Where can you get a personal loan for just $500 or $1,000?

Summary

For $500, the only lender in this comparison that goes that low is a credit union. The big names start higher: Upgrade's smallest loan is $1,000, Discover's is $2,500, and Wells Fargo's is $3,000. Navy Federal lends from $250, and federal credit unions can offer payday alternative loans (PALs) of $200 to $1,000 at no more than 28% interest with an application fee capped at $20.

The minimum decides who's left

If you need $700, Upgrade, Discover, and Wells Fargo are out before you compare a single rate. Of the lenders checked here, only Navy Federal goes below $1,000. Upgrade starts at exactly $1,000, Discover at $2,500, and Wells Fargo at $3,000 (and only for customers of at least 12 months).

A small loan also leaves less room for a fee. Upgrade deducts an origination fee of 1.85% to 9.99% from the proceeds. On its $1,000 minimum, the top fee is $99.90, so $900.10 reaches your account while you repay the full $1,000. At the low end, $18.50 comes off and $981.50 arrives. Navy Federal charges no application or origination fee, and Discover says it charges no fees of any kind, so the amount you borrow is the amount you get.

How PALs work

Federal credit unions can make PALs under NCUA rules. They may charge 1,000 basis points above the regular ceiling, which puts them at up to 28% while the ceiling is 18%, and in exchange the loans come with tight limits. There are two versions.

PAL I:

$200 to $1,000, repaid over one to six months.
You must have been a member for at least one month.

PAL II:

Up to $2,000, repaid over one to 12 months.
No one-month membership wait in the rule, and no overdraft or NSF fees tied to the loan.

Both versions share the rest. The application fee has to reflect the actual cost of processing and can't exceed $20. The loan must be fully amortizing, rollovers are banned, and a credit union can have only one PAL out to you at a time and no more than three in any rolling six-month period.

What does that cost? Borrow $1,000 as a PAL I at 28% over six months and the payment works out to about $180.54 a month, or about $83.24 in total interest, plus an application fee of no more than $20. The rule sets conditions for credit unions that choose to offer PALs; it doesn't require every federal credit union to have one.

Sources

Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.