How to Get a Bad Credit Loan from Fig Loans

Getting a personal loan with bad credit can be difficult. Traditional lenders often rely heavily on credit scores and credit reports, which can make qualifying harder if you’ve missed payments, have limited credit history, or have experienced other financial setbacks. Fig Loans takes a different approach, looking at factors such as your income and bank-account transaction history rather than relying solely on your traditional credit score. Fig says its loans are designed for Americans with low credit who have steady income and the ability to repay.

Fig’s application process is entirely online, and the company says applying doesn’t involve a hard pull on your traditional FICO or VantageScore. Instead, it performs identity and fraud checks and reviews alternative financial information.

For the application, you’ll generally need a Social Security number, a phone that can receive text messages, and an eligible bank account with at least three months of transaction history, at least $1,400 in monthly income deposits, and a positive balance when you apply.

Before taking on any loan, however, it’s important to consider the total cost and whether the payments fit your budget. Beem’s Smart Wallet can help you monitor spending, while BudgetGPT can help you organize bills and plan your cash flow. Here’s what to know before applying for a Fig Loan with bad credit.

What Is Fig Loans and How Does It Work

Fig Loans was founded with a specific mission: give people with poor or limited credit access to fair, transparent credit instead of the high-cost payday loans that often trap borrowers in repeat cycles of debt. Rather than a single lump-sum repayment due on your next payday, Fig structures its loans as installment products, meaning you repay a fixed amount across several scheduled payments that are easier to fit into a monthly budget. The company also partners with nonprofits and community organizations in an effort to reach borrowers who traditional banks routinely overlook.

A defining feature of a Fig Loans bad credit loan is that every on-time payment gets reported to the major credit bureaus. That means you are not just covering an expense, you are also building a documented payment history that can gradually improve your credit score, which is a meaningful difference from many short-term lenders that do not report activity at all.

Loan Amounts and Terms

Fig Loans typically offers first-time borrowers loan amounts in the range of $50 to $500, with the potential to qualify for larger amounts on repeat loans once you have demonstrated a track record of on-time repayment. Loan terms generally run two to six months depending on the amount and the state you live in. Fig does not charge a prepayment penalty, so paying off the loan early reduces the total interest you pay without triggering an extra fee.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for a Fig Loans bad credit loan, you generally need to be at least 18 years old, a resident of a state where Fig operates, and have an active bank account with verifiable income. Fig does not set a minimum credit score requirement, and it does not run a hard credit check as part of its standard application process. Instead, the company evaluates your bank account activity and income stability to determine whether you can reasonably support the scheduled payments. Fig Loans has historically served a limited number of states, including Texas, Illinois, Utah, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida, so checking availability for your specific state is one of the first things to confirm before you start an application.

How to Get a Bad Credit Loan from Fig Loans: Step-by-Step

The application is entirely digital and most borrowers can complete it in well under ten minutes.

• Confirm your state is served by Fig Loans before you begin, since availability is limited to a handful of states.
• Create an account on the Fig Loans website using your name, email address, and basic personal details.
• Provide your Social Security number for identity verification, along with your bank account information and income details.
• Submit your application for review. Fig uses its own underwriting model based on your banking activity and income rather than a fixed credit score cutoff.
• Receive a decision, typically within a few minutes, and if approved, review your repayment schedule before accepting the loan.
• Get funded. Approved funds are usually deposited into your linked bank account within one to three business days.

Once your loan is active, payments are automatically withdrawn from your linked bank account on each due date, and every payment is reported to the credit bureaus to support your credit building progress.

What to Expect After You Apply

Because Fig Loans does not run a hard credit inquiry, applying will not ding your credit score, which makes it a relatively low-risk way to check your eligibility. If approved, your fixed repayment schedule is set at loan origination, so you know exactly what you owe and when, without the variability that comes with revolving credit. If you are not approved, Fig Loans is generally transparent about the reasons, most commonly insufficient or unstable income relative to the requested loan amount.

Fig Loans APR and Costs Explained

It is important to go in with realistic expectations about cost. Because Fig Loans serves borrowers who would otherwise struggle to qualify for a personal loan, its APRs are meaningfully higher than what a good or fair credit borrower would receive from a traditional bank or credit union, and in most states they land well above the rates on a typical unsecured personal loan. That said, Fig is generally regarded as significantly less expensive than a payday loan, and its installment structure avoids the single-payment trap that makes payday loans so difficult to escape. Fig Loans discloses its rates upfront, and comparing the total cost of a loan, not just the advertised rate, is the best way to understand what you are actually agreeing to before signing.

What Fig Loans Customers Say

Fig Loans has built a generally solid reputation across independent review platforms, with borrowers frequently praising the company for working with people that traditional banks turn away, delivering funds quickly, and helping them make measurable progress on their credit score over a few months of on-time payments. Fig has also been recognized for its transparency, including publishing disclaimers about when a loan may not be the right fit for a given borrower, which is not something every lender in this space is willing to do.

At the same time, some reviewers have flagged frustrations worth knowing about before you apply, including occasional issues with the application system and complaints about credit bureau reporting accuracy. As with any lender, it is worth reading recent reviews for your specific state, since Fig’s state-by-state terms and customer experience can vary.

Fig Loans vs a Credit Builder Card: Which Fits Your Situation

If your main goal is building credit rather than covering an urgent expense, it is worth understanding how a Fig Loans installment loan compares to a credit builder card, since the two accomplish something similar through different mechanics. A Fig Loans bad credit loan requires you to borrow money and repay it with interest, which builds a payment history but also comes with the APR discussed earlier. A credit builder card, like the one offered through Beem, reports on-time activity to the credit bureaus without requiring you to take on high-interest debt in the process, since you are typically using it for purchases you would be making anyway rather than borrowing a lump sum.

For someone who genuinely needs cash today, Fig Loans solves a real, immediate problem that a credit builder card cannot. For someone whose primary goal is simply to build credit history over the coming months without paying interest to do it, a no-deposit credit builder card is often the lower-cost path. Many borrowers end up using both at different points, a Fig Loans bad credit loan when a real cash need shows up, and a credit builder card for ongoing, everyday credit building in between.

Compare Personal Loan Rates Before You Apply

One step that many bad credit borrowers skip is comparing rates across multiple lenders before committing to any single offer, including a Fig Loans bad credit loan. Because Fig focuses on smaller loan amounts and operates in a limited number of states, there may be a better fit available depending on how much you need and where you live.

Beem’s personal loan comparison tool lets you check personalized rates from a network of lenders offering loans from $500 up to $100,000, without any impact to your credit score. You enter your details once, Beem surfaces personalized offers from multiple lenders at the same time, and you can review rates and terms side by side before formally applying anywhere. This matters more for bad credit borrowers than it might seem, since applying to several individual lenders one at a time typically triggers a hard credit inquiry each time, and multiple hard inquiries in a short window can drag your score down right when you need it to be as strong as possible. Beem’s comparison process relies on a soft inquiry only, so checking your options costs you nothing in terms of credit impact.

Better Personal Loan Options for Bad Credit in 2026

Depending on how much you need and your specific credit profile, a few other lenders are worth comparing alongside Fig Loans.

Beem Personal Loan Marketplace

Beem connects borrowers with a network of lenders offering personal loans from $500 up to $100,000, which makes it a natural next step for bad credit borrowers who need more than Fig’s typical $50 to $500 range. The comparison process takes just a few steps: enter your loan details and personal information, review personalized offers from Beem’s lender network, and select the option that fits before you commit to a formal application anywhere.

Upgrade

Upgrade accepts borrowers with credit scores starting around 580 and offers personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000 with repayment terms of 24 to 84 months. Its APR range runs roughly from 9.99 percent to 35.99 percent, giving borrowers at the higher end of the bad credit range a path to more competitive rates than a typical small installment lender, along with a credit health dashboard to track progress over the life of the loan.

OneMain Financial

OneMain Financial works with borrowers across a wide range of credit profiles, including bad credit, offering loans from $1,500 to $20,000 with no stated minimum credit score. It provides both secured and unsecured options, and a secured loan using a vehicle as collateral can unlock a lower APR and a larger amount than an unsecured loan alone. With more than 1,400 branch locations, it also offers in-person support for borrowers who prefer a face-to-face application process.

Possible Finance

Possible Finance offers installment loans up to $500 repaid over four biweekly payments, with no late fees and no impact to your FICO score at application. It is one of the more accessible bad credit options on the market and reports to the credit bureaus, making it a reasonable point of comparison alongside a Fig Loans bad credit loan for borrowers who need a small amount quickly.

How to Improve Your Approval Odds With Bad Credit

A few steps taken before you apply anywhere can meaningfully improve both your approval odds and the rate you are offered.

Start by reviewing your credit report from all three bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com and disputing any inaccuracies you find. Errors like a late payment that was actually made on time, or an account that does not belong to you, are more common than most people expect, and correcting them can produce a real score improvement within about 30 to 45 days.

Next, look at your debt-to-income ratio. Lenders serving the bad credit segment often weigh this almost as heavily as the credit score itself, since it signals how much room your income has to absorb a new payment. Paying down even a small existing balance before applying can shift that ratio in your favor.

Finally, consider starting with a smaller loan amount than the maximum you might qualify for. A smaller request carries less perceived risk for the lender, and successfully repaying it can position you for a larger amount on a future loan, whether that is a repeat loan with Fig or a larger offer through a broader marketplace like Beem.

Fig Loans vs Payday Loans

It is worth being clear about how a Fig Loans bad credit loan compares to a payday loan, since the two are sometimes lumped together simply because both serve borrowers with limited credit options. Payday loans typically require full repayment within about two weeks, regardless of whether your budget can actually absorb it, and missing that deadline often leads to a costly rollover. Fig Loans, by contrast, spreads repayment across several scheduled installments, discloses its rates upfront, and does not charge a fee for paying off the balance early. While the APR on a Fig Loans product is still high relative to a mainstream personal loan, the structure is meaningfully less likely to trap a borrower in a repeat cycle than a traditional payday loan.

Final Thoughts on Getting a Bad Credit Loan from Fig Loans

A bad credit loan from Fig Loans may be an option for borrowers who have difficulty qualifying with traditional lenders. Fig says it evaluates more than a traditional credit score, including income and bank-account transaction history, and does not perform a hard pull on your FICO or VantageScore when you apply. However, approval isn’t guaranteed, and the lender considers whether it believes you can sustainably afford the loan.

Before applying, make sure your bank account meets Fig’s requirements. The company currently says applicants need an eligible account with more than 60 days of history, at least $1,400 in monthly direct deposits, and a positive balance at application. You should also review the loan’s APR, repayment schedule, payment amount, and total borrowing cost before accepting an offer. Fig says the cost varies by state and loan size and that applicants can see their loan terms before submitting the application.

One potential advantage is that Fig reports its installment loans to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. On-time payments may help build credit, while late payments can hurt your credit profile. Fig also says it doesn’t charge application, late, late-interest, or rescheduling fees.

If you need a smaller amount to handle a temporary cash-flow gap, compare alternatives before taking an installment loan. Beem’s Smart Wallet and BudgetGPT can help you understand your finances, while eligible users can explore Get Instant Cash for short-term cash needs. You can also use DealsGPT and PriceGPT to look for potential savings.

Download Beem through the App Store or Google Play and take a more organized approach to managing your cash flow and borrowing decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions