Irrespective of your current financial standing, finding the most competitive lender for your borrowing requirements is crucial. This is especially true when you consider just how many lenders are currently involved in the online loan space. As such, it is always advisable to use a loan comparison website such as Vivaloan.
The third-party comparison platform aims to find you the best loan deals in the market – based on your individual financial circumstances. Whether you’ve got excellent credit or your financial profile is less than ideal – Vivaloan claims to be able to find you a lender.
If you’re thinking about using Vivaloan for your financing needs, we would suggest spending the time reading our in-depth review. We’ve covered everything that you need to know about the comparison platform, such as the types of loans you can apply for, how much you can borrow, minimum eligibility requirements, and more.
Let’s start by exploring what Vivaloan is.
What is Vivaloan?
Vivaloan is an online lending platform that aims to connect you with the best financing deals. As a comparison-style website, Vivaloan is not a lender, nor is it involved in the financing process. Instead, the platform simply matches you with lenders based on your financial profile.
For example, if you’re looking to borrow $500 and your credit is less than ideal, then Vivaloan will connect you with specialist lenders that are happy to consider bad credit scores. Alternatively, if you’re in possession of excellent credit, then the platform will look to match you with lenders that specialize in very low APR rates.
In terms of the fundamentals, Vivaloan allows you to apply for a loan from just $100, all the way up to $15,000. For anything under $1,000, this will be considered as a Payday loan, meaning that you will likely need to repay the money when you next receive your salary. For everything above $1,000, this is more of a traditional installment loan and thus, you’ll get to choose a repayment period of between 12 months and 5 years.
When it comes to the competitiveness of the loan deals it finds, Vivaloan does not stipulate what APR rates are on offer. As such, the only way that you can find out how much you’ll pay on your financing agreement is to go through the online application process.
Although the platform doesn’t state whether or not a loan application will have an impact on your credit score, it is likely that it won’t. The reason that we say this is because Vivaloan uses third-party verification sources outside of the main three credit bureau agencies – including the likes of CLVerify, Teletrack, and Accurint.
So now that we’ve covered the basics, in the next section of our Vivaloan review we are going to look at eligibility.
Who is Eligible to Apply at Vivaloan?
When you first head over to the Vivaloan website, you’ll notice that the platform advertises loans for “all credit profiles”. Whether you’ve got excellent, poor, bad or even no credit history at all – it’s likely that Vivaloan will have a lender in its network to meet your requirements.
As per the Vivaloan website itself, your FICO credit score isn’t the only factor that lenders will look at when ascertaining whether or not to offer you a loan. On the contrary, lenders will also look at other metrics such as your income, employment status, history with credit, and even the state that you live in.
While we are on the discussion of location, one of the best things about using a loan comparison website like Vivaloan is that all US states are covered. Typically, direct lenders will only be able to offer loans in states that they hold a regulatory license. However, as Vivaloan merely connects you with loan providers, and thus, is not a direct lender, all US states are covered.
With that being said, not everyone will be eligible for a loan via the Vivaloan platform. For example, you will need to be at least 18 years old to be approved for a loan – more in certain states like Georgia (19 years old.) Moreover, you will also need to be a US citizen, or a permanent US resident.
It is also a requirement for you to hold a valid social security number, government issued ID (driver’s license preferred), and an active US checking account. Finally, you will also need to ensure that you have a steady income. As Vivaloan does not stipulate whether this needs to be in the form of full-time employment, it’s likely that some of its lenders will consider income in the form of benefits.
So now that we’ve covered the rather low eligibility requirements, in the next section of our review we are going to explore APR rates and fees.
Vivaloan: APR rates and fees
First and foremost, Vivaloan does not charge you to use its platform. You can apply for a loan and subsequently find out your lending rates without paying a fee, which is great. If you’re wondering how the platform actually makes money, this is in the same way as any other comparison website. Essentially, Vivaloan will charge lenders within its network a commission fee if you go on to take out a loan.
When it comes to APR rates, unfortunately Vivaloan does not provide any guidance on this. This is somewhat understandable when you consider the vast range of credit profiles that the platform caters for. For example, the rates that Vivaloan will be able to find you if you are in possession of an excellent credit rating are going to be significantly more favorable than if your credit is less than desirable.
Therefore, and as we discussed earlier, the only sure-fire way of ascertaining what rates you can get is to apply through the Vivaloan website. Although this cannot be guaranteed beyond doubt, as the platform does not report your loan application to the main three credit agencies, it’s likely the search won’t impact your FICO score.
In terms of origination fees and late payment charges, this will depend entirely on the lender that Vivaloan matches you with. When you go through the application and you are presented with your loan offers, each provider will list its respective origination fee alongside your APR rate.
In most cases, installment loans come with an origination fee of between 0.5% and 5%. If you’re applying for a loan of below $1,000, this will likely come in the form of a Payday loan. As such, you probably won’t pay an origination fee as everything is built into the APR rate.
As a final note, it is important to remember that Vivaloan has no input in the rates you are offered. While a deal might look ultra-competitive, it is still your responsibility to read through the loan agreement before making a commitment. Ultimately, if you end up taking a loan out, Vivaloan will not be able to help you if a dispute arises. Instead, you will only be able to deal with the lender directly.
What Loan Purpose Does Vivaloan Cover?
One of the great things about the highly extensive network of lenders that Vivaloan has partnered with is that you can use the funds for any purpose.
Whether its for debt consolidation, home improvements, a car purchase or general living costs, Vivaloan will accept applications for any purpose. Although the platform does ask what you need the funds for when you initially apply, this is only for data collection purposes.
Receiving Your Loan Funds
Once you decide to proceed with a loan deal that Vivaloan finds you, you will then be taken to the lender’s website. You will then need to read through the loan agreement, before digitally signing it. In the vast majority of cases, the funds will be deposited into your US checking account the very next day.
In some instances, the lender in question might need to obtain further information from you if they are unable to verify the data you provided in your application. This could include documents to support your stated income (such as a recent pay stub), or government issued ID to verify your identity. This will of course delay the funding process.
Paying Your Loan Back
As Vivaloan is not a direct lender, your loan repayment terms will ultimately depend on the loan provider you are connected with. However, the most likely outcome is that you will be required to set-up an electronic debt agreement. This means that the lender will take a fixed amount from your checking account every month until the loan is repaid. If opting for a Payday loan, then the entire amount will typically be taken when you next get paid.
In terms of how long you will have to repay your installment loan, Vivaloan states that this starts from 12 months, up to a maximum of 5 years.
What Happens if I Miss a Payment?
Once again, the terms surrounding a potential missed or late payment will be entirely dependent on the lender you obtain the loan from. In most cases, if you do end up missing a payment, this will be reported to the main three credit agencies. On top of damaged credit, the lender that Vivaloan partners you with might charge you a fee.
We would suggest reading through the loan agreement before finalizing your application. Irrespective of where the lender is based, federal financing regulations state that lenders need to be upfront about what they charge. Moreover, each state has its own laws surrounding financing charges for late payments, so it’s also worth checking this.
Customer Support and Opening Hours
The Vivaloan platform is operational 24/7, not least because the entire application process is automated. However, you do need to remember that the funding process will only be completed once the lender in question manually processes it. As such, if you apply during the weekend, you likely won’t have the funds released until Monday at the earliest.
In terms of contacting Vivaloan, this is somewhat problematic. The website does not offer any contact details, nor is this available through third-party sources, which is a bit disappointing.
On the flip side, it is once again important to remember that Vivaloan is not a lender. If you have any questions surrounding your loan application, then you will need to take this up with the lender in question. This is most likely the reason that Vivaloan does not list any contact details, as they have no involvement in the loan agreement.
Is Vivaloan Safe?
Vivaloan states that it uses an “industry standard security protocol and enhanced 256-bit data encryption technology to ensure that your information is secure while using our service.” The platform does not elaborate on what these safeguards actually are.
Nevertheless, the one thing that has been brought to our attention is that applying for a loan via the Vivaloan website could result in unwanted telephone calls. As you are required to provide your telephone number during the application process – which is subsequently passed on to all of the lenders in the Vivaloan platform, it is important to bear this in mind.
Vivaloan Review: The Bottom Line?
In summary, the Vivaloan platform operates in the same way as any other loan comparison website. The end-to-end application process takes no more than 5 minutes, and your details are not passed on to the main three credit bureaus. In terms of eligibility, Vivaloan has partnered with lenders of all shapes and sizes. As such, irrespective of your financial standing, it’s likely that Vivaloan will be able to match you with a lender.
The only slight downfall with the Vivaloan website is that there is no indication of the types of APR rates on offer. While we appreciate that this is because the platform deals with such a wide range of lenders, it would be nice if Vivaloan offered some example rates.
Nevertheless, if you are looking for financing, then your best bet is to use a comparison website like Vivaloan. You stand a much better chance of finding a highly competitive rate than you would if you searched independently.