A personal loan is a simple and flexible way to borrow money for a wide range of everyday wants and needs. With a personal loan, you receive a lump sum of money upfront and repay it over an agreed period through regular, fixed payments, making it easier to plan your budget and stay in control of your finances.
When you apply for a personal loan, the lender assesses your financial situation to determine how much you can borrow and the interest rate that applies. If approved, the funds are typically paid into your bank account. If part of your loan is for debt consolidation, we may send those amounts directly to your creditors with the remaining balance paid to you. You then repay the loan over a set term through weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments.
At Jacaranda Finance, our personal loans come with fixed interest rates. This means your repayments stay the same for the life of the loan, helping you budget with confidence and avoid unexpected changes.
Before borrowing, it's important to understand the different types of personal loans so that you can choose the option for your needs and financial situation. While all personal loans involve borrowing a lump sum and repaying it over time, the structure and features can vary.
One of the main differences between personal loans is whether they’re secured or unsecured.
A secured personal loan is a loan that uses an asset – usually a vehicle – as security. When you apply for a secured personal loan, the lender assesses both your current financial situation and the value of the asset being used as security. Because the loan is being backed by collateral (the asset you’ve provided), the lender’s risk is reduced. In return, a secured personal loan could come with lower interest rates, higher borrowing limits, longer loan terms or more flexible approval criteria compared to unsecured loans.
A secured personal loan could offer benefits such as:
An unsecured personal loan is a type of loan that lets you borrow money without using an asset as security. Similarly to a secured personal loan, approval for an unsecured personal loan is based on a number of factors such as your income, expenses, credit history and overall financial situation. Because unsecured loans don’t have an asset backing them, lenders take on more risk. For this reason, an unsecured personal loan could have a higher interest rate than a secured personal loan.
An unsecured personal loan could offer benefits such as:
One of the biggest advantages of a personal loan is flexibility. Some of the most common reasons our customers give for wanting a personal loan are:
Before applying for a personal loan, it’s recommended that you check if you qualify. This step uses a soft credit check, which means it won’t affect your credit score. It could help you understand whether a personal loan may be available to you before proceeding with an application.
When you check your eligibility or go to apply, you’ll be asked to select how much you’d like to borrow and your preferred loan term. It’s important to understand at this stage the type of loan you are applying for and whether it will have fixed or variable interest rates. At Jacaranda Finance, all of our loans offer fixed interest rates and repayments.
During the application process, you will be asked to provide details such as:
This information helps lenders to assess whether the loan is affordable and suitable for you.
Once your application has been submitted, it will undergo an assessment. The assessment looks at a variety of factors including:
If your application is approved, you’ll receive a personalised loan offer outlining your interest rate, repayment amount, loan term and any applicable fees. You can review everything online before deciding whether to accept. Once you accept your loan offer, your funds will typically be paid into your bank account. If part of your loan is for debt consolidation, we may send those amounts directly to your creditors with the remaining balance paid to you.
To learn more about our application process, read our guide: How to Apply for a Loan.
When you apply for a personal loan, your application is assessed to make sure the loan is affordable, suitable and responsible for your circumstances. The goal of assessing your application is to ensure repayments can fit comfortably into your budget. During an assessment, a lender will review important information such as bank statements, your credit report and existing financial commitments.
Read More: Visit our guide on How to Apply for a Loan or our Loan Eligibility FAQ.
Interest rates are personalised and reflect risk, affordability and responsible lending requirements. Your interest rate is determined by a range of factors that are reviewed when your loan application is assessed.
Before you apply for a loan, it’s important to review your budget and understand what you can comfortably afford. Our loan repayment calculator can help, by allowing you to estimate your repayments before you apply.
$3,000 - $25,000
