A Personal Loan for personal reasons

Whether you're after an upgrade or have an unexpected emergency, a loan from first direct could be just what you need.

Representative 5.8% APR for loans between £10,000 and £30,000.

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Calculate your repayments

I would like to borrow: in pounds

I'd like to have it for:

Representative example

"10000"

Borrowing Amount

"60"

Monthly term

£93.41

Monthly repayments

3.3% p.a

Interest rate (fixed)

3.3 APR

Representative

£7,846.49

Total repayments

We may be able to offer you a better rate if you change the amount you want to borrow or the length of time you borrow for. A small change can make a big difference to how much interest you'll have to pay and the overall cost of the loan.

Find out more about our rates.

If you choose to apply and we offer you a loan, the rate will be based on our assessment of your personal financial circumstances,
including a credit check. This may be higher than the representative APR.

Tailor your loan

Borrow from £1,000 to £50,000 repayable over 1 to 8 years with fixed monthly repayments.

Apply in minutes

Get a quick decision and if approved, the money will be in your account right away.

You're in control

With the flexibility to overpay, you can reduce the overall interest you'll pay.

We only have a few requirements at first direct, so you'll hopefully be able to apply with us. All we ask is that:

you’re 18 or over
you're a UK resident and live permanently in the UK
you have an annual income/pension before tax of £10,000 or more
you have a first direct current account*
you haven’t been declared bankrupt or registered for an Individual Voluntary Agreement in the last 6 years (or in the process of doing so)

Personal loans are subject to status. The rate you'll receive depends on your individual circumstances, credit checks and an assessment of your financial situation. The maximum APR you could be offered is 18.9% APR.

*for loans over £30,000, you must have held your first direct current account for 6 months or more.

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To find out more about how we use your personal information, please view our Privacy Policy.

What to do next

Scan the QR code to head to the App and continue your application.

Apply now

FAQs

How much can I borrow and for how long?

You can borrow between £1,000 and £50,000 with a first direct Personal Loan, which is an unsecured loan account with fixed monthly repayments. The minimum term is 1 year from the drawdown date and the maximum depends on the amount you borrow.

We'll work with you to make sure you can afford what you're borrowing. If there's anything coming up that could increase your outgoings or reduce your disposable income, please give us a call on 03 456 100 199.

This could include:

retiring or taking maternity, paternity or extended leave
reducing your working hours
increases in your living costs, rent or mortgage repayments.

Is there anything I can't use my loan for?

While you can use your loan for almost anything – from hobbies to holidays and those wooden summerhouses every garden has – there are some things we don't offer loans for. This includes:

buying property or land in or outside the UK (including holiday homes and apartments)
buying a joint stake in a property
buying out a joint owner
a mortgage deposit (regardless of the lender or country)
gifting funds to support the purchase of a property, including mortgage deposits, stamp duty and solicitors' fees.

A Personal Loan should be used for legal purposes only and shouldn't be used for gambling, business purposes or sharedealing either. This list isn't exclusive, so give us a call if you'd like to double check something. We’re available 8am-10pm, 7 days a week on 03 456 100 199.

If you're using some or all of the money to pay off, reduce or consolidate other personal borrowing, you should make sure it's right for you before going ahead.

How long does it take to apply and get my money?

It takes less than 10 minutes to apply on our App or online. And once you hit submit, if you're accepted, the money is transferred into your account straightaway.

If you apply over the phone, we still make an instant decision, but it takes a little longer to get the money if you're accepted, as we post a loan agreement form for you to sign and return. As soon as we get this back, we transfer the money into your 1st Account.

Sometimes we’ll need to take a closer look at your application before agreeing to the loan. If that's the case, we’ll let you know and ask you to get in touch if you haven’t heard from us within 48 hours.

Can I make overpayments or settle early?

Yes, you can make overpayments, which could reduce the amount of interest you pay over the term of the loan.

You can also repay your loan in full at any time by giving us notice, either by:

calling us on 03 456 100 199
sending a message via our App or Online Banking
or in writing.

We'll give you a settlement figure, and as long as you pay this in full, we can close your loan account. It’s worth noting that there are some charges for settling early:

for loans with a 12-month term we’ll include a charge of 28 days’ interest as part of your final settlement figure
for loans with a 13-96-month term we’ll included an extra 1 month’s charge, plus 28 days’ interest, as part of your final settlement figure.

You'll then have 28 days to pay this. After this 28-day period you'll need to ask us for a new figure as the amount will change.

How is interest calculated?

At the start of your loan, we will work out the amount of interest we can charge. Regulations set out the formula we need to use to work this out.

Repaying your loan in full early

The interest formula allows us to charge daily interest from the date we gave you the loan up until 28 days after we receive your notice that you want to repay all of the loan early. It also allows us to charge an additional month of interest if your loan agreement said that your loan was repayable over a period of more than 12 months.

Usually, the amount of interest we can charge will be reduced as a result. In these cases, we’ll refund you the difference between the interest included in the total amount payable and this reduced amount of interest. We will refer to this refund as a ‘rebate’ in our communications with you.

Impacts of a past delayed repayment

Sometimes we might not reduce the amount of interest we can charge. This could happen where your loan lasts longer than we state in your loan agreement. For example, where you have selected a repayment date that is later than one month after we give you the loan, and as a result your first repayment is delayed, or you have been late making your monthly payments.

If this happens, your monthly repayments towards the start of the loan will pay off more of the interest amount compared to if your loan lasted as long as we state in your loan agreement. But we’ll never actually charge you more interest than is included in the total amount payable. So once you’ve paid the amount of interest included in the total amount payable, your remaining monthly repayments will just pay off the loan amount.

This is why we might not reduce the amount of interest we can charge. Because even though you’re repaying your loan early, the full amount of interest will have already been paid or become payable.