MoneyGeek’s Take: Wells Fargo Personal Loan Review

A Wells Fargo personal loan is a solid choice for borrowers with fair, good or excellent credit scores who want to consolidate high interest debt, pay for expenses like car repairs or home improvement, or finance a large purchase. It has relatively lower interest rates than other lenders and does not charge origination, closing or prepayment fees. However, you must have a Wells Fargo account to get a personal loan — opening, for example, a checking or savings account before applying should make you eligible.

Wells Fargo’s personal loans are perfect for existing account holders with fair, good or excellent credit. They can view their interest rate online through a soft inquiry of their credit score before completing the application and access an interest rate discount if they enroll in autopay.

A Wells Fargo personal loan can range from $3,000 to $100,000, payable for up to 84 months, making the terms very flexible if you need to keep monthly payments low. Wells Fargo is also good for borrowers who want to avoid origination and prepayment fees. Funding is also quick — often within two days.

A potential downside is Wells Fargo requires you to have an account to apply for a personal loan.

If you’re not interested in opening a checking account with Wells Fargo, it’s not the lender for your personal loan. Plus, you don’t get an interest rate discount unless you have a specific type of checking account with Wells Fargo and schedule automatic payments from it. Other lenders provide a discount regardless of what bank you use to make automatic payments.

Additionally, consumers who want high-quality service have to look elsewhere when getting a personal loan since Wells Fargo’s customer support has mixed reviews. It also requires a minimum loan amount of $3,000, which may be more than some borrowers need.

MoneyGeek broke down the necessary steps when applying for a Wells Fargo personal loan. Remember, this process is only available to existing account holders. If you’re not a current customer, you must open an account first at a Wells Fargo branch.

Wells Fargo can decline your personal loan application despite your submission of all the necessary documents and requirements. A low credit score, insufficient income, high debt-to-income ratio and incomplete paperwork are just some of the reasons why they deny applications.

Don’t be disheartened if that happens. You can reach out to Wells Fargo to know why it rejected your personal loan and understand the reasoning. It’s advisable to do this since the issue can come up again if you apply with a different lender. Plus, you may be able to find a solution with Wells Fargo that makes your loan approved in the end. For example, you could lower your loan amount.

If Wells Fargo is not willing to change its mind, MoneyGeek recommends that you improve your creditworthiness or address the issue for a denial from Wells Fargo before getting a loan from another lender. That could mean paying off some of your existing debts or finding a way to increase your income. You can also consider getting a joint loan or finding a lender that allows a co-signer on your application to increase your chances of approval.

MoneyGeek’s Wells Fargo personal loan review studied the lender’s pros and cons for various borrower profiles. But, your personal and financial situation determine the best lender for your needs. We answered some frequently asked questions below to help you further understand Wells Fargo’s personal loans.