A personal loan is an all-in-one loan that offers you unparalleled convenience in terms of fund usage, loan term, repayment options, interest rates, and eligibility. Perhaps no other loan is as agile as a personal loan. However, when it is about choosing the right mode between online and offline, people often get confused. This blog discusses every aspect you should know about online and offline personal loans, so you can choose the right one when the need for fund arises.
1. Loan Application
When it is about the personal loan application, the online mode offers far more convenience than the offline mode.
To apply for a personal loan offline, you have to look for the nearest branch office of the lender, check their office timing, and visit at a convenient time. Next, you have to meet the loan officer, who would evaluate your financial profile and calculate the personal loan EMI and interest rates manually. The entire process may take about two to three hours.
If, however, you apply for a personal loan online, the entire process would ideally take no more than five minutes. You may open an online EMI calculator, key in details like loan amount, interest rate, and loan term, and wait for the calculator to display your EMI. You may also submit your loan application online.
2. Document Verification
If you choose the offline mode of the loan application, the document verification process may take up to three days, as the lender might require time to verify the documents and approve the loan.
With the online mode, document verification is as effortless as the loan application. You can upload necessary documents like PAN Card, Aadhaar Card, Income Proof, Income Tax Return or Form-16, Bank account statement, and latest photograph, and wait for instant loan approval.
3. Loan Approval Time
If you opt for the offline mode, the lender would verify the documents and send it to the higher authority, who would again go through the documents and check your financial credibility and approve or reject the loan. The process may take roughly three days. In some cases, it may take up to seven days to get the money in your account.
With a personal loan online, approval is almost instant, and you may expect the funds to be credited on the same day. At present, most lenders offering the facility of online loans use Artificial Intelligence to automatically fetch the borrower’s credit report and evaluate their financial profile, repayment capability, credit utilisation history, and other details. The entire process happens online, and you do not even need to move out of your room to get the loan approved.
4. Interest Rates
In the offline mode, taking quotes from multiple lenders is not only time consuming but also painful. You have to physically visit the lenders’ offices and enquire about personal loan interest rates. You can then compare the various lenders and find out who is offering you the best rates.
With an online personal loan, you can forget the stress of visiting the lender physically. All you need to do is visit the lender’s website, open the personal loan EMI calculator, and see how much you need to pay every month. Alternatively, you may also take the help of a loan aggregator website, which links to multiple lenders and displays the best rates.
5. Loan Processing Charges
If you opt for the offline mode, you might have to pay an agent commission, which can be added to your loan processing fee.
The online personal loan, however, does not require you to pay anything extra. Although you might still need to pay a loan processing fee, the charges will be much lower than the offline one.
Conclusion
With technology becoming more advanced by the day, lenders are gradually reducing their expenses by offering the best deals online. Hence, it can be easy for you, as a borrower, to get some of the lowest personal loans interest rates online, but not offline. Before signing on or submitting the loan application, ensure that you have read the terms carefully.
