To cater to the needs of consumers, credit is available in a variety of ways nowadays, but it often comes with many preset conditions of minimum income level, credit score, etc. There are many people who fall on the lower end of the income spectrum. All these people need may be a small ticket loan, but such individuals often find it difficult to secure credit from traditional sources of lenders, such as banks, as they do not meet the stringent conditions of income.  

However, there exists a wide range of options for people with low income. We bring to you some options which can be explored by people with low income. 

Loan against Fixed Deposits  

You may have a fixed deposit account with a bank, but at the same time, there may arise a need for credit too and you may not want to break that FD. Did you know you could inquire for a loan with the bank against your Fixed Deposit? Banks are happy to lend to you against your fixed deposit as they have the security of your FD.  

In this scenario, the lenders will generally do away with the criteria of minimum income required for the loan. However, the amount that will qualify for your loan would be around 80-85% of the amount of your FD.  

You will also be charged an interest that is 1-2% over the interest rate on your fixed deposit. For Ex: If your Fixed Deposit is with the bank for 7.25%, then your personal loan availed on that Fixed Deposit may range between 9-11%.  

Your credit score may not be considered for loans against FD as you are availing a loan against the security of your Fixed Deposit

 

Advantages of a Loan Against FD: 

  • You pay a lower rate of interest than a normal unsecured loan like a personal loan 

  • End use of the funds is at the discretion of the borrower 

  • There is no prepayment penalty as in the case of personal loan 

Gold Loans 

Gold loans are loans that you can avail on pledging your gold ornaments/bars. There are a number of established gold loan players in the market with whom you can pledge your ornaments and draw a personal loan. 

As with personal loans against FD, gold loans are also not connected to your income level; rather they are based on the quantity of gold being pledged. Generally, around 70-80% of the pledged gold's value is admissible as a personal loan. It is good to look for established players who have in-house certified valuation and assessment facilities.  

The rate of interest on a gold loan ranges between 10-14% and a processing fee of 1-2% of the loan amount is also charged.   

Advantages of Availing A Gold Loan 

  • Income is not a deciding criterion for personal loans against gold 

  • An illiquid asset like gold can be put to use and loan can be availed against it 

  • You can decide on the repayment period.  This proves extremely beneficial for short-term needs of credit 

  • End use of the loan can be decided by the borrower 

  • When repaid on time, a gold loan can help you boost your credit score 

Additional Reading: How gold loans can help in boosting your credit score?

Personal Loans from Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) 

NBFCs form an integral part of the credit universe. These are financial institutions but as they are not in the banking sector, they have less stringent rules and regulations for lending.  

NBFCs and certain co-operative banks do away with minimum income criteria and often lend on a case-to-case basis. Their existing customers or members in case of co-operative banks may get a preferential treatment while borrowing.  

Though the minimum income criteria for these financial institutions may be low, the rates of interest charged are much higher than the normal banks to compensate for the risk involved in lending.  They also ask for security and some collateral depending upon the amount of the loan being availed. 

The rate of interest charged on personal loans by co-operative banks can range from 13-20% or even higher. Loans from NBFCs/Co-operative banks come into use if you do not have fixed deposit or gold for pledging.  

Advantages of borrowing from a Co-operative Bank/NBFC 

  • Not very stringent rules on income 

  • Membership with co-operative banks can be useful in the future too 

  • No prepayment penalties 

Personal Loans from Fintech Companies 

Fintech companies are the new age companies that deal in the financial sector and make use of technology to make lending and investing easier.  

In the lending space, many companies like Credy, Early Salary, Pay Sense, etc. have made borrowing small amounts a very easier proposition for many individuals who fail to get credit from banks/other institutions. They rely more on their proprietary algorithms and data to base lending decisions on rather than just using traditional data of income levels and repayment ability.   

The unique feature of fintech lending is that they provide loans for people with low credit scores as well, as they look at many other parameters in addition to a good credit score. Some of the data collected by the fintech companies range from your social media activity to other traces left by you on the digital space like payments for different utilities, online shopping patterns, etc.  

We bring some of the features of the personal loans offered by these fintechs: 

PaySense  

  • Offers loans quickly and easily for up to Rs 2,00,000 

  • Available for both salaried and self-employed indivuals 

  • Minimum monthly income of Rs 12,000 for salaried and Rs 15,000 for self-employed 

  • One-time documentation for future loans 

  • Flexi - EMI options available 

  • All approvals are done online 

  • They serve people with zero credit history too  

Credy  

  • Full approval in real time, Amount disbursed in 24 hours 

  • Paperless process - no cheques/photocopies of documents needed 

  • Loans up to Rs 1 Lakhs with duration up to 1 year 

  • Credit limit up to Rs 2 Lakhs 

  • Flexible EMI rates & loan duration 

  • Fast & reliable customer service 

  • Pay interest only on the amount used 

  • Instant IMPS top-up loan for on-time repayments 

  • Flat interest rate of 1.1-1.7% per month 

  • Minimum monthly salary requirement of Rs 15,000 

Cashe 

  • Easy and Intuitive mobile-only application 

  • No human interface. Only four documents to upload in the application 

  • MULTIPLE LOAN TENURES- A choice of repayment options ranging from 15, 30 & 90 days with products CASHe15, CASHe30 & CASHe90 respectively. 

  • MULTIPLE LOAN OPTIONS- Choose from a variety of loan options from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1,00,000 with products such as CASHe15, CASHe30 & CASHe90. 

  • Interest rates differ with loan tenures and loan options. For CASHe15, interest rate is 1.5% pm; for CASHe30, it is 3.0% pm; and for CASHe90, it is 2.5% pm 

EarlySalary 

  • India's first advance salary App 

  • You could get salary advance up to Rs 2,00,000 with interest starting at just Rs 9/day 

  • Pay only for the number of days you use the money 

  • You could use your EarlySalary limit to shop on Amazon and pay in zero cost 3 EMIs & affordable 6 EMIs 

  • Partners with companies for disbursal of early salary and run financial wellness programs 

Microfinance Loans 

Microfinance loans are available to those who are employed at the lower rungs of the society. They are available to housewives who look to set up small-scale businesses and to economically weaker sections.  

To improve payment obligations, these loans are generally modeled on joint liability-based group lending. Amounts of loan as low as Rs 5000 are also available for borrowing through microfinance loans.