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Payoff

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LAST UPDATED: April 7th, 2021

Founded in 2009, Payoff's initial business model incorporated gamification, behavioral science, and social media to help people manage and pay down credit card debt. Pivoting in 2014, Payoff entered the lending space to help people eliminate high-interest credit card balances.

The company offers the Payoff Loan, a specialized loan product which can only be used for credit card debt consolidation, helping borrowers secure their financial wellness by simplifying credit card payments into one monthly payment.

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Payoff Rates & Terms

  • APR range — 5.99–24.99%
  • Loan amounts — $5,000–$40,000
  • Loan terms — 2–5 years
  • Minimum credit score requirement: 640

Continue reading for a complete review of this company, as well as Payoff reviews from real customers.

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The Good

  • Low Maximum Interest Rate
  • No Common Industry Fees
  • Payoff Member Advocates
  • Helpful Educational Tools

Low Maximum Interest Rate

Generally, personal loan lenders offer interest rates ranging up to 35.99 percent. Payoff offers fixed interest rates ranging from 5.99 to 24.99 percent. This range is average for the industry, but Payoff's maximum interest rate is much lower than many competing lenders. 

Because Payoff's maximum rate is quite low, it may be difficult to qualify for a Payoff loan, especially if you have less-than-perfect credit.

No Common Industry Fees

Payoff does not charge the following fees, many of which are common in the personal loan industry:

  • Application fee
  • Extra payment or prepayment penalty fee
  • Late fee
  • Check processing fee
  • Returned check fee
  • Annual fee

While the company doesn't charge these fees, Payoff does charge an origination fee and non-sufficient funds fee.

Payoff Member Advocates

Everyone with an approved application will also be connected with a Payoff member advocate. Member advocates are available to guide people through their Payoff journey — they inquire about your goals, dreams, and challenges so they can better help you reach success — and they will check in with you quarterly by phone to see if you have any questions and/or concerns about your Payoff personal loan.

Helpful Educational Tools

In addition to providing a credit card debt consolidation loan product, Payoff provides customers with a variety of educational tools so that they can stay informed and build habits that will increase their financial health.

  • Payoff Lift — Payoff Lift is a 12-step financial education program that provides tools and training to help people get out of debt faster while also improving their credit. It includes tips for saving, budgeting, and even has called scripts to help people negotiate with creditors for lower rates.
  • Payoff Lift Blog — The Payoff Lift Blog offers a variety of finance-related articles on topics ranging from building an emergency fund to investing in the stock market.
  • Payoff Financial Personality Quiz — The Payoff Financial Personality Quiz (FPQ), which was developed by Dr. Galen Buckwalter, former Chief Scientist at eHarmony, helps you understand your money habits and financial mindset based on your responses to a brief assessment.

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The Bad

  • Can Only be Used to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
  • Origination and Non-Sufficient Funds Fee
  • High Minimum Credit Score Requirement
  • No Joint Applications
  • Limited State Availability
  • Lengthy Approval/Disbursement Time

Can Only be Used to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

A Payoff personal loan can only be used for credit card debt consolidation. If you need a personal loan for any other reason of expense, you will need to look into other personal loan lender options.

Origination and Non-Sufficient Funds Fee

Payoff does not charge a formal closing fee, which is a portion of the loan amount deducted from the total loan amount before disbursement. Instead, Payoff combines the origination fee, closing fee, and the maintenance fee into one, comprehensive origination fee.

The origination fee covers all services and constitutes the difference between the interest rate and the effective APR. It ranges between 0 and 5 percent, dependent on the request and length of the loan.

Payoff also charges a $15 returned payment fee in the event that there isn't enough money in the customer's account to make the payment.

If you would like to avoid even these fees, there are some personal loan lenders that don't charge an origination fee or non-sufficient funds fee.

High Minimum Credit Score Requirement

To be eligible for a Payoff loan, you must have a credit score of at least 640. This is a much higher requirement than you might see with other lenders — many lenders have minimum credit score requirements as low as 600, or even 580. 

However, because Payoff specializes in credit card debt consolidation, this high requirement makes sense because they could be taking a larger financial risk on borrowers. Therefore, if you would like to qualify for a Payoff loan, you should ensure that your current credit score is in good standing (a score of at least 700 is always good to aim for), and that you have a good credit history, demonstrating to Payoff that you are a reliable borrower that can and will be able to make your payments.

No Joint Applications

Payoff does not accept joint applications or cosigners. 

Limited State Availability

Payoff's products and services are not available in the following states:

  • Massachusetts
  • Mississippi
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • West Virginia

Lengthy Approval/Disbursement Time

Approval of loan applications and funding availability is another area where Payoff falls short when compared to its competition. Payoff has a policy stating that personal loan applications will be either approved or rejected within two to three business days from the time they were submitted. Although this is not an extremely long time, it is somewhat slow considering that most other companies in the industry provide same day approval to their customers.

In total, it can take up to five business days for customers to receive funds, which is a long time to wait for customers who are in need of immediate funding. However, as Payoff states, its mission and purpose is not to provide customers with emergency funds but instead to be a solution for high-interest credit card debt. 

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The Bottom Line

If you are trying to pay down credit card debt, Payoff could be the perfect choice for you. The company specializes in credit card debt consolidation loans and strives to streamline the process with an automatic transfer into your bank account (once approved and verified). Payoff provides plenty of resources to educate customers on how to get out of credit card debt, build credit, and prepare to build future wealth.

With competitive interest rates, you can trust Payoff to offer you a fair loan for your needs. You will be limited by loan amount should you need to borrow more than $40,000. You will also need to have a credit score of at least 640 to qualify for a Payoff loan. With all that being said, for customers who meet the necessary requirements, Payoff is a great company to work with.

Payoff offers a member experience team that empowers and aligns with customers so they can reach success and overall financial wellness. The company is focused on helping you become free of credit card debt. If you meet the requirements, check out Payoff to refinance your high-interest credit cards. 

If you have consolidated your credit card debt with this personal loan company, please tell us about your experience by leaving a Payoff review.

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BrianT Deerfield Beach, FL

This company is a joke! They waste your time take for ever to process then told me they couldn't validate my income. I gave them a BANK STATEMENT! It was right there in black and white! Then when I call and try to tell them they must have made a mistake they told me there isn't anything they can do about it! Decision has been made! If the reason they gave was completely incorrect you would THINK they would want to make it right! But no, they acted as if they just didn't care. It took them 10 DAYS to do this and then the ONLY reason for a denial was a flat out lie. Not sure how they are in business. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time and effort sending them all your info... They do great advertising but is all BS.

4 years ago

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Abdelrahman Rashwan Lewisville, NC

Buyer beware, most likely a scam, submitted all that they requested including income tax return, received an e-mail to call them which I did, no live person to answer the phone, waited 25 minutes then hang up, their so called "advocate" sent me an e-mail (which appeared to be system generated) full of lies about how sorry he was claiming that he had tried to call me earlier which was a lie and asked me to call or log into their website to chat which was another lie since their web site doesn't have a chat link. I cancelled my loan application.

3 years ago