Zable Personal Loans: 2023 Review
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Our Take
3.0
Zable personal loans have high starting rates and few consumer benefits. Good- and fair-credit borrowers may have better options.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Preapproval option with soft credit check.
- Borrowers can change their repayment date.
- Fast funding.
Cons
- Doesn’t report payments to the credit bureaus.
- Charges origination fee.
- No joint, co-signed or secured loans.
- Available in a limited number of states.
- Limited customer service availability.
Compare to Other Lenders
Full Review of Zable Personal Loan
Zable is an online lender providing midsize personal loans to fair- and good-credit borrowers (630 and above credit scores), but the lack of flexibility and affordability makes these loans a less-than-optimal choice for borrowers.
Zable, a subsidiary of U.K.-based Lendable, is relatively new to the United States, so its personal loan product may evolve as the lender establishes itself.
Zable’s best features are its preapproval process and fast funding, but the cons outweigh the pros. The lender charges high starting rates compared to other lenders that target similar customers. Zable also doesn’t report payments to the credit bureaus or offer alternative loan types such as joint or secured loans, and its customer service availability is limited.
If you qualify for a Zable loan, compare it with other loan offers that may provide a lower rate or more flexible features.
» More for UK readers: Lendable personal loans
Table of Contents
Zable personal loans at a glance
Minimum credit score | 600. |
APR | 12.00% - 29.99%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $1,000 to $35,000. |
Repayment terms | 1 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | Same or next day. |
Loan availability | Loans not available in CO, CT, IN, KS, LA, ME, NE, NV, NH, NJ, ND, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, VT, WV, WI and WY. |
Where Zable personal loans stand out
Preapproval with soft credit pull: Zable allows borrowers to get preapproved online with a soft credit check. Like pre-qualification, a preapproved offer shows your potential rate, loan amount and repayment term without impacting your credit score. A preapproved offer, however, can be firmer than a pre-qualified offer. Zable says borrowers should expect the preapproved rate to remain the same after submitting a formal application and passing certain verification requirements.
Fast funding: Zable says the preapproval process takes seconds, and some applications can be approved in less than an hour, in which case a borrower may receive funds the same day. The lender says most loans are funded the day they’re approved.
Option to change payment due date: The lender says borrowers can change their payment due date as frequently as they want during repayment — a more flexible policy than most other lenders have. However, the change takes effect after your upcoming payment, so you can’t change a due date that’s only a week or two out.
» MORE: Best online personal loans
Where Zable personal loans fall short
Doesn’t report loan payments: Zable doesn’t report loan payments to any of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Having payments reported to the credit bureaus ensures that your repayment history is reflected on your credit reports so future creditors can assess how you manage debt when determining your rate. Almost all other lenders report payments to all three credit bureaus.
Origination fee: Zable charges an origination fee that ranges from 5% to 8.5% of the loan amount, though the lender says most borrowers pay 5%. Like many online lenders, Zable deducts this fee from the loan proceeds, reducing the amount borrowed by a few hundred dollars.
No joint, co-signed or secured loans: Zable offers only unsecured loans. Borrowers can’t add a co-applicant or collateral to their loan applications, additions that can help borrowers get a better rate or improve their chances of qualifying. Many lenders offer at least one alternative loan type.
» MORE: Compare co-sign and joint loans
Available in a limited number of states: Zable loans are available in just over half of the United States, which is significantly fewer than other online lenders.
Limited customer service availability: Customers can only reach Zable during Eastern time business hours. Many lenders offer hours that either fall outside business hours on weekdays or include a weekend day. Zable also doesn’t have a mobile app, so you’ll have to manage your loan via desktop computer or phone.
Do you qualify for a Zable personal loan?
Zable doesn’t disclose many of its borrowing requirements, but you’ll likely need fair or good credit to qualify for a loan with Zable.
Here’s what you need to get a Zable personal loan.
Minimum credit score: 600.
Minimum income: Not disclosed.
A full-time job.
A valid email address, Social Security number and bank account.
Must be a U.S. resident and at least 18 years old in most states.
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. Zable may require proof of income, which can be a pay stub or tax document, or you can connect your bank account via Plaid. Having this information handy can speed the application process.
How to apply for a Zable personal loan
Here are the steps to apply for a Zable loan.
Get preapproved on Zable’s website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow and what the funds are for, as well as some personal information like your name, birthdate, address and Social Security number. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.
Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you accept a loan offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This could require more documents to confirm the information you gave during preapproval. Zable will also do a hard credit check after you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Stay on top of your loan payments. Though Zable doesn’t report to any of the credit bureaus, you still need to make loan payments on time to avoid late fees. The lender says it plans to roll out credit reporting, so get in the habit of making your payments on time from the start. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.
Compare Zable 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.
Personal loans from Upgrade and Best Egg have lower starting rates and more flexible features than Zable. They also accept multiple sources of income on an application and report to all three major credit bureaus.
Zable vs. Upgrade
Upgrade has a lower minimum credit score requirement than Zable, and there are multiple ways to get a discounted rate on an Upgrade loan. Unlike Zable, Upgrade offers joint and secured personal loans, and directly pays creditors if more than 50% of your loan proceeds go toward debt consolidation.
» MORE: Read our review of Upgrade
Zable vs. Best Egg
Best Egg is a fair- to good-credit lender with a higher maximum loan amount than Zable and an origination fee that skews lower. Best Egg borrowers can secure their personal loan with a car or a fixture on their home, like a chandelier. Best Egg’s customer service hours include evenings and Saturdays.
» MORE: Read our review of Best Egg
How we rate Zable 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 | |
Loan flexibility | |
Transparency | |
Customer experience | |
Overall |
- Category defintions
Affordability (30%) An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.
Underwriting and eligibility (25%) The lender reviews borrowers credit reports and credit history, and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan, before making a final application decision.
Loan flexibility (20%) A flexible loan is one that lets users customize terms and payments. That means offering a wide range of repayment term options, allowing the borrower to change their payment date, offering loans in most states and funding it quickly.
Customer experience (15%) A good customer experience can include a fully online application process, financial education on the lender’s website and a customer service team that’s available most of the time and can be reached multiple ways.
Transparency (10%) A transparent lender makes information about the loan easy to find on its website, including rates, terms and loan amounts. Transparency also means allowing users to pre-qualify online to preview potential loan offers and reporting payment information with the major credit bureaus.
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Find the Best Personal Loan
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points from each lender and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.
Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
