Apply for a personal loan now!
9.99%
Fixed
11.22%
Secured Fixed Low Rate (Excellent Credit Rating)
ME Bank is an Australian-owned bank created by one of Australia’s leading industry super funds. In 2015, ME Bank rebranded and are now known as ME.
ME offers its customers a wide range of financial products and services, including a personal loan which can be used for a variety of purposes including a car, debt consolidation, holiday, medical bills, weddings and a wide range of other uses.
In addition to personal loans, ME Bank provides a range of award-winning home loans and term deposits, low-cost savings accounts, country-wide ATM access and banking experts that come to you at your convenience.
ME is an online-only operation, which means it doesn’t have branches. You can apply for personal loans online, however they also have a customer service line if you need to speak to someone.
Total interest paid
$8,245
Total amount to pay
$38,245
Product | Advertised Rate | Comparison Rate* | Repayment | Upfront Fee | Features | Go to site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10.98% Fixed | 11.35% | $652 monthly over 5 years | $250 | Redraw facility Extra repayments Fully drawn advance Secured | More details |
ME Bank offers personal loans between $5000 and $50,000 for periods between one to seven years. Borrowers can choose to pay ME Bank personal loans in either fortnightly or monthly instalments until the loan is paid off. A one-off establishment fee is included in the ME personal loan, but there are no ongoing fees attached to the loan. Borrowers wishing to pay off their ME Bank personal loan sooner can do so without penalty as there are no fees for extra repayments or early loan repayments.
ME Bank personal loans can be used for a range of different purposes including:
ME Bank doesn’t have any branches, but you can apply for a personal loan through the ME website. You can also talk to them via email or over the phone.
To be eligible for a ME Bank personal loan you’ll need to meet the following criteria:
To apply for a ME Bank personal loan, borrowers can apply online through the website. The application process takes around 10-15 minutes to complete and involves the following steps:
At the time of application, you’ll need to provide the following documentation:
When it comes to comparing the ME Bank personal loan to other personal loans on the market, it’s worth noting that this personal loan has no ongoing account-keeping or annual fees. In addition to this, there is no charge for making additional repayments and no fees for paying off your personal loan before the loan term.
This ME Bank personal loan is unsecured, which means borrowers don’t need to provide security (i.e. collateral) when applying for the personal loan. This personal loan also has a fixed interest rate, which means your interest rate will stay the same throughout the loan term.
The ME personal loan can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including cars, holidays and debt consolidation. However, it can’t be used to pay business expenses, bills, or to fund a property purchase or tax costs.
Borrowers who prefer face-to-face customer support should take note that ME Bank is 100 per cent online. In saying that, borrowers can contact a ME lending specialist via phone, online and through email.
Before applying for a ME Bank personal loan, always do your research and compare your personal loan options to make sure you’re getting a loan that suits your budget, needs and lifestyle.
Nick Bendel is RateCity’s property and personal finance editor, and an experienced journalist with numerous writing credits to his name. To date. He covers property, home loans, credit cards, superannuation and other bank products, and loves getting elbow-deep in the latest ABS, APRA and RBA data.
It is hard, but not impossible, to qualify for a personal loan if you receive Centrelink payments. Some lenders won’t lend money to people who are on welfare. However, other lenders will simply consider Centrelink payments as another factor to weigh up when they assess a person’s capacity to repay a loan.
The worse your credit history, the harder you will find it to consolidate your debts, because lenders will be less willing to lend you money and will charge you higher interest rates.
However, people with bad credit histories can make debt consolidation work by following this three-step process. First, find a lender willing to give you a bad credit personal loan – this process will be simplified if you go through a mortgage broker or use a comparison website like RateCity. Second, make sure the interest repayments on your new loan are less than the repayments on the loans being replaced. Third, instead of spending those savings, use them to repay the new loan.
Your credit score will improve if you demonstrate that you’ve become more credit-worthy. You can do that by minimising credit applications, clearing up defaults and paying bills on time.
Another tip is to get the one free credit report you’re entitled to each year – that way, you’ll be able to identify and fix any errors.
If you want to fix an error, the first thing you should do is speak with the credit reporting body, which make take of the problem or contact credit providers on your behalf.
The next step would be to contact your credit provider. If that doesn’t work, you can refer the matter to the credit provider’s independent dispute resolution scheme, which would be the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
AFCA provides consumers and small businesses with fair, free and independent dispute resolution for financial complaints.
If that doesn’t work, your final options are to contact the Privacy Commissioner and then the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Most negative events that appear on a personal’s credit file will stay in their credit history for up to seven years.
You may be able to improve your credit score by correcting errors in your credit report, clearing outstanding debts, and maintaining good financial habits over time.
Few, if any, lenders would be willing to give guaranteed approval for a bad credit personal loan. Borrowers with bad credit histories can have more complicated financial circumstances than other borrowers, so lenders will want time to study your application.
It’s all about risk. When someone applies for a personal loan, the lender evaluates how likely that borrower would be to repay the money. Lenders are more willing to give personal loans to borrowers with good credit than bad credit, because there’s a higher likelihood that the personal loan will be repaid.
So a borrower with good credit is more likely to have a loan approved and to get that approval faster, while a borrower with bad credit is less likely to have a loan approved and to get that approval slower.
Some lenders offer fast loans to borrowers with bad credit. Providers of small payday loans of up to $2000 or medium amount loans of up to $5000 may have no credit checks, though these lenders will usually want to confirm you can afford their loans on your income.
Even if a lender has no credit checks, they will usually still need to confirm you can afford to repay a fast loan on your income before they’ll approve your application.
If 50% or more of your income comes from Centrelink payments, you may find it more difficult to have a fast loan application approved. Consider checking with the lender before applying to confirm if they lend to people on Centrelink.
Most lenders will need to you provide the following information in your application for a fast loan:
If more than half of your income comes from Centrelink benefits, it may be more difficult to have a $2000 loan application approved. Many lenders will check if you can afford a loan’s repayments on the income from your job before they’ll approve an application, and many won’t count Centrelink payments when assessing your income for this purpose.
Some lenders will offer $2000 loans to borrowers on Centrelink – consider contacting potential lenders to check before applying.
The Australian personal loans market contains dozens of lenders offering several hundred different products. Personal loans are available through a range of institutions, including:
There are three main ways to access personal loans. You can go through a comparison website, such as RateCity. You can use a finance broker. Or you can directly contact the lender.
