Borrow Money Online

Introduction

Beyond our experience as an FCA-authorised lender, we reviewed many reliable resources, government guidelines, and regulators’ policies to give our readers the most accurate borrowing guide. We also compare traditional banks against private lenders and discuss mobile applications designed for specific borrowing cases like Unexpected medical bills, emergency expenses, urgent home repairs or consolidating existing debts.

Responsible Borrowing Practices

While the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitor lenders’ activities regularly to ensure they comply with the most rigid regulation, it is still up to the borrower to borrow a responsible amount. The UK government or the regulators can not do this part for you. A responsible amount is an amount you can afford to repay while maintaining your monthly financial obligations, including repaying ongoing debts.

If you are struggling with debt obligations, it’s essential to obtain assistance before signing up for borrowings of cash/credit, etc. Charities like StepChange and MoneyAdviceService provide free advice & help.
Golden rule: You must ensure that the borrowed amount is sufficient to solve your current problem and that you can pay the monthly repayment comfortably. Taking too much will incur costs you can avoid, and taking a smaller amount from what you need will not solve your problem.

Assessing Your Financial Situation

Before you decide to borrow online, it is necessary to consider your overall financial standing. This entails examining all income sources, expenditures and ongoing credits. When doing the expenditure calculations, please consider the cost of living in the UK and allocate over 5% for unexpected bills. Increases in the costs of consumer goods cause rising inflation from 2021 to 2023. Food prices have also been rising sharply over the past year and were 14.8% higher in July 2023 compared with a year before, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)

Typically, a lender would ask you to provide the following details: salary per month, expenditure costs, and past residence locations. Origin of revenue and bank account information, among others, which can help secure favourable terms should the request prove viable according to their policies. 

Your responsibility: The lender will assume your cost of living and try to maintain a disposable income (what is left for you after paying the monthly repayment) of at least 25%. But you know you are the only one who knows what you need. Be fair with yourself and borrow money responsibly.

Borrowing Money Online Safely

With so many blowing applications and websites operating in the UK, choosing with whom to work is hard. Your online safety and data privacy are a top priority for us. Please ensure that the website or lender you want to work with is authorised by the FCA, clearly presents their data protection policies and has contact details in the UK. Also, make sure that the website SSL certificate is valid. We always recommend people considering borrowing money online to call the candidate lender and get the service impression. You will be surprised how many call centres in India you may reach. They are not necessarily bad, but we wouldn’t recommend working with lenders that process your data outside the UK.

Keep your data safe: Borrowing money online requires sharing a lot of information about you and your financial situation. Make sure you share it with established lenders that can protect your information.

Borrowing with Bad Credit

If you have a bad credit score, you can still borrow money. But, it may be more expensive as the risk to the lender is higher. It would be best if you avoided anyone who offers you no-credit-check borrowing. Lenders must assess your credit and affordability before giving you a funding offer.

People with bad credit tend to accept any terms proposal that gets approved. This doesn’t seem right. With a bad or good credit score, the money you borrow should help you solve a specific financial gap. The same affordability rules apply.

Ask yourself: What elements in your credit file negatively impact your score, and how fast you can fix them. Inform the lenders in advance if you know of any mistakes in your credit file or if historical things have already been resolved.

Money Borrowing Apps

Borrowing Apps appear every day. Some have creative business models like person-to-person, crowd-funding and subscription plans. Don’t let all these fancy names confuse you. Borrowing money is a serious decision, and you must always remember why you plan to borrow money and the amount you need. Behind any creative business model, there is a cost, and there are risks you must understand. Before sharing your details on any borrowing App, ensure you understand the business model, the costs and the game’s rules. It’s also essential you understand the different types of interest providers are quoting. We explain interest rates and repayment terms below.