CircleBack Lending No Longer Exists: Here are 5 Better Personal Loan Options

CircleBack Lending, once a pioneer in peer-to-peer lending, stopped issuing personal loans in 2016. A website with the same name has emerged, but it might be best to stay away from it.

We’ll explain why, as well as share information about a handful of other top personal loan companies where you can get cash when you need it.

Why you should avoid Circlebacklending.net

As I researched CircleBack Lending, I came across a circlebacklending.net website. The site claims to be a marketplace lender, but there are several red flags.

For starters, the marketing language on the website is confusing. For example, it says:

“Get up for you to $1000 as soon as These days. Acceptance Usually takes Merely Just a few seconds. Rapid Money Tonight.”

When I called the number listed on the site and tried each of the automated menu options, the system told me no loan agents were available and that I should visit another website to get a personal loan. I sent an email to the contact email address listed on the website and got an automated response stating that the email address didn’t exist.

These are all red flags, which could be a sign that the website might be a scam. So make sure to take the time to examine the website to spot a potential personal loan scam.

If you’re looking for a personal loan, you could find one from many legitimate personal loan companies.

5 personal loan companies to consider

If you need a personal loan and prefer applying for one online, you’ll find a wide selection of lenders. To help you narrow it down, we’ve put together a list of five of the top personal loan companies, along with their interest rates and features.

Lender	Interest rates (fixed)	Best for
Citizens Bank	5.99% – 18.99%	Interest rate discounts
Earnest	5.49% – 18.24%	Looking beyond your credit score
SoFi	6.20% – 15.37%	Loans of up to $100,000
Upgrade	6.87% – 35.97%	Loans as low as $1,000
FreedomPlus	4.99% – 29.99%	Excellent credit

1. Citizens Bank: Best for interest rate discounts

Citizens Bank offers up to 0.50% in interest rate discounts to personal loan borrowers: 0.25% if you have an eligible Citizens Bank account and another 0.25% when you set up autopay. Other loan highlights include:

• Loans of $5,000 to $50,000
• Repayment terms ranging from three to seven years
• APR of 5.99% to 18.99%
• No fees
• Funds available within two business days

Visit Citizens Bank

2. Earnest: Best for looking beyond your credit score

Your credit score often is one of the biggest factors that lenders consider when deciding whether to approve your application. But Earnest considers other factors to focus more on your full financial picture. Specifically, it looks at your:

• Savings patterns
• 401(k) balance and investments
• Employment history
• Growth potential

Here are some other details to know:

• Loans of $5,000 to $75,000
• Repayment terms of three to five years
• APR of 5.49% to 18.24%
• No origination, prepayment, or extra payment fees
• Funds available within one to two business days after signing

Visit Earnest

3. SoFi: Best for loans of up to $100,000

If you need to borrow a lot of money to start a business, finance a huge home renovation, or for some other reason, SoFi offers personal loans between $5,000 and $100,000. Here’s what else you’ll get with a SoFi personal loan:

• Repayment terms of three, five, six, or seven years
• APR of 6.20% to 15.37%
• No fees
• Funds available within a few days
• Special SoFi community benefits, including unemployment protection, rate discounts on future loans, career coaching, and more.

Visit SoFi

4. Upgrade: Best for loans as low as $1,000

Many personal loan companies have a minimum loan amount of $5,000, which can force you to borrow more than you need. If you need far less than that, Upgrade offers a minimum loan of $1,000, but it can go as high as $50,000. Other terms and features include:

• Repayment terms of three or five years
• APR of 6.87% to 35.97%
• Origination fee of 1% to 6% of the loan amount
• Funds available within four business days

Visit Upgrade

5. FreedomPlus: Best for excellent credit

It’s not always easy to know whether you qualify for a personal loan company’s best interest rates. But FreedomPlus is transparent about what it takes to get one of the lowest rates on the market.

For starters, you’ll need to have excellent credit for a loan of $15,000 with a 24-month repayment period. Plus, you’ll need to qualify for two out of these three requirements:

• Adding a cosigner who has sufficient income
• Using at least 50% of the loan proceeds to pay off existing debt
• Showing proof that you have at least $40,000 in retirement savings

Other FreedomPlus highlights include:

• Loans of $10,000 to $35,000
• Repayment terms of two to five years
• APR of 4.99% to 29.99%
• Origination fee of 0% to 5%
• Funds available within 48 hours

Visit FreedomPlus

Choosing the right personal loan

Regardless of your reason for applying for a personal loan, it’s important to know how to get the best offer for your needs. Rather than picking one lender based on what we’ve shared here, get a rate quote from some or all of the companies to compare what they can offer you.

Then consider the other factors, such as fees, funding time, repayment options, and other special features. Also, use our personal loan calculator to make sure the monthly payments are affordable. If you’re having a hard time getting an offer because of a low credit score, consider other personal loan options for bad credit.

As you do your due diligence, you’ll be more likely to find a loan that works for your budget and your financial goals.

Interested in a personal loan?

Here are the top personal loan lenders of 2018!

Lender	Rates (APR)	Loan Amount
1 Includes AutoPay discount. Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi Disclosures Personal Loans: Fixed rates from 6.199% APR to 15.365% APR (with AutoPay). Variable rates from 6.145% APR to 14.685% APR (with AutoPay). SoFi rate ranges are current as of June 15, 2018 and are subject to change without notice. Not all rates and amounts available in all states. See Personal Loan eligibility details. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. If approved for a loan, to qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including evaluation of your credit worthiness, years of professional experience, income and other factors. See APR examples and terms. Interest rates on variable rate loans are capped at 14.95%. Lowest variable rate of 6.145% APR assumes current 1-month LIBOR rate of 1.97% plus 4.175% margin minus 0.25% AutoPay discount. For the SoFi variable rate loan, the 1-month LIBOR index will adjust monthly and the loan payment will be re-amortized and may change monthly. APRs for variable rate loans may increase after origination if the LIBOR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Terms and Conditions Apply:SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. To qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. If approved, your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, years of experience, income and other factors. Rates and Terms are subject to change at anytime without notice and are subject to state restrictions. SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS # 1121636. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) 2 Important Disclosures for Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank Disclosures Personal Loan Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates from 6.49% – 19.49% (6.49% – 19.49% APR) based on applicable terms. Lowest rates range from 5.99%-18.99% (5.99%-18.99% APR), are for eligible applicants, require a 3-year repayment term, and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment Discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Loyalty Discount: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower has submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, student loans or other personal loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI and VT. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate and Annual Percentage Rate (APR) disclosed in the Truth-In-Lending Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan, and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan. Automatic Payment Discount: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their Citizens Bank Personal Loan during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account two or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount. * Important Disclosures for Upgrade Bank. Upgrade Bank Disclosures Personal Loan Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates from 6.49% – 19.49% (6.49% – 19.49% APR) based on applicable terms. Lowest rates range from 5.99%-18.99% (5.99%-18.99% APR), are for eligible applicants, require a 3-year repayment term, and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment Discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Loyalty Discount: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower has submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, student loans or other personal loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI and VT. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate and Annual Percentage Rate (APR) disclosed in the Truth-In-Lending Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan, and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan. Automatic Payment Discount: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their Citizens Bank Personal Loan during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account two or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount.
	7.73% – 29.99%	$1,000 - $50,000	Visit Upstart Check rate nowon SLH's secure site
	6.15% – 15.37%1	$5,000 - $100,000	Visit SoFi Check rate nowon SLH's secure site
	6.87% – 35.97%*	$1,000 - $50,000	Visit Upgrade
	8.00% – 25.00%	$5,000 - $35,000	Visit Payoff Check rate nowon SLH's secure site
	4.99% – 29.99%	$10,000 - $35,000	Visit FreedomPlus
	5.99% – 18.99%2	$5,000 - $50,000	Visit Citizens
	15.49% – 34.49%	$2,000 - $25,000	Visit LendingPoint
	5.99% – 35.89%	$1,000 - $40,000	Visit LendingClub
	5.49% – 18.24%	$5,000 - $75,000	Visit Earnest
	9.95% – 35.99%	$2,000 - $35,000	Visit Avant