When you’re looking for a fast credit option to cover an unexpected expense, it can be difficult to cut through the marketing jargon and decide which option is best for you. Many lenders offer instant decision loans – but weighing up the benefits of having instant access to cash versus what’s best for your long-term financial situation is important before making any decisions.
At QuidMarket, we strive to offer our hard-working customers the cash they need to deal with short-term cash flow issues as quickly and without fuss. We do this without cutting corners, and ensure we take steps to safeguard our customers against further financial difficulties. We can’t guarantee we offer instant cash loans, because this would be at odds with our ethos. If you’re considering taking out a short term loan with us, we want you to be confident in your choice, and so have put together this page to inform you about the world of instant loans in the UK.
What Are Instant Payday Loans?
The internet has revolutionised how we borrow money in the UK. Instead of having to visit a high street lender or bank, you can fill out a simple application form for an instant loan online from your smartphone or computer. The approval process is much quicker too, with information available to lenders from Credit Reference Agencies at the touch of a button. Add in the Faster Payment technology of online banking and the entire process from start to finish has made instant loans the standard. But are they in your best interests?
An instant loan may sound appealing, especially if you’ve found yourself in the stressful situation of needing to borrow cash to cover an emergency expense, such as if your car is in the garage for urgent repairs. You might be tempted to go with the quickest instant loans in the UK so that you can pay the bill and get your car back without delay. However, instant cash loans have their drawbacks, and they might not be the most suitable form of borrowing for everyone.
Are Instant Payday Loans a Risk to Your Credit Score?
If you have a low credit score, it could be very difficult to find instant loans for bad credit. Part of offering instant payday loans requires lenders to automate their decision-making process. Some will simply run your application through a computer program in order to process it instantly and if your credit score is below a minimum threshold, you could be turned down entirely.
Having been rejected for an instant payday loan will be noted on your credit file and will stay there for around two years, visible in any credit checks carried out during this time. This could make it more difficult for you to be approved for credit in the future – whether that’s going to another lender, applying for a new phone contract or finding a mortgage.
Even if you are approved for an instant loan with a bad credit score, you may have to pay above average interest rates as the lender will want to mitigate the risks involved in offering instant loans online. Short term credit is already an expensive form of borrowing, and so avoiding situations in which the costs could increase further is vital. We aim to strike a balance between protecting your future finances and the benefits of instant loans in the UK.
As an alternative, you may prefer to choose a lender who bases their decision-making process on your affordability. Simply put, this involves looking at your regular income and outgoing payments you make each month, and determining if you could sustainably afford the loan you have applied for. At QuidMarket, we think this is a much fairer way of offering. While it means we don’t offer instant cash loans, we still process applications as quickly as possible without cutting corners. And it’s much fairer for our customers too.
Do Responsible Lenders Offer Instant Loans for Bad Credit?
Any company that claims to offer instant loans for bad credit should be approached with caution. In the UK, lenders are required to be authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and must abide by strict guidelines to keep this status. If you’re looking for an instant loan online, ensure that your chosen lender is FCA authorised. One of the main requirements is that we must carry out adequate checks to ensure all applicants are able to sustainably afford the loan they have applied for.
Sometimes, carrying out these checks can take longer than expected, and so it isn’t possible to guarantee instant loans in the UK. This is especially true if there are errors on the application, or even if credit reference agencies don’t hold the most up to date information about you – such as if you’ve recently moved home. At QuidMarket, we believe that being transparent with our customers about the costs involved and our decision making processes – including the length of time it can take – is more important than being able to say we offer instant cash loans.
Choosing an FCA authorised lender also ensures that you are covered by their price caps – which exist to protect borrowers against excessive charges on instant payday loans. These are:
- The interest and fees charged each day cannot be more than 0.8% of the original amount borrowed
- Default fees are capped at £15 total
- The total cost of all interest, fees and other charges involved in your loan should never exceed the original amount borrowed
You should always check that your lender is on the FCA register – QuidMarket is authorised under license number 677995 and our company name, Stagemount Ltd.
What’s the Best Alternative to Instant Loans Online?
At QuidMarket, we’re proud to not offer instant cash loans. We prefer to be upfront and transparent with our customers. But that doesn’t mean you won’t get your loan quickly. In fact, we offer same day loans wherever possible, and normally by 10am the following morning otherwise. We process payments as soon as you sign your loan agreement, and we use Faster Payments to ensure there are as few banking delays as possible.
We manually underwrite every application and believe that the small amount of extra time involved is worthwhile. It allows us to ensure we’re fulfilling our responsibility as a lender, and that we’re offering loans that our customers can sustainably afford. We’ll never rush this to say we can offer an instant loan online. We would never be able to approve an application for instant cash loans if we had concerns that it would lead you into further financial difficulties.
With the availability of instant cash loans, it’s easy to become swept up in the rush. However, with any form of borrowing, and especially if you don’t have a great credit rating, it’s worth giving yourself just a few more minutes to fully understand your options. Are instant loans for bad credit the right choice for you? We want all our applicants and customers to make the best choices for their own financial situation – if you have any questions, you’re welcome to contact QuidMarket.
If you have poor credit, it is not uncommon to try and find ways to improve your rating. Luckily, there are plenty of methods you can use, including:
- Registering on the electoral roll
- Paying your bills on time
- Checking and correcting any mistakes on your file
- Avoiding submitting too many credit applications at once
- Keeping your credit utilisation low
You might also see some improvements to your credit score by paying off any instant cash payday loans in full. However, you may only see an improvement if you are able to repay the minimum each month until the full amount is repaid and avoid defaulting. A repaid account will show up in your credit history, allowing future lenders to see that you are responsible enough to manage payments, and potentially giving your rating a boost.
Yes, you may be able to apply for instant loans in the UK. At QuidMarket, we strive to offer hardworking people the short term cash that they need to cover emergencies or financial gaps. However, as we take a personal approach to our affordability checks, we may not be able to offer instant cash loans online. We will always work as quickly as possible to provide a lending decision and the money that you need, but we may take the time to review your application in detail. There could be other lenders available for your instant loan online, but make sure you check that they have your best interests at heart before you consider applying with them.
In order to make all of our loans, including instant loans for bad credit, sustainably affordable for each and every customer, we provide bespoke quotes based on your unique financial situation. The amount you repay will vary depending on the term you choose, so you can use the handy loan calculator tool on our homepage to work out the costs for the exact loan you need. You can also rest assured that we follow the FCA’s guidelines on costs for all of our loans, which means you will never pay more than 100% of the original loan amount.