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Secured vs Unsecured Personal Loans

This helpful guide will demystify the difference between secured and unsecured personal loans.

13 min read Updated Feb 20, 2021

If you’ve been doing your research before applying for a personal loan, you may have seen secured and unsecured loan options. Knowing the difference between secured and unsecured personal loans can help you determine which option is best for you.

What is a secured loan?

A secured loan is one that has an asset of value offered as security against the loan, such as a car, caravan, motorbike or boat. If you’re unable to repay the loan, the lender has the right to sell the asset to help recover the unpaid loan amount.

There are some real benefits to using a secured personal loan! By providing an asset, you’re reducing the lender's risk and you will usually be rewarded with a lower rate, larger loan amount and longer loan term, which can make your regular fortnightly or monthly repayments more manageable.

What is an unsecured loan?

An unsecured loan doesn’t require you to provide any assets for security. This is a great option if you don’t own a car or other suitable asset.

These loans can come with slightly higher interest rates due to the higher risk for the lender, however because you don’t need to provide asset information, they’re usually faster to apply for and assess, so you could have the money faster.

Snapshot of our loan features

Loan detailsSecured loansUnsecured loans
Interest ratesFrom 6.99% p.aFrom 7.99% p.a.
Comparison ratesFrom 7.06% p.a.*From 8.06% p.a.*
Asset securityRequiredNone

Who can apply?

To be eligible for any loanless personal loan, you need to meet our criteria:

  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident
  • Earn more than $30,000 per annum
  • Have a good credit history

Handy things to have ready

It’s helpful to have these items close by for your application:

Drivers licence
Annual salary info
Last 3 months bank statements
Asset/Registration details (for secured)