When we evaluate a personal loan product or lender, we don’t just copy the information from a bank’s website. We go through a structured research process to make sure you get a complete and honest picture. Here’s exactly what our review process looks like.
Step 1: We Collect Data from Official Sources
We start by going directly to the lender’s official website, RBI-published disclosures, and product brochures. We look at the advertised interest rate range (minimum to maximum), processing fee, prepayment charges, and other hidden fees, loan amount range and repayment tenure options, eligibility criteria including age, income, employment type, and CIBIL score, application process whether online or offline with documentation requirements, and disbursement speed.
We never rely solely on third-party comparison aggregators as our primary data source.
Step 2: We Assess Real Cost of Borrowing
The interest rate headline is only part of the story. We calculate the effective Annual Percentage Rate (APR) by factoring in processing fees, GST charges, any mandatory insurance charges, and prepayment penalty if applicable. This gives readers a truer picture of what the loan actually costs.
Step 3: We Evaluate Eligibility Accessibility
We assess how accessible a loan product is for salaried employees in both private sector and government jobs, self-employed individuals and business owners, first-time borrowers with limited credit history, and applicants with moderate or low CIBIL scores.
Step 4: We Check Customer Experience Signals
We review publicly available customer feedback from RBI’s SACHET portal, the lender’s app ratings on Google Play and App Store, and trusted Indian finance forums. We do not fabricate or selectively cherry-pick reviews.
Step 5: We Write, Then We Verify
After the research, one writer drafts the review. A second reviewer then cross-checks every rate figure against the official source, verifies that all eligibility conditions are current, confirms fees have not changed since last update, and adds the “Last Verified” date to the article.
Our Rating Criteria
We rate personal loan products across five dimensions.
Interest Rate Competitiveness — How does the rate compare to the market average?
Fee Transparency — Are all charges clearly disclosed upfront?
Eligibility Flexibility — Can a wide range of borrowers qualify?
Application Ease — Is the process digital, fast, and simple?
Customer Support — Are grievances handled responsibly?
What We Don’t Do
We do not accept payment to write positive reviews. We do not allow lenders to review or approve our content before it is published. We do not suppress negative findings from our reviews.