Santander Loans

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What our Nerds say about Santander Loans

RHIANNON PHILPS

LEAD WRITER

Santander is a well-known, high-street bank with a history stretching back to 1857, when it was founded in Spain as Banco de Santander. Santander acquired the UK bank Abbey National in 2004 and has since become an established name in the UK banking market.

Santander personal loans

Santander currently offers personal loans from £1,000 up to £25,000. These loans are unsecured, which means you don’t need to put forward any property as collateral.

You can choose a loan term ranging from one to five years. This can help you to find a loan arrangement that suits your financial situation and work out a monthly repayment schedule that you can afford.

If you take out a Santander personal loan, you would need to repay it in fixed monthly instalments, with interest.

» COMPARE: Personal loan rates

Santander loan rates

The interest rate you receive on a Santander loan will depend on your credit history and financial circumstances, and the rate will be fixed throughout your loan term.

To show you how much a loan could cost you in total and to help you compare loans, lenders will display a representative APR. APR stands for annual percentage rate and it is a percentage that indicates how much a loan could cost you over one year, including interest and any standard fees.

However, bear in mind that the advertised representative APR won’t necessarily tell you how much a loan would cost you. Only 51% of successful loan applicants need to receive this rate or below, so it’s possible that you could be charged more than this if you applied.

If you are 1|2|3 World or Santander Select customer, it may be possible to access lower rates of interest on a personal loan.

Does Santander offer secured loans?

Santander doesn’t currently offer any secured loans. However, if you have an existing mortgage with Santander, you may be able to borrow more against your property.

If you’re interested in finding out more about secured loans, you can check out our secured loans page.

Pros and cons of Santander loans

Loans from Santander can offer a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

Depending on your requirements, Santander loans can have several benefits.

  • You can use the loan for a range of purposes.
  • You can currently borrow up to £25,000.
  • You can make overpayments or pay off the loan early, without paying any extra fees.

Cons

However, there are also some potential disadvantages of Santander loans to consider.

  • You have to meet Santander’s minimum income requirements to qualify for a loan.
  • Its loans aren’t available to people with a county court judgment (CCJ) or individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) on their credit history, or those who have been declared bankrupt.

What can I use a Santander loan for?

You can use a loan from Santander for a variety of purposes. However, you should always make sure that you can afford to repay the loan before applying and consider whether it is the right option for your situation.

Buying a car

Cars can be expensive and you may not have the cash to pay for one outright, in which case you may consider taking out a loan to pay for your new vehicle.

As the loan wouldn’t be secured against your vehicle (unlike with car finance agreements), you can use your car without any restrictions from the lender.

» MORE: What is the best way to buy a car?

Home improvements

If you have plans to do home improvements on your property, a Santander loan could help you pay for them. Whether it’s adding an extension, renovating your kitchen or upgrading your heating system, a personal loan could help you to spread the cost of this work.

Weddings and other special occasions

The cost of one-off special occasions, such as weddings, can quickly add up. Taking out a loan could help you to pay for venues, food, flowers and other costs, and then repay it in affordable payments over a period of time.

» MORE: Getting a loan for a wedding

Holidays

Whether you’re booking an all-inclusive package holiday or you’re paying for hotel, travel, food and activities separately, holidays can be expensive. If you’d struggle to pay for a holiday up front, you could use a loan from Santander to help out with the costs.

Debt consolidation

If you owe money on loans, credit cards, or have other debt, you could consider taking out a Santander loan to consolidate these debts. You could use the loan to pay off your existing debt so you only have the one loan repayment to make to Santander.

This could make sense if you can get a lower interest rate on a loan from Santander than the rate you’re paying on your existing debt.

It’s also worth looking at whether you would need to pay any early repayment fees to pay off a loan before the end of its term.

» MORE: What is debt consolidation?

Restricted purposes

Santander states that it won’t offer personal loans for a number of purposes, including:

  • house deposits
  • bills or living expenses
  • gambling
  • buying stocks and shares
  • business costs

Am I eligible for a Santander loan?

Lenders, such as Santander, will set eligibility criteria for their loan products. As a minimum, you would have to meet these requirements to qualify for a loan, although the final decision on your application would depend on final credit and affordability checks.

You could be eligible for a loan from Santander if you:

  • are at least 21 years old
  • are a permanent UK resident
  • have a regular annual income of at least £7,500 (or £20,000 if you want to borrow more than £20,000)
  • haven’t been made bankrupt or had a CCJ or IVA in the last six years
  • can repay the loan by direct debit

If you meet these criteria, you could be eligible for a loan from Santander. However, there is no guarantee that your application will be approved.

Santander will run a credit check and look at your overall financial situation to decide whether to offer you a loan and, if so, at what interest rate.

Having a good credit score could increase your chances of getting a loan, as it indicates that you have a good track record of making payments on time.

Can I get a loan from Santander with bad credit?

It may be possible to get a loan from Santander with a bad credit history, but this will depend on the strength of other areas of your application.

Santander looks at your overall financial situation as well as your credit score to make a decision on whether to offer a loan, so a less-than-perfect credit history may not necessarily stop you from getting a loan.

However, a bad credit score is likely to make it more difficult to get accepted and, if you are successful, you are likely to face higher interest rates.

Bear in mind that Santander won’t accept applications from people with an IVA or CCJ from the past six years, or anyone who has been made bankrupt within that period.

» COMPARE: Loans for bad credit

How to apply for a loan from Santander

To apply for a loan from Santander, you will need to provide certain information, such as:

  • your name and address history
  • your income and outgoings
  • contact details for your employer
  • your bank details
  • how much you want to borrow
  • what you need the loan for

You can apply for a loan online or in a Santander branch.

Santander will also conduct a credit check as part of the application process. This check would appear on your credit history.

Depending on when you apply for a loan, you could receive a response within minutes, or hours. This could be an approval, a refusal, or a referral. In the case of a referral, your application would be looked at by Santander’s underwriting team who should make a decision within a couple of working days.

If your application is successful, you will receive more information from Santander about signing the loan agreement and receiving your money.

» MORE: Tips for applying for a loan

How long does it take to get money from a Santander loan?

It may only take a few minutes to hear back from Santander after applying for a loan, although it could take a couple of days in some cases.

Once you have signed the loan agreement, the money should go into your account within two working days.

Santander customer reviews

Santander has a rating of 1.3 on Trustpilot out of 4,941 reviews.

Santander’s mobile app has a rating on the Apple Store of 4.8 based on approximately 1 million reviews. The bank’s app also has a 4-star rating on Google Play, based on 132,000 reviews.

Bear in mind that these reviews are for Santander as a whole, not just its loan products.

This information is correct as of 26 August 2022.

Santander Loan FAQs

Can I repay a Santander loan early?

Yes, Santander allows customers to make overpayments or pay off their loan in full before the agreed end date. You can contact Santander for a settlement figure, which will include your remaining balance and interest charges up to the settlement date.

Bear in mind that if you have less than two repayments to make, it is likely to cost you more to settle the loan early.

How easy is it to get a loan from Santander?

This depends on your credit history and financial situation. The better your credit score and your finances, the more likely you are to get a loan. If you have a less-than-perfect credit score or a more complicated financial situation, you may find it more difficult to get a loan from Santander.

About the author

Rhiannon Philps
Rhiannon is a financial writer for NerdWallet, with a particular interest in personal finance and insurance guides for consumers. Read more

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