Unsecured loans – benefits of unsecured loans

Unsecured loans – a sub-type of personal loans – are availed without pledging something valuable against the loan amount. Market study confirms that more and more people are opting for unsecured loans over other credit options like payment cards. So, what are the reasons behind its growing appeal?

Payment cards – Credit Cards/Cash Cards/Store Cards

Payment cards are popular because they are easy to get and convenient to use. Due to attractive offers and benefits from numerous card companies and multi-nationals, most of us have got into the habit of keeping multiple cards.

However, payment cards have two major drawbacks that have remained ignored for years – very high interest rates and restricted amount, which in most cases leads to multiple cards and multiple high interest card debts.

Unsecured loans– Less expensive than payment cards

From the above-mentioned comparison of advantages and disadvantages, it is clear that payment cards are very expensive. Hence, more and more people are switching to unsecured credit for small and urgent monetary requirements.

Unsecured personal loans are the best alternative for people who are unwilling to get into property related legalities and risk their property for a small amount (homeowners and property owners), and the only alternative for people who do not own any valuable asset to pledge (tenants and students).

The ‘pros’ of availing unsecured loans are: no collateral, credit for all (tenants, homeowners, property owners and students as well), no time-consuming property evaluation procedure, less paperwork, quick loan approval and no repossession threat (in case the borrower fails to payback).

The ‘cons’ of availing unsecured loans are: limited credit range (typically between £500 and 25,000), high interest rates (typically between 7.9% and 41%), fixed rate plan and payback option, and preset loan terms and conditions.

Please note: To avail the benefits of unsecured personal loans, the applicant must be a UK resident and over 18 years of age. Also, the approval of the loan amount is subject to the lender’s credit policy, and in proportion to the borrower’s credit history and debt to income ratio (DTI = Debts/Income).