Self review
Updated September 30, 2026 · BorrowCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 30, 2026
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Our verdict
Self is a broker for secured, fixed rate loans aimed at borrowers with poor credit, and its 24 month term is short beside Ibancar Prestamos at 12 to 60 months. Free early repayment and support on phone, chat and help centre suit people who want a small, fixed debt closed quickly.
Key facts
- Best for
- Borrowers with poor credit who want a short fixed rate secured loan and can repay early.
- Term
- 24 months (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Rate type
- Fixed (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Lender type
- Broker (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Free early repayment
- Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Eligibility
- At least 18 years of age and resident in the United States (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Loan types
- Secured (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Credit needed
- Poor (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Self Financial, Inc. (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United States (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Founded
- 2015 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Support channels
- Phone, Chat, Help-centre, Email (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Pricing model
- Fixed rate
- Official website
- selflender.com
Apps and profiles
- Get the app
- Google Play
- Elsewhere
- LinkedInXinstagram.com
Pros and cons
Pros
- Repayments are fixed and fixed rate, so the instalment is set once and holds for the full 24 months.
- Free early repayment is included, so clearing the balance ahead of schedule carries no exit charge.
- Brokers are a normal sight in this group, making up 39.6% of bad credit loans in the pool, so the listing fits the market.
- Support runs on phone, chat and help centre, giving a phone line and live chat alongside email and a help centre.
Cons
- The term is a single 24 month window, against 12 to 60 months at Ibancar Prestamos and 3 to 60 months at Fidea.
- Borrowing is secured only, secured, so there is no unsecured option to fall back on.
- Self is a broker, broker, so the lender named in the contract is a partner firm rather than the brand you applied to.
- The stated credit profile is poor, so a stronger file may not line up with the criteria the product is written around.
Who it suits
- US adults who meet At least 18 years of age and resident in the United States and have poor credit, looking for a secured loan.
- Borrowers who want a fixed instalment over 24 months and can clear the balance early without a charge.
- Anyone who is comfortable with a broker arrangement, broker, and wants phone and chat support.
Who should look elsewhere
- Readers who need a long stretch: Ibancar Prestamos runs 12 to 60 months and Fidea 3 to 60 months, so a single 24 month window will not fit.
- Borrowers after the very shortest commitment, where AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito lists 1 month.
- People who want the lender writing the loan itself rather than a broker chain, broker, and would rather start with Fidea, whose term runs 3 to 60 months.
How your money is protected
Self sits on the borrower side as a broker, broker, so the loan itself is written with a partner lender rather than with the brand you applied to. That distinction matters when you check where your payments go: the agreement, the rate and the servicing all belong to the lender, and a broker listing does not describe them. The one registration on file is in NMLS Consumer Access under the name Self Credit LLC, with the identifier 2167345. Check that entry against the entity named in the agreement you are about to sign, because a broker listing and a lender listing are not the same record. Treat the money as passing through a third party rather than sitting with a named bank, and confirm the protection terms written into the agreement itself before funds move.
Who regulates the lender
Regulation here is clear in one place and thin in another. The only registration on file sits in NMLS Consumer Access, the US register, under the licensed name Self Credit LLC with the identifier 2167345. Because Self is a broker, broker, that register is also the place to confirm which partner lender will hold your agreement, since the brand listing alone does not name the firm that signs the contract. Readers who want one named firm on the paperwork should follow the register entry through to the lender and check its status there, rather than stopping at the brand. A broker gives access to lenders that a single application might not reach, and the price of that access is one more name to verify.
The company behind it
The business behind the brand is Self Financial, Inc., headquartered in the United States and founded in 2015, so this is an established operation rather than a new entrant. Its register entry sits in NMLS Consumer Access under the identifier 2167345, which lets you match the licensed name against the terms you accept. Support is the strongest part of the setup: phone, chat and help centre means you can call, chat, email or work through the help centre, and none of those routes depends on finding something inside an app. Across a loan that runs to 24 months, the servicing desk is where interest, timing and missed payment questions actually land, and a reachable phone line matters more at that point than at the application stage.
How Self compares
8lends
Deudafix
myKredit
Dineria MX
DKB (Deutsche Kreditbank)
Offers 3 to 60 months of term, so readers wanting room to spread repayments have a wider spread to choose from.
5in5
Multitude
Cashback Remortgage
TengeDa
Jeff.vn
Finbro
One Bridging Loans
MKB Bedrijfskrediet
Hypoteket
Renteradar
Bridgement
Mozzeno
Abakos
OneCredit KZ
MPOWA Finance
Srisawad
A money
Bom Pra Credito
Viva Credit
OK Zhongxun International
TF Bank EE
Crezu CO
Solcredito CO
Lendela SG
Meilleurtaux BE
Loan Hub India
Revolut
Where Self is available
- Available
- United States
- Licence in United States
- NMLS Consumer Access (Self Credit LLC) (2167345), checked September 30, 2026
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What credit do I need to qualify for a Self loan?+
Self targets poor credit, so a thin file is the intended customer rather than a stretch. Eligibility follows At least 18 years of age and resident in the United States, which sets a minimum age and residency in the United States. Applicants who are not adults living in the US, or whose credit is stronger than the profile described, may not fit the criteria the product is built around.
Who actually holds my loan, and what protects the money?+
Self is a broker, broker, so the agreement is with a partner lender rather than the brand on the application. The one registration on file sits in NMLS Consumer Access under the identifier 2167345. Protection terms come from the agreement you sign with that lender, so read them there before any funds move.
Is the interest rate fixed or variable?+
Both rate facts point the same way: the rate type is fixed and the model is fixed rate. The instalment is set when the loan starts and holds for the full 24 months, so a rise in market rates does not change the monthly payment. That predictability is the main reason to accept a short term.
Can I repay the loan early without a charge?+
Yes. Free early repayment is available on the 24 month term, with no early exit charge, and the fixed rate means interest stops building once the balance is cleared. Borrowers with money to spare at the start of the term finish cheaper here than those who plan to hold the whole schedule.
How long is the term, and how does it compare?+
The listed term is 24 months, and on term Self ranks 86 among 140 brands in this pool. For contrast, Ibancar Prestamos lists 12 to 60 months and Fidea 3 to 60 months. A shorter term means a larger monthly instalment and less room to absorb a bad month.
Is the loan secured or unsecured?+
Secured, and secured only: secured is the single lending type listed. A secured loan is backed by collateral you already hold, which is how a provider can work with poor credit. The trade-off is that the collateral is at risk if payments stop, and there is no unsecured version of the same deal in the range.
How do I get help once I have the loan?+
Support runs on phone, chat and help centre, so a call, a chat, an email or the help centre are all open routes, and none of them needs an app login. Across a 24 month commitment the servicing desk is where interest and missed payment questions get answered, and a phone line carries more weight than a messaging-only service.
What company is behind the Self brand?+
The brand belongs to Self Financial, Inc., headquartered in the United States and founded in 2015, so this is an established business rather than a new entrant. Its register entry sits in NMLS Consumer Access under the identifier 2167345, and the legal name on your agreement should match that entry.
How do I judge whether the cost is fair?+
The pool gives useful marks: an APR median of 16% across the site and 11.23% for secured lending, with 18.44% at the upper end. Self quotes a fixed rate, fixed, so put the offer against those figures and against the 24 month term before you accept.
Sources
- selflender.com checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Lender type
“This is a loan solicitation only. Self Credit LLC (NMLS ID# 2167345) is not the lender.”
- selflender.com/credit-builder-loan checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Credit needed, Free early repayment, Loan types, Pricing model, Rate type, Term
“So whether you have bad credit or no credit at all, you can use Self to get on track towards building your dreams.”
- selflender.com/terms-of-service checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Eligibility, Support channels
“You are at least 18 years of age ... You reside in the United States and in the state and at the address you have or will provide to us”
- nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/2167345 checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Licences
- self.inc/about checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Founded
“Self began in 2015 after a mistake with Founder James Garvey's credit card”
- self.inc/terms-of-service checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Headquarters, Legal entity
“Self Financial, Inc. c/o Legal Department PO Box 11 Southlake, TX 76092-9998”
Compiled from 6 source pages, checked September 30, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: APR, Loan amount, Arrangement fee, Credit check, Funding time, Representative example.
Self
Borrowers with poor credit who want a short fixed rate secured loan and can repay early.