Personal loan interest rates

A personal loan is an amount of money you might borrow to pay for a major life expense such as a car, holiday, or home renovation. It can also be used to consolidate existing debt.

If approved for a personal loan, you will need to repay the money with interest over an agreed timeframe, which is usually between one and seven years. Repayments are generally made weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

The interest rate you receive depends on whether you take out a secured or unsecured personal loan. It may also be influenced by your credit score.

A secured loan is 'secured' against the asset you are borrowing for such as a car, or home. If you are unable to repay the loan, the lender can sell the asset to cover the costs of the loan. Most secured personal loans have a lower interest rate when compared to an unsecured personal loan because there is an asset attached.

An unsecured personal loan is a loan that does not require an asset as security. Your income and ability to repay the loan is still assessed, however you don't need an asset to secure the loan.
If you’re buying a car or motorbike under seven years old, a Great Southern Bank Secured Fixed Car Loan may be right for you.

For vehicles older than seven years, Unsecured Fixed Personal Loan are available.

A personalised interest rate is determined in large part by your credit score. This is based on a range of factors including your history of repaying loans, credit cards, and other bills. In short, the better your credit score, the lower the interest rate you’re likely to be offered.

Speaking of which, it's worth noting that while submitting a full application will likely result in a small, temporary dip to your credit score, simply getting your estimated personalised rate will not impact it.

It certainly can’t hurt to check your credit report before applying as doing so won’t affect your credit score. Having said that, some credit reporting agencies have a limit on the number of free checks you can make within a certain period of time.

An easier solution might be simply to get your estimated personalised rate from us. It won’t impact your credit score either, only takes about a minute, and you’ll know what to expect in terms of repayments without going through the full application process.

Credit scores are calculated by looking at various aspects of your credit history and profile. These can include details of any previous applications you’ve made for credit (whether successful or not), details of credit or loan products you have held in the past, your repayment history, any overdue accounts you might have, and information about any court judgements against you.

These are added together to give an overall picture of your ability to repay a loan.

As you might imagine, someone who has never defaulted on a loan will be considered a lower risk than someone with a history of missed repayments, court judgements, or bankruptcy.

Similarly, the more applications for credit on your record, the lower your score is likely to be.

Other factors which can negatively impact a credit score include a history of using ‘payday lenders’ and having open accounts with debt collection agencies.

You’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report every three months from a Credit Rating Bureau (CRB). The CRB must provide the report within 10 days of your request

The two main Credit Rating Bureaus in Australia are:

• Equifax (previously known as Veda)
• Experian Australia Credit Services

A comparison rate encompasses the true cost of the loan, which includes the interest rate plus all the relevant fees and charges for a loan.

Every time you apply for a loan, a record is made on your credit report. Although this may   result in a temporary dip to your credit score, it will recover as long as you stay on top of your current repayments and don’t make multiple loan applications in close succession.

However, it’s important to note that simply finding out your personalised rate won’t have any   impact on your credit score.

The rate you are offered is calculated on your personal circumstances and credit history. A few different factors are considered, including:

• Your credit score
• Information provided in your application
• Existing loans
• The loan amount and your perceived ability to repay the loan.