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Hot December Personal Loan Rates and Deals
After peaking at over $2.5 billion in 2016, personal loan lending (including car loans) in Australia experienced a long decline amid waning appetite for this form of credit.
The onset of the pandemic saw this sink to a record low (since records began in 2002) in April 2020, with just over $1 billion of new loans written.
However in late 2020, things started to heat up, and personal loan lending has since been on the upswing - finally eclipsing the April 2016 record in June 2023.
According to the most recent RBA data, the average interest rate for a personal loan in Australia is 9.23% p.a., although rates can be significantly higher or lower than this depending on your credit rating and whether the loan is secured or unsecured.
Some of our top picks on the market for personal loans this month are:
- Secured personal loans: Illawarra Credit Union’s Online Personal Loan Package - variable interest rate of 5.75% p.a. (6.39% p.a. comparison rate*). Comes with a 100% offset account. Must be used for buying a motor vehicle, bike, boat, caravan, or pleasure craft up two years old and used as security against the loan
- Unsecured personal loans: Plenti’s Unsecured Personal Loan (Exceptional Credit) - fixed interest rates from 6.57% p.a. (6.57% p.a. comparison rate*).
- Green personal loans: Community First Bank’s Green Loan - variable interest rate of 5.24% p.a. (6.23% p.a. comparison rate*). Must be used to finance environmental improvements to your home, such as solar panels, rainwater tanks, double glazing, solar pool heaters and more.
Rates and product info correct as at 6 November 2023.
What is a personal loan?
A personal loan is a financial product where you borrow money from a lender or financial institution, and make regular repayments with interest over the loan term (usually between one and seven years).
Personal loans can be big or small, typically ranging from $500 to $100,000. The lower and upper limits of loan products depend on the provider.
While personal loans are a less flexible form of credit than a credit card and don’t offer the same benefits, the interest rates on personal loans are generally far lower than those on credit cards.
A personal loan is one of the simplest financial products on the market. There are a wide variety of providers offering personal loans in Australia, including the big four banks, customer-owned banks and non bank lenders.
What can I use a personal loan for?
There are a variety of reasons you might take out a personal loan. Here is a selection of the most common.
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Holiday loan: If your savings won’t quite cover the trip of your dreams, a personal loan could offer a way to increase your holiday budget. Many providers offer special products specifically designed for holidays.
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Weddings: Personal loans are useful for one off large expenses. If you take out a loan for a wedding for example, you can pay it off slowly after the wedding, rather then waiting until you have the money you need saved before getting married.
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Debt consolidation: A common way to streamline debt obligations is to take out a consolidation loan. This essentially means you take out a personal loan that covers all your outstanding debts. You then pay everything you owe and just pay off the consolidation loan, so you only have one loan to pay off instead of several.
Personal loan interest rates may vary depending on your credit score.
Many lenders use risk-based pricing when offering personal loans.
This essentially means the perceived trustworthiness of the borrower could influence what interest rate the lender ultimately charges on the loan.
Lenders will typically look at the borrower's credit score to adjudge their trustworthiness, with the lowest interest rates usually reserved for those with excellent credit scores.
Other factors can also affect the interest rate, such as the loan amount, loan duration or whether the loan is secured, unsecured, fixed-rate or variable-rate.
How to compare personal loans
There are several avenues for you to explore when seeking a competitively-priced personal loan, but these are two of the top things to consider:
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Secured loans: Securing an asset against the loan, say the car you’re purchasing, could fetch you a lower interest rate. Though the consequence of this is that if you default on your loan, the lender could take your asset away. Generally speaking, the lowest interest rates for secured personal loans these days hover around the 5-6%, however this is heavily reliant on the next point…
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Risk-based loans: Many lenders have tiered lending rates, with the cream of the crop going to borrowers with the best credit scores and borrowing history.
Not all personal loans are created equally. Here are a few things to look out for when comparing personal loans.
Fees
Most personal loans charge an application and ongoing fee, and some are a bit sneaky and will even charge you a fee for getting on top of your debt and making extra repayments. Break costs and missed payment fees may also apply.
Before taking out a personal loan, make sure you understand what fees the lender will charge. Get a full list of the fees that apply: you can find out what fees will be charged by reading the product disclosure statement (PDS). Fees for secured personal loans are often lower than fees for unsecured loans because of the reduced risk to the lender.
Interest rate
You’ll find that interest rates on personal loans are either variable or fixed.
Variable interest rates can be raised or lowered by the lender at any time over the course of the loan term. Choosing to go with a variable rate means that you may not have the repayment certainty that a fixed rate provides.
On the other hand, fixed interest rates are exactly that: fixed, which means you know the rate (and your repayment amount) will stay the same for the duration of your loan which can be great if you’re trying to budget. While locking in a fixed rate means you know your rate isn’t going to go up, it does mean you potentially miss out on an even lower interest rate if your lender decides to reduce rates. As you can see, the decision to go with a variable or fixed rate can be a bit of a gamble.
Don’t forget to look at the comparison rate when comparing personal loans as this is often a better reflection of the loan’s true cost, since it accounts for the interest rate and fees.
A good way to bring your interest rates down is to secure the loan against some asset (a car loan is an example of a secured personal loan, as the car itself is the security). Secured personal loans typically have lower rates, but the lender has the right to take ownership of your asset in the event of a default.
Extra repayments
Most variable rate personal loans allow you to make extra repayments and some fixed rate loans will also allow this, but there may be a limit on the amount that can be repaid early. You may also be charged early repayment fees and an early exit fee for repaying the loan earlier than the initial loan term.
Look for a loan that allows you to make extra repayments without incurring an early repayment fee and ask the lender what their repayment flexibility is like.
Other things to consider when seeking a low rate personal loan
There’s a few things to look out for when it comes to finding a secured loan, aside from just the interest rate and monthly repayment.
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Flexibility: Some lenders charge fees for making extra repayments, while others do not. If you want to get ahead, it could be a good idea to find a loan that doesn’t penalise you for paying it off early.
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Minimum and Maximum Loan Amount: Some lenders are only willing to lend between a certain band, with most lenders requiring a minimum loan size of around $2,000 - any less and you venture into payday lending territory. Conversely, most lenders have a lending cap, too, with many hovering around $50,000.
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Eligibility Criteria: Most creditors require you be at least 18 years of age, and an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Many have minimum income requirements, too.
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Loan Term: This usually varies anywhere from six months to five years. Some car loans now are offered over seven years. The longer your loan term, the more interest you ultimately pay, but the lower your monthly repayment - most people like to strike a blend of manageable monthly payments, and appetite for interest.
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Redraw facility: Some personal loan products will allow you to make extra repayments, and then give you the option to take this extra money out if needs be. This gives you added confidence if you are trying to pay the loan off quickly.
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Bad credit personal loans: Generally, having a bad credit score will restrict the range of personal loan products available to you. However, some providers offer special bad credit personal loans, where the lender will tailor the loan to your situation.
Consider your options
As with any type of loan, it’s important to do your research and compare your options. Before taking out a personal loan, look for a competitive interest rate with low fees. You should also consider a personal loan that allows fee-free early repayments so you can get on top of your debt faster without being penalised for doing so.
While you should definitely compare and shop around, be careful not to apply for too many loans as this can hurt your credit score.
Types of personal loans
There are two main types of personal loans: secured and unsecured.
Secured
A secured personal loan is where you use an asset (like a car) to be used by the lender as security against the debt. If you’re unable to repay the loan, the lender can sell the asset to recoup your debt.
A secured car loan is like a secured personal loan except the loan is only used to purchase a car. You can generally use a secured personal loan to purchase almost anything like a holiday, wedding, engagement ring, home renovations and so forth, as long as the value of the asset is equal to or greater than the value of the loan.
A car isn’t the only thing that can be used as security; other assets that can be used include equity in your home, term deposits, or even expensive items like jewellery or artwork however this may vary from lender to lender.
Secured personal loans generally have lower interest rates than unsecured personal loans, though the interest rate you are charged can depend on your credit rating. Borrowers with bad credit ratings may have to pay a higher rate of interest than borrowers with good credit scores.
Unsecured
As the name suggests, unsecured personal loans allow you to borrow money without being required to put up an asset as security for the loan. Because of this, interest rates on unsecured loans are generally higher than they are on secured loans because the lender is taking on a greater risk by not having an asset to fall back on if you’re unable to repay the loan. But that doesn’t mean you can just get off scot-free if you can’t afford to repay the loan: the lender can still take legal action against you if that happens.
Unsecured personal loans allow you to borrow money for any legitimate purpose, whether that be for a wedding, an engagement ring, a car, a holiday, home renovations, funeral expenses, an unexpected bill and so on.
Because you’re not offering up an asset as security for the loan, the lender may ask what you’re using the unsecured personal loan for, which may form part of their decision to lend to you. You may also be asked to give evidence that you can afford to repay the loan by providing the lender with recent bank statements and proof of employment. Borrowers with bad credit scores will potentially be made to pay a higher rate of interest than borrowers with good credit scores. All of this is done to protect the lender.
You can generally borrow up to $50,000 for an unsecured personal loan though there are some lenders who may allow you to borrow up to $100,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
A fixed rate personal loan is a loan with the option to lock in or ‘fix’ your interest rate for a set period of time - between one and five years. Where a variable rate personal loan differs, is by allowing the interest rate to move or ‘vary’ with changes to the market - generally between one and seven years. This means your interest rate can rise or fall over the term of your loan with a variable rate.
An unsecured personal loan is a loan that has no security attached. Without security, the lender will review your finances, income and expenses to determine whether you meet lending criteria. Interest rates on unsecured personal loans are typically higher than secured loans as they present a greater risk due to having no security.
The maximum duration for a personal loan in Australia will vary depending on the terms of the loan. If the loan is subject to a fixed interest rate, the duration can reach up to five years. On the other hand, if the loan is subject to a variable interest rate, the duration can reach up to seven years. The longer the duration of the loan, the more interest will be paid over time.
Personal loans may be better suited to your current financial position than a credit card, particularly if you’re making a significant purchase. These typically include one-off or big-ticket items such as a new car, wedding, holiday or even consolidating debts. For many larger purchases, limits applied by the financial institution may prevent you from using a credit card and even if you can, the risk of an interest expense blow-out could potentially be high.
No, a personal loan is not considered a credit card. One main difference between personal loans and credit cards is how you receive the borrowed funds. A credit card is a revolving form of credit where you’re approved to borrow up to a set amount (the credit limit) for an unlimited time and you’re only charged interest on the portion of this you used and didn’t repay by the end of the statement cycle. Conversely, a personal loan is a one-off, lump sum debt of an agreed amount which has to be repaid by a set date.
There are a number of factors you should look at and compare when choosing a personal loan. A few of these include:
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Interest rate
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Comparison rate (interest rate plus fees and charges)
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Type of interest rate (fixed or variable)
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Whether the loan is secured or unsecured
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Early repayment option
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Loan term (how long you’ll have the loan)
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Repayment frequency (weekly, fortnightly or monthly)
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Lenders' eligibility criteria
Using a comparison site like Savings.com.au is an easy way to compare personal loan rates. Here you can compare personal loans by interest rate, fees, features and more. When comparing by interest rate, be sure to also consider the comparison rate, because this rate takes fees into account (e.g. a personal loan with a comparison rate that’s much higher than its advertised rate is likely to have high fees). Important features to consider when comparing include whether the personal loan is secured or unsecured, offers fee-free early exits, or offers instant approval. If you find a personal loan that you think might suit you, but you want to have a bit more information, you can go to the lender's website.
In 2022, most personal loan interest rates tend to range between 6% and 12%, but can be 20% or higher for those with below average credit scores. With this in mind, a 3% p.a. interest rate can be considered an incredibly good rate for a personal loan, but finding a lender that’s willing to offer a rate that low may be difficult. However, you should look at other factors such as the comparison rate, type of interest rate (fixed or variable) and loan term to determine how much you will end up paying in interest and other fees.
You may find it more difficult to secure a personal loan if you just started a new job, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. But generally speaking, you’d want to be in your job for at least six to 12 months before applying for a loan as this shows the lender that you have a consistent, reliable source of income.
Generally, unemployed people won’t be able to get a personal loan. This is because you need to meet certain income requirements that prove you are able to afford your repayments. If you are unable to do so, you won’t be able to secure a personal loan. If you’re unemployed but have another source of steady income, you might still be able to secure a personal loan.
Eligibility criteria for a personal loan will likely vary between lenders. But typically, you can expect to need to meet these bare minimum requirements:
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Be at least 18 years old
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Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
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Have a consistent form of income
You may need to meet other requirements, such as having a good credit score, but this will depend on the lender you are applying through.
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