4 personal loan lenders that accept applicants with credit scores that are 740 and lower

Financial experts typically recommend that people begin building positive credit habits in order to work their way up to a good or excellent credit score. That's because there are many advantages to having a credit score that sits in the "good" range (670–739). For one, a high credit score can help you get approved for financial products — like personal loans — with a lower interest rate. And keep in mind that lower interest rates allow you to save more money over the life of a loan.

Generally, the higher your credit score the lower your interest rate will be when you get approved for a personal loan. So if you're still working your way up toward an excellent credit score but still need funding to cover large expenses like a home renovation or surprise medical bill, there are some personal loan lenders you might want to consider.

Below, Select rounded up four of the best personal loan lenders that accept applicants who have credit scores in the "good" range (no higher than 740). We looked at fees, interest rates and flexible repayment options for different credit scores. (You can read more about our methodology below.)

• Best overall: LightStream Personal Loans
• Best for debt consolidation: Happy Money
• Best for larger amounts: SoFi Personal Loans
• Best for quick approval: Discover Personal Loans

As you begin to search for a personal loan, it can be helpful to compare several different offers to find the best interest rate and payment terms for your needs. This comparison tool asks you 16 questions, including your annual income, date of birth and Social Security number in order for Even Financial to determine the top offers for you. The service is free, secure and does not affect your credit score.

Who's this for? LightStream offers low-interest loans with flexible terms for people with good credit or higher. The lender even offers a 0.50% APR discount for using Autopay to make your monthly loan payments. If you're applying for a personal loan with a credit score that falls in the "good" range (670-739), you stand a solid chance of getting approved for low interest rate from LightStream but, of course, the higher your credit score the lower your interest rate will be.

You can use a LightStream personal loan for just about anything except for funding higher education and small businesses; home renovations, debt consolidation, medical expenses and wedding expenses, to name a few, are all fair game.

You can generally receive your funds on the same day if you apply on a banking business day, your application is approved and you electronically sign your loan agreement and verify your direct deposit banking account information by 2:30 p.m. ET. But if you can't make this deadline, you should be able to receive your funds the next business day.

Another pro to using this lender is that LightStream doesn't charge any origination, administration or early payoff fees, and repayment terms range from 24 to 144 months.

Who's this for?  A Happy Money personal loan is a good choice if you're looking to consolidate your credit card debt and pay it down over time at a lower interest rate.

Borrowers can take out loan amounts between $5,000 and $40,000, and the loan terms range from 24 to 60 months. There's a soft inquiry tool on its website, which allows you to look at possible loan options based on your credit report without impacting your credit score.

Happy Money doesn't charge early payoff penalties if you decide to pay off your debt faster than you initially intended, but there is an origination fee of up to 5.5% based on your credit score and application. The higher your score, the lower your origination fee and interest rates are likely to be.

Unlike some lenders, Happy Money allows you to deposit the money you borrow into your linked bank account or send it directly to your creditors. Another perk you get from taking out a Happy Money loan is access to various financial literacy tools, such as free FICO score updates, a team that performs quarterly check-ins with you during your first year of working with Happy Money and tools to help members improve their relationship with money through personality, stress and cash flow assessments.

Who's this for? SoFi allows potential borrowers to apply for as little as $5,000 and as much as $100,000, making it a very solid choice if you think you'll need to borrow much higher amounts of money for larger expenses.

SoFi allows you to choose between variable or fixed APR, whereas most other personal loans come with a fixed interest rate. Variable rates can go up and down over the lifetime of your loan, which means you could potentially save if the APR goes down (but it's important to remember that the APR can also go up). However, fixed rates guarantee you'll be charged the same interest rate for the duration of the loan's term, which makes it easier to budget for repayment. Just keep in mind that while SoFi accepts applicants with a "good" credit score, the higher your credit score the more likely you are to receive a lower interest rate.

Like many other lenders, SoFi also offers a 0.25% discount on your APR for signing up for AutoPay and doesn't charge any late fees or prepayment penalties. And once you apply for and get approved for a SoFi personal loan, your funds should generally be available within a few days of signing your agreement.

Who's this for? Discover Personal Loans offer same-day approval and can disburse your funds as early as the next business day as long as your application was submitted without any errors and the loan was funded on a weekday (otherwise, your funds will take no later than a week to be disbursed). This makes it a very appealing lender for when you really need the money in a pinch for that emergency home fix or car repair.

While there are no origination fees, Discover does charge a late fee of $39 if you fail to repay your loan on time each month. This lender also doesn't charge a prepayment penalty for paying off your loan before the term ends. Plus, Discover Personal Loans accepts applicants with good credit.

If you're getting a debt consolidation loan, Discover can pay your creditors directly. Once you're approved for and accept your personal loan, you can link the credit card accounts so Discover will send the money directly. You just need to provide information such as account numbers, amount you'd like paid and payment address information.

To determine which personal loans are the best, Select analyzed dozens of U.S. personal loans offered by both online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions, that come with no origination or signup fees, fixed-rate APRs and flexible loan amounts and terms to suit an array of financing needs.

When narrowing down and ranking the best personal loans, we focused on the following features:

• No origination or signup fee: None of the lenders on our best-of list charge borrowers an upfront fee for processing your loan.
• Fixed-rate APR: Variable rates can go up and down over the lifetime of your loan. With a fixed rate APR, you lock in an interest rate for the duration of the loan's term, which means your monthly payment won't vary, making your budget easier to plan.
• Flexible minimum and maximum loan amounts/terms: Each lender provides a variety of financing options that you can customize based on your monthly budget and how long you need to pay back your loan.
• No early payoff penalties: The lenders on our list do not charge borrowers for paying off loans early.
• Streamlined application process: We considered whether lenders offered same-day approval decisions and a fast online application process. 
• Customer support: Every loan on our list provides customer service available via telephone, email or secure online messaging. We also opted for lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to help you educate yourself about the personal loan process and your finances.
• Fund disbursement: The loans on our list deliver funds promptly through either electronic wire transfer to your checking account or in the form of a paper check. Some lenders (which we noted) offer the ability to pay your creditors directly.
• Autopay discounts: We noted the lenders that reward you for enrolling in autopay by lowering your APR by 0.25% to 0.5%.
• Creditor payment limits and loan sizes: The above lenders provide loans in an array of sizes, from $500 to $100,000. Each lender advertises its respective payment limits and loan sizes, and completing a preapproval process can give you an idea of what your interest rate and monthly payment would be for such an amount.

After reviewing the above features, we sorted our recommendations by best for overall financing needs, debt consolidation and refinancing, small loans and next-day funding.

Note that the rates and fee structures advertised for personal loans are subject to fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. However, once you accept your loan agreement, a fixed-rate APR will guarantee interest rate and monthly payment will remain consistent throughout the entire term of the loan. Your APR, monthly payment and loan amount depend on your credit history and creditworthiness. To take out a loan, lenders will conduct a hard credit inquiry and request a full application, which could require proof of income, identity verification, proof of address and more. 

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