Posted by: Adam McCann

RISE Review Summary: RISE loans are expensive, with APRs ranging from 50% to 299%, depending on where you live, the loan amount and your financial profile. RISE advertises their loans as an option for people with bad credit. But there are plenty of better alternatives from other lenders that will charge far less.

RISE loans don’t have origination fees, prepayment fees or late fees. But that doesn’t change the fact that their APRs are far too high. And RISE only does business in 30 states and the District of Columbia, so many people can’t apply in the first place. The only big upside to RISE loans is that you can get funded in one business day typically. But there are a lot of cheaper lenders that also offer fast funding.

Read on to find out more about why RISE loans are too expensive, and to see a few better options.

LoanMe Personal Loan Terms

APRs	50% - 299% (varies by state)
Loan lengths	4 - 26 months (varies by state)
Loan amounts	$500 - $5,000 (varies by state)
Approval time	1 business day
Funds delivery time	1 business day
Fees	None
Credit score requirement	Not disclosed
Minimum income requirement	Not disclosed
Other requirements (all must apply)	18+ years old U.S. citizen or permanent resident SSN Checking account
States that RISE services	AL, AK, AZ, CA, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, SC, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY

RISE Loan Interest Rates & Fees

RISE is one of several lenders that offer high-interest rate personal loans to people who have bad credit. RISE’s minimum APR is 50% and their maximum is 299%. That’s similar to the rates of other “bad credit” lenders, but incredibly more expensive than the average personal loan. Usually, the range for personal loan interest rates is around 6% - 36%. Even if you have bad credit, you can still beat RISE’s rates by checking out offers from credit unions and lenders like FreedomPlus and Avant.

RISE personal loan interest rates are technically fixed. But if you make on-time payments, RISE may choose to lower your rate. RISE advertises that they’ve lowered rates for 150,000 customers.

There are no RISE loan origination fees. You also won’t be charged a fee for paying your loan off early; and at these APRs, you’ll want to do that as quickly as possible. Lastly, RISE does not charge a fee for late payments. But you still shouldn’t pay late because that will lead to credit score damage.

RISE Loan Requirements & Application Info

RISE is targeted toward people who have bad credit. As such they don’t give any kind of minimum credit score requirement. They don’t disclose an overall minimum income, either, but their website says approval and loan terms “are subject to minimum income requirements and vary by state.” RISE only operates in 30 states and the District of Columbia, so you will have to live in one of those places to apply.

RISE does have a pre-qualification process. Visit their website and put in your name, email and state at the top right, then click “Check Your Loan Options.” You’ll then be directed to a form where you fill in more detailed information like your address and income. At the end of this process, which will not hurt your credit, you will see what offers you’re likely to qualify for.

If you choose to submit an application after that, RISE will do a hard inquiry of your credit, which will cause a drop in your score. The only way to apply for a RISE personal loan is online. You must apply by yourself, as RISE does not accept joint applications.

RISE Loan Reviews & Transparency

You can easily find the APRs and fees for RISE loans online. And RISE’s pre-qualification tool lets you estimate your rates before you apply. To that end, RISE is clear about what customers can expect. However, they are still not a great option for borrowers. You can see more information on their reputation below.

• Better Business Bureau: RISE Credit is rated A+ by the BBB. They have not become accredited.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: There are more than 170 complaints about RISE loans in the CFPB complaints database, with some as recent as April 2019. Many customers complain about having trouble with the high interest rates.
• WalletHub: RISE loans are so expensive that WalletHub is only able to award them 0.5 stars out of 5.

Rocket Loans vs. Popular Competitors

Lender	RISE	FreedomPlus	Avant
APR	50% - 299%	5.99% - 29.99%	9.95% - 35.99%
Loan amounts	$500 - $5,000	$7,500 - $40,000	$2,000 - $35,000
Loan lengths	4 - 26 months	24 - 60 months	24 - 60 months
Credit score required	Not disclosed (accepts bad credit)	620	600

Methodology

To give RISE Loans a fair rating, WalletHub looked at a total of 23 factors. We grouped the factors that were most similar to each other into seven big categories, which you can view below along with an explanation.

• APR: WalletHub’s editors researched the best and most costly rates on RISE loans, along with information about whether those rates can be variable or are always fixed.
• Fees: We looked into the fees on RISE loans, emphasizing charges for paying early, origination fees and late fees.
• Requirements: Our editors found out what you need to get approved for RISE loans, including RISE’s expectations for credit score and income. We also researched whether you need to be a U.S. citizen and what kind of identification you need to provide.
• Loan amounts: We looked into how much you can borrow, plus the shortest and longest-lasting loans.
• Transparency: This category included how clearly RISE presented their loan terms and minimum qualifications.
• Application process: WalletHub read up on the application process, including how to pre-qualify and how to apply. We learned the amount of time between submitting an application and receiving funding, and we looked into whether RISE supports joint applications.
• Customer satisfaction: This category used the following sources: WalletHub user reviews, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints and the Better Business Bureau’s rating.

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


via Finance Xpress