Fiona Loans Review – Is This Loan Marketplace Worth Using?
When looking for a personal loan, it’s important to explore all the options to get the best possible deal. Fiona offers an online marketplace that allows you to browse loan offers from its lending partners.
You can compare the loan terms, interest rates, and other important information from its loan providers. Online lending marketplaces like Fiona have their advantages and disadvantages. So let’s review what Fiona offers to see how it might fit into your needs.
What is Fiona Loans?
Fiona is an online marketplace and comparison tool for primarily personal loans. It allows users to compare different lenders and financial services. You can review these potential loan offers without affecting your credit score.
If you find a direct lender that you wish to apply for a personal loan, Fiona will help take you through the application process. Fiona has several partner lenders who accept a wide range of credit scores. That makes it more likely that you’ll find a loan offer that meets your needs.
The company is based in New York City. It was launched in 2015 by Even Financial to help consumers find the right financial products. Some of its major lending partners include Prosper, SoFi, LendingClub, Rise, Avant, LightStream, and Marcus by Goldman Sachs.
What does Fiona Loans offer?
Fiona has expanded out to offer many different financial products through its partners.
These products include personal loans, student loan refinance, credit cards, savings, mortgage refinance, and more. Below we will discuss all the options you can find on Fiona Loans’ platform.
Personal Loans
Fiona is best known for being a comparison tool for personal loans. These unsecured loans can be used for a variety of reasons, like paying off credit card debt, covering unexpected expenses, and home improvement projects. To qualify for Fiona’s loans, you must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old.
To start looking at personal loan options, enter your credit rating, zip code, loan purpose, and loan amount. Fiona will provide you with personal loan offers that include:
- Name of the lender
- Type of interest rate and range (if applicable)
- Estimated monthly payment
- Loan term
Fiona works with many different lenders and financial institutions. Therefore the interest rate, repayment terms, and loan amounts will vary. Here is a little bit about what you could expect:
- Loan amounts of up to $250,000
- Loan terms from 6-144 months
- APR from 3.99%
- A minimum credit score of 600
- The origination fees will vary by lender
Since Fiona is not a direct lender, the loan application process will be different for each lender. Once you’ve decided to apply for a personal loan with a specific lender, you’ll be redirected to that lender’s website to complete your application.
Applying will generally require a hard credit pull. That means your credit score will drop a few points.
To complete an application, you will need to provide personal information like your name, date of birth, Social Security number, home address, and email address. Employment history, annual income, and recurring expenses like mortgage/rent are also likely to be asked.
Other Loans
You can also find student loan refinancing offers on Fiona’s platform. To start, simply put in how much money you wish to refinance, and Fiona will find offers that match your credit score and location. Fiona will also estimate what your monthly payments would like for each offer.
Other loan products you can find on Fiona include auto refinancing, mortgages, and mortgage refinancing loans.
Insurance
If you’re in the market for insurance, you can find auto and life insurance products on Fiona. Receive a free quote from digital life insurance lenders like Principal, Prudential, AIG, and US Life. For auto insurance quotes, you’ll be redirected to Jerry, a partner of Fiona.
Credit Cards
Fiona also works with credit card issuers to match people with personalized credit card offers. Simply answer a few questions to get matched with credit cards. Fiona allows you to compare different offers without affecting your credit score.
You’ll likely have to run a hard credit pull if you apply for a credit card through Fiona. Personal information like your name, home address, and income will likely be asked during the application process.
Savings Accounts
When looking at savings accounts, you want the account that offers the highest APY. The rate will vary by the financial institution, and you can sort the results by the one that offers the highest.
To find the top high-yield savings accounts, enter your zip code, the amount you’d like to deposit, and the type of product (online savings, money market, cash management, individual retirement, or high-interest checking).
Who is Fiona Loans best for?
Fiona Loans is great for people that want the ease of comparing multiple loans quickly and easily. You only have to enter information like the loan amount and your credit score range to find possible loan offers. If you want to use the internet to find a loan, Fiona’s marketplace is a great tool.
The company has partnerships with a network of lenders so people of various credit scores, even those with poor credit, might qualify. Still, the tool is probably best for those with at least a 600 score.
If you’re looking for a loan for debt consolidation, credit card refinancing, making a big purchase, or a home improvement project, Fiona is a valuable tool. You can find your desired loan for the repayment terms and rate that’s best for you.
Fiona Loans Pros and Cons
Pro: Ability to search for loans based on needs and requirements
You can find Fiona’s loans that you match with on their platform. Fiona connects you with lending partners based on your credit scores, locations, and loan amount. You’re not spending as much time trying to find the lender, browsing competitor websites, and applying for personal loans that don’t fit your criteria.
Pro: Easy to use website
Fiona’s easy-to-navigate website helps you compare lenders fast. They make the entire process simple find reputable lenders to lend money.
Pro: Checking personal loan options won’t affect credit score
To compare loan offers, you don’t have to worry about your credit score taking a ding. There is a soft pull to check the offers by its partners. Now, if you decide to take up a personal loan offer and apply, the lender is more than likely going to do a credit check.
Pro: Don’t need excellent credit to find a Fiona loan
Fiona’s lending partners have a diverse range of requirements. That means there is a good chance there is a lender that would be willing to offer a loan even if you don’t have the best credit score.
Pro: Free to use
Fiona’s platform is completely free for you to use. Review and compare multiple lenders at no cost.
Pro: Can find other financial products
Many online marketplaces focus on offering one financial product. Fiona focuses on personal loans, but they have a multitude of other products you can find. Student loan refinancing, auto loans (refinancing), mortgage loans, and insurance are some of the available options. You can even use it to find and open up a savings account.
Con: Doesn’t offer personal loans directly
Fiona doesn’t have its loan product. It works with other lenders to offer these loans.
Con: No guarantee you will qualify for a loan
Fiona does a soft credit pull to help match you with possible lenders. But it doesn’t mean that you’ll qualify for loan offers. There are other requirements that lenders look at aside from your credit score. The only way to know for sure is to apply with the lender directly.
Con: Comparison tool only for its lending partners
Fiona’s loan offerings are limited to its partner network. Therefore you would need additional research to find the most competitive rates.
Con: Might have to pay origination fees
Fiona doesn’t charge a fee, but if you decide to borrow money from a lender, you might have to pay fees. Origination fees, late fees, and processing fees are among the potential costs.
Con: Receiving telemarketing calls
Fiona shares your information with its lender network. So you are likely to receive spam calls and emails for a while. Even if you’ve taken out a loan with someone else, other lenders may still keep calling.
FAQ: Fiona Loans Review
Does Fiona Loans have customer support?
Fiona Loan’s customer support can help you if you are having trouble finding the right loan. You can reach out to them via email at help@hifiona.com, by phone at 800-614-7505, or 50 West 23rd Street, Suite 700, New York, NY 10010.
There is also a web form that you can send them a message. Fiona’s customer service team will get back to you within 24-48 hours. You can use Fiona’s FAQ page to find general help or for questions like “What is a personal loan.”
Since its platform is a marketplace, you won’t receive support after your loan is closed. You must contact your lender at that point.
How much does Fiona Loans cost?
Fiona doesn’t charge any fees to use its platform. However, you do need to be aware that some lenders may charge an origination fee if you take out a loan.
Does Fiona Loans offer anything other than personal loans?
Fiona offers more than just personal loans. Find your next savings account, credit card, or mortgage using its marketplace. They also have a ton of educational content to learn more about specific loan products or other financial topics like how credit scores work.
Is Fiona Loans easy to use?
Using Fiona’s platform is super easy. All you have to do is enter your loan amount, loan purpose, credit score, and some other information to find possible lenders. You can use Fiona in a matter of minutes to compare loan offers.
Bottom Line: Should you use Fiona Loans?
You can use Fiona Loans to find a personal loan, savings account, credit card, or other financial products/services. They can find you loans based on your loan purpose, whether it’s debt consolidation or paying off credit card debt. Even if you have poor credit, you might find a possible loan on its platform. Just keep in mind that you might have to do some extra research to check if there is a lender that might offer a more favorable rate/terms outside of its network.