your credit score back.
During this time, be sure to crunch the numbers to understand how you can afford to borrow by using a personal loan calculator to estimate your monthly payments.
Prequalify for a loan
Once you determine how much you need to borrow, submit some preliminary information and prequalify for a loan. This process involves a soft credit pull, which won’t impact your credit score. If you prequalify for a Happy Money loan, you’ll be able to see the rates, terms and amounts you may receive. Keep in mind that this offer isn’t guaranteed.
Accept an offer
If you want to proceed with a Happy Money loan, your next step will be to fill out a formal application. You’ll need to provide any required documents, such as bank statements, W-2s and a government-issued form of ID. Happy Money will run a hard credit pull, which can cause your credit score to temporarily drop by a few points.
Close on your loan
Happy Money will review your application and credit profile. If your loan request is approved, you’ll sign your loan agreement and make a plan to repay your new personal loan. It can take three to six business days before you see your loan funds in your bank account. Happy Money can also send your money directly to your credit card issuers.
How Happy Money compares to other personal loan companies
Even if you believe Happy Money aligns with what you’re looking for in a personal loan, it never hurts to shop around and compare other lenders. Here’s how Happy Money stacks up against similar personal loan lenders.
| Happy Money | Achieve | LendingPoint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingTree’s rating | 3.9/5 | 4.1/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Minimum credit score | 640 | 620 | 660 |
| APRs | 8.95%-17.48% | 8.99% to 29.99% | 7.99%-35.99% |
| Loan amounts | $5,000-$40,000 | $5,000 to $50,000 | $1,000-$36,500 |
| Repayment terms | 24 to 60 months | 24 to 60 months | 24 to 72 months |
| Origination fee | 1.50% - 5.50% | 1.99% - 8.99% | Up to 10.00% |
| Funding timeline | May receive funds within three to six business days | May receive funds as soon as one to three business days | May receive funds as soon as one business day |
| Bottom line | Happy Money loans are specifically designed for credit card refinancing. It also has a lower maximum APR than Achieve and LendingPoint, which could make it the cheapest option if you have a credit score around 640. | Achieve offers three rate discounts: one for adding a co-borrower, one for allowing it to pay your credit cards directly and another for having a well-funded retirement account. However, compared to Happy Money, it has higher origination fees. | LendingPoint offers smaller loans than Happy Money and Achieve. It also has the lowest starting rates, so it may be the best choice if you have excellent credit. |
How we rated Happy Money personal loans
To come up with our star rating for personal loan companies, LendingTree considered 22 data points across three categories:
- Accessibility: We paid attention to whether lenders offered loans to nontraditional borrowers, as well as those without excellent credit scores. We also checked if lenders offered soft credit pulls, and whether they were transparent about eligibility criteria other than credit scores.
- Rates and terms: We wanted to know if lender rates, terms, amounts and fees were not only transparent, but also competitive.
- Repayment experience: We based this category on lenders’ reputations, customer support availability and unique benefits.
The data points reflect every step of the process to shop and apply for, borrow and repay personal loans. A five-star lender, for instance, has flexible eligibility requirements, offers you the chance to prequalify without commitment and supports you in zeroing your balance.
The 22 data points, culled from the lenders themselves, determine the overall rating. We score lenders consistently, sometimes awarding partial points, so that you can make apples-to-apples comparisons when shopping around.
LendingTree isn’t paid for conducting these reviews, and lenders don’t have control over their content. With our reviews and ratings, we aim to give our users the objective and exhaustive information they need to make the best possible decisions.
Frequently asked questions
You must have a credit score of at least 640 to qualify for Happy Money, so you need at least fair credit. You also can’t have any delinquent debt on your credit report. You can see how likely it is that Happy Money will approve you by prequalifying on its website.
Happy Money’s personal loan funding timeline is three to six business days after you’ve signed your loan agreement. That is, if you’ve opted to get your loan funds sent to your savings or checking account. If you’d like Happy Money to pay your credit cards directly, you should see those payments reflected on your credit card statement within 30 days.
Also, keep in mind that it can take Happy Money up to seven days to decide whether you qualify for a loan.
Yes. Formerly known as the Payoff Loan, Happy Money was founded in 2009, Happy Money is a legitimate lending platform that connects borrowers with partner lenders (many of which are credit unions).