Online Loans in Switzerland Explained

A notable portion of Swiss bank loan applications are still carried out offline. A visit to the branch office of a bank or other lender remains the procedure of choice for many borrowers.

But consumers in Switzerland are increasingly applying for loans online. Practically all lenders now offer online loan applications. These include:

• bob credit
• Cembra Money Bank
• Credit-now (from Credit Suisse subsidiary Bank-now)
• Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE)
• Ecash (Cornèr Banca)
• Lend
• Migros Bank (Migros Bank offers a brick-and-mortar loan and a more affordable online loan as two separate products.

There are differences between lenders in terms of how digitized the process of handling applications is. The highest levels of digitization are generally found at online lenders like Lend.

Crowdlending platforms

More recently, a number of peer-to-peer (P2P) loan platforms which offer online loans have also begun operating in Switzerland. The principal is fairly simple. P2P loan platforms (like Lend) enable users to lend money to other users and earn interest. The P2P platform handles credit checks and marketing, and charges a fee for its services. The most important Swiss P2P loan platforms are included in the interactive personal loan comparison on moneyland.ch.

The cheapest loans are found online

The most affordable personal loans in Switzerland are often online loans. With online loans, you as the borrower have to enter all the data yourself. The bank or other online lender saves time and effort because you do part of the work yourself. These cost savings enable lenders to offer somewhat cheaper loans.

Minimum and maximum interest rates of online loans

Important: Lenders often advertise a minimum and a maximum interest rate. The lowest interest rate is reserved for borrowers with the highest creditworthiness, so many borrowers cannot take advantage of the cheapest offers. With the online loan calculator from moneyland.ch, you can find out exactly what a personal loan will actually cost you based on the interest rate quoted to you by the lender.

Important: Take time to get informed about whether or not you are likely to get a loan from a given lender before applying. A rejected loan application will result in a negative entry being added to your ZEK credit history, which will make getting approved for loans more difficult.

Exercise caution when using online loan brokers

The Internet is alive with offers from online loan brokers which loudly claim to offer the best loans. But be careful: Not all loan brokers look out for the best interests of customers.

Avoiding lenders which are not based in Switzerland is recommended, even if their website has a Swiss domain (.ch). Take time to study the sites imprint and contact information to determine whether the broker actually has a Swiss office.

Comparing the interest rates of personal loans as a first step will help you understand what you can expect to pay for loans in Switzerland.

More on this topic:
Compare Swiss personal loans now
Tips for using personal loans in Switzerland
Use the online loan calculator now