Pros
- APRs as low as 4.99%
- Loans up to $35,000
- 0% origination fee
- $0 late fee
- High customer satisfaction
Cons
- 700+ credit score requirement
- No joint applications
- Can only apply if invited
Barclays Personal Loan Review Summary
Barclays personal loans offer one of the cheapest minimum APRs on the market, at 4.99%, according to third-party sources. Their maximum APR of 20.99% is lower than what many other lenders offer, too. The one downside is that these low rates aren’t available to everyone. Though Barclays doesn’t disclose a minimum credit score requirement, the consensus from third-party sources is that you will generally need a 700+ score. In addition, you can currently only apply for a Barclays personal loan if the company invites you to do so.
Another drawback to Barclays personal loans is that they don’t allow joint applications. But other than that, everything else is very desirable. For example, there aren’t any fees whatsoever, not even late fees. Below you can see how WalletHub’s editors rate Barclays personal loans in our three major categories: Terms, Requirements & Application, and Reviews & Transparency. You’ll also see how Barclays loans compare to other lenders’ offers.
Barclays Bank US Personal Loan Terms
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APRs | 4.99% - 20.99% |
Loan Amount | $5,000 - $35,000 |
Loan Terms | 36 - 60 months |
Origination Fee | 0% |
Prepayment Fee | $0 |
Late Fee | $0 |
Minimum Credit Score | Good* |
Minimum Income | Not disclosed |
Loan Purpose | Debt Consolidation, Big Purchase, Other |
Time to Receive Loan Money | A few business days |
Other Requirements |
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Barclays Bank Personal Loan Rates, Fees & Other Terms
Category Rating: 20% (1 out of 5)
- APR: Barclays Bank personal loan rates start very low, at 4.99%, and only go as high as 20.99%,, according to third-party sources. Where a customer’s APR falls within that range depends on their credit, income, debts and a number of other factors. Barclays’ maximum APR is a lot lower than the 25% - 36% caps that many other lenders use. Your Barclays personal loan APR will always be fixed, so it will not change over the years.
- Origination fee: The Barclays personal loan origination fee is 0%.
- Loan sizes and payoff periods: Barclays personal loans range from $5,000 - $35,000, with payoff periods of 36 - 60 months.
Barclays loses points in this category for not disclosing the loan's APRs, amount, or payoff period.
Barclays Personal Loan Requirements & Application Info
Category Rating: 50% (2.5 out of 5)
- Credit score: Barclays does not explicitly state requirements for their personal loans. However, third-party sources put the Barclays personal loan credit score requirement at around 700. That’s high, considering most other lenders’ minimum credit score requirements are in the 600-680 range.
- Citizenship: You have to be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.
- Identification: You must have a Social Security number.
- Pre-qualification: Barclays allows people to prequalify for personal loans on their website, but only people who have received an invitation code from Barclays. Checking your rates will not affect your credit score, but actually applying for a loan will
- Ways to apply: The only way to apply for a Barclays personal loan is online.
- Joint loans: You cannot file a joint application; you can only apply as an individual.
Barclays loses points in this category for their loans’ limited availability, as well as the fact that you can’t apply jointly with another person or substitute an ITIN or passport for an SSN.
Barclays Personal Loan Reviews & Transparency
Category Rating: 46% (2.3 out of 5)
- Better Business Bureau: Barclays Bank has been accredited with the BBB since 2001. They receive a perfect A+ score from the bureau.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Barclays Bank Delaware, the U.S. division of Barclays, has around 57 complaints about personal loans filed against them by consumers. Some of the complaints include seeing an unauthorized credit inquiry and being improperly charged a late fee. Barclays has a good track record of providing “timely” responses to the complaints.
- WalletHub: Barclays’ average user rating is 3.7/5, with over 22,000 reviews submitted.
- Transparency: Barclays lacks transparency regarding its personal loan terms, as loans are currently not available to everyone. Additionally, it does not clearly disclose the minimum credit score or income requirements.
Barclays Bank has a fantastic reputation overall, both from their own customers and from agencies that monitor lenders like the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While their transparency is decent, there is room for improvement.
Summary: Barclays Personal Loan Scores by Review Category
Category | Score |
---|---|
Rates, Fees & Other Terms | 1/5 |
Requirements & Application Info | 2.5/5 |
Reviews & Transparency | 2.3/5 |
OVERALL | 5.8/15 |
Other Key Things to Know
- Age: You must be at least 18 years old to qualify for a Barclays personal loan.
- Invitation: Right now, Barclays personal loan applications are invitation-only.
- Late Fee: the late fee is $0. Barclays will report late payments to the credit bureaus, which will damage your credit score.
- Prepayment Fee: The prepayment fee is $0.
Barclays Personal Loan vs. Popular Competitors
Info | Barclays | SoFi® | Discover |
---|---|---|---|
Reviews | |||
APRs | 4.99% - 20.99% | 8.99% - 35.49% Fixed APR with all discounts | 7.99% - 24.99% |
Loan Amounts | $5,000 - $35,000 | $5,000 - $100,000 | $2,500 - $40,000 |
Loan Terms | 36 - 60 months | 24 - 84 months | 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months |
Minimum Credit Score | Good* | Fair* | Fair* |
Winner | ![]() |
**SoFi Personal Loan Disclosure
Fixed rates from 8.99% APR to 35.49% APR. APR reflects the 0.25% autopay discount and a 0.25% direct deposit discount.
SoFi Platform personal loans are made either by SoFi Bank, N.A. or , Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. SoFi may receive compensation if you take out a loan originated by Cross River Bank. These rate ranges are current as of 04/24/25 and are subject to change without notice. Not all rates and amounts available in all states. See SoFi Personal Loan eligibility details at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/#eligibility-personal. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including evaluation of your credit worthiness, income, and other factors.
Loan amounts range from $5,000–$100,000. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 9.99% of your loan amount for Cross River Bank originated loans which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive and for SoFi Bank originated loans have an origination fee of 0%-7%, will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive.
Autopay: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.
Direct Deposit Discount: To be eligible to receive an additional (0.25%) interest rate reduction on your Personal Loan (your “Loan”), you must set up Direct deposit with a SoFi Checking and Savings account offered by SoFi Bank, N.A., or enroll in SoFi Plus by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee, all within 30 days of the funding of your Loan. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have enabled Direct Deposit to an eligible Direct Deposit Account in accordance with SoFi’s reasonable procedures and requirements to be determined at SoFi’s sole discretion, or during periods in which SoFi successfully receives payment of the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. This discount will be lost during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off Direct Deposit to your Checking and Savings account or in which you have not paid for the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. You are not required to enroll in Direct Deposit or to pay the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee to receive a Loan.
Direct Pay: Terms and conditions apply. Offer good for personal loan customers with credit cards and personal loans in their name only and subject to lender approval. To receive the offer, you must: (1) register and/or apply through this landing page; (2) complete a loan application with SoFi within 90 days of your application submit date; (3) meet SoFi’s underwriting criteria; (4) apply 50% or more of your loan proceeds directly to your lenders/creditors. Once conditions are met and the loan has been disbursed, the interest rate shown in the Final Disclosure Statement will include an additional 0.25% rate discount. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate the Direct Pay Rate Discount Program to unenrolled participants at any time with or without notice. It takes about 3 business days for your creditor/lender to receive payment after your loan is signed. You will be responsible for making all required payments to avoid credit card and other loan fees.
To check the rates and terms you may qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.
Methodology
In order to provide the most accurate review of Barclays personal loans, WalletHub used 17 key metrics grouped into three overall sections: Terms, Requirements & Application, and Reviews & Transparency. We rated each section on a scale of 0 to 5, with 5 being the best, and then averaged the scores of the three sections to produce an overall rating for the loan.
- The “Terms” section includes information about how expensive the loan is, including rates and fees. It also takes into consideration how much consumers can borrow and how quickly they must pay it back. For companies where APR and fee ranges differ greatly by state, we used data from the most populous state serviced by the company. Terms on Barclays personal loans do not fluctuate significantly by state, however.
- The “Requirements & Application” section examines how easy it is to apply for a loan and how long it takes to receive the money. It also looks at exactly who is eligible to apply.
- The “Reviews & Transparency” section measures the loan provider’s reputation as well as how clearly the lender discloses its terms and requirements. This takes into account user reviews and information from watchdog organizations.
The average of these three scores reflects how close a loan offer is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star loan. For more information, please read WalletHub’s full methodology.
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