RISE Personal Loan Review

If you need money but traditional lenders won’t fund your loan, it can feel like you’re out of options. RISE offers small, short-term loans for just this situation. Here’s what you need to know.

• Expensive rates: RISE loans come with interest rates as high as 299.00%, which could translate to thousands of dollars in interest, even for a small loan. Financial experts recommend avoiding loans with rates above 36%, which is widely considered to be the maximum affordable rate.
• Smaller loan size: RISE’s loan amounts also vary by state, but the most you can borrow anywhere is $5,000. This is much less than you can get from other personal loan lenders. 
• Not available everywhere: RISE currently operates in 30 states. Some states have regulations that make it illegal to offer loans with such high interest rates.
• Biweekly loan payments: While most personal loans come with monthly payments, RISE loans require biweekly payments. This can make them hard to keep up with.
• Works with bad credit: You can find more affordable installment loans for bad credit from other lenders, but if you can’t qualify for a loan with rates under 36%, RISE may be able to get you the money you need.
• Quick cash: RISE can deposit your money into a linked bank account as soon as the next business day once you’re approved.
• Best for people with bad credit and no other options: If other lenders have already turned you away, RISE could get you the money you need. But since RISE loans are expensive, create an early repayment plan to keep costs down.

RISE pros and cons

It’s hard to find loans for bad credit, and you may be able to qualify with RISE. But you’d trade access to money for very expensive loan payments. Make sure you understand the risks before you move forward.

Have a short-term cash emergency but can’t get a personal loan with more affordable rates? RISE loans are designed for just this situation. RISE will send your money as soon as the next business day so you can take care of your current financial problem. 

If you need the money and don’t qualify for cheaper loans for bad credit, it’s understandable that you’d turn to RISE. Just make sure you can afford your monthly payments, or you could find yourself in even more financial trouble by missing payments or even defaulting on your loan. Learn more about how much RISE loans cost in your state. 

If you do decide to borrow from RISE, create a budget to pay off your debt as soon as possible. Since RISE doesn’t charge prepayment penalties, you can make a RISE loan much more affordable by paying your loan off early. Not making a lot of money? Learn how to get out of debt on a low income.

RISE requirements

RISE doesn’t provide many details about what you need to get approved for a loan. Here’s what we know:

• Age: Be at least 18
• Residency: Live in one of the 30 states where RISE loans are available
• Employment: Need a job or other source of income
• Administrative: Need a valid checking account and email address
• Military status: Not available to military members due to legislation that protects military borrowers from loans with high rates

If RISE’s loan options won’t work for your borrowing needs, shop around for a lender that helps you meet your financial goals and can offer you the best-fitting rates, terms and amounts.

How to get a personal loan with RISE

Here are the basic steps for getting a RISE loan:

Prequalify

When you prequalify, or check your eligibility and rates, you’ll enter basic information like your name, address and Social Security number in RISE’s online loan application. RISE will do a soft credit pull to see if you qualify. This won’t impact your credit.

See your rates and eligibility

RISE will either make you an offer or deny your application. Your loan offer will include information about how much money you can borrow, your interest rate and repayment schedule.

Close on the loan

If you choose to move forward, RISE will run a hard credit check on your report. This is standard practice for personal loan lenders.  You could get your money as soon as the next business day.

Unlike most lenders, RISE allows you to change your mind and return your loan money after signing an agreement — as long as you do it within five business days.  

If RISE denies your loan application, you can take charge of your finances by working to improve your chances of getting approved for a personal loan.

How RISE compares to other personal loan companies

Even if you believe RISE aligns with what you’re looking for in a personal loan, it never hurts to shop around and compare other lenders. Here’s how RISE stacks up against similar personal loan lenders.

How we rated RISE

We evaluate personal loan lenders on more than just interest rates. Our goal is to show how accessible, affordable, transparent and supportive each lender really is.

Our categories

Every lender is scored out of 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest rating. LendingTree loan experts determine this score using dozens of underlying data points across four weighted categories covering the full borrowing journey.

Our process

We gather data directly from lenders through their websites, disclosures and direct communication with company representatives. Our editorial team verifies and updates information regularly. We value transparency and award less favorable scores when lenders obscure or omit details.

In some cases, our editors may apply a small adjustment (no more than 4% of the overall score) to account for factors not captured by the methodology. This could include J.D. Power customer satisfaction surveys, recent regulatory actions or features that stand out in ways our rubric doesn’t measure directly.

Our editorial team applies the same scoring model and standards to every lender. Lenders cannot pay to influence our ratings.