The Request in Five Steps
A request moves through five stages: you fill out the form, it is submitted securely, lenders review it, you look over any offer on the lender's own site, and if you accept, you sign and receive funds on the lender's schedule.
- 1
Fill Out the Request
Tell us how much you want to borrow (from $500 to $5,000), what the money is for, how you earn income, and how lenders can reach you. Most people finish in about five minutes, and the form is free to use.
- 2
Submit It Securely
Your request travels over an encrypted connection. When you press submit, we may share it with lenders and lending partners in our network whose criteria could match what you described.
- 3
Lenders Review Your Request
Each lender decides on its own whether to make an offer. A lender may verify your details and run a credit check, often a soft inquiry at first, before presenting terms.
- 4
Review an Offer on the Lender's Site
If a lender wants to work with you, you are taken to its own page to see the APR, fees, payment amount and number of payments. Read everything, compare it with other options, and decline if it does not fit.
- 5
Sign and Receive Funds
If you accept, you sign the loan agreement directly with the lender. Many lenders deposit funds as soon as the next business day after approval and signing, though timing varies by lender and bank.
Nothing in those five steps commits you to borrowing. You can stop at any point, including after you have seen an offer, and you never pay us for using the request form.
What You Will Be Asked For
The form asks for details lenders commonly need to evaluate a small personal loan: identity and contact information, income and pay schedule, housing basics, and the bank account where funds would be deposited.
| Information | Why lenders ask for it |
|---|---|
| Name, date of birth, address | To confirm identity and that you are 18 or older (or your state's age of majority) and live in the US |
| Phone and email | So a lender can send your offer and follow up on your request |
| Income source and pay frequency | To judge whether a payment would fit your budget |
| Social Security number | To verify identity and check credit history |
| Bank account details | To deposit funds and, if you agree, set up automatic payments |
Typical requirements are described in more depth in our eligibility overview. Having a recent pay stub and your bank's routing number nearby makes the form quicker.
What We Share and Why
When you submit a leap credit loan request, we share the information you entered with lenders and lending partners in our network so they can decide whether to make an offer. Sharing is the core of the service; without it, no lender could respond.
We share request details for that purpose and for related service functions, such as preventing fraud and keeping records the law requires. Lenders that receive your request may contact you by phone, text or email about it. You can tell any lender to stop contacting you, and you can ask us to remove your information from our records.
Our privacy policy explains what we collect, who receives it, how long we keep it and how to make a request about your data.
Credit Checks Explained
Submitting the form itself does not create a hard inquiry with us, because we are not a lender. Lenders that review your request may check your credit, and many start with a soft inquiry that does not affect your credit scores.
A soft inquiry lets a lender see enough of your credit history to estimate whether it can make an offer. If you accept an offer and move forward, the lender may then run a hard inquiry, which can lower your scores by a few points for a period of time. The offer page or loan agreement should say which type of check the lender uses.
Lenders look at more than a score. Income, existing debts, recent payment history and how long you have had credit accounts can all matter. Our guide to what lenders check on a personal loan application walks through the common factors.
What a Personal Loan Costs
Using our request form is free. The cost of a personal loan comes from the lender: interest expressed as an APR, plus any fees the lender charges, all of which should appear in the offer before you sign.
Mainstream personal loans commonly run from roughly 6% to 36% APR, and some short-term installment lenders charge more where state law allows. Fees can include an origination fee taken from the loan amount and late fees if a payment is missed.
Representative example: $2,000 borrowed over 12 months at 24% APR works out to about $189.12 a month, or about $2,269.43 in total (estimate only; your lender's offer may differ).
Comparing offers by total repayment, not just the monthly payment, is the clearest way to see which loan costs less. Our rates guide covers fees and APR in more detail, and the personal loan calculator lets you test different amounts and terms.
After You Accept an Offer
Accepting an offer means signing a loan agreement directly with the lender. From that point, the lender handles funding, payments, statements and customer service, and we no longer play a role in the loan.
Before you sign, check the due date of the first payment, whether automatic payments are required or optional, and whether there is any penalty for paying the loan off early. Save a copy of the agreement and the lender's contact details. If you have questions about the loan later, the lender is the only party that can see or change your account.
If No Offer Arrives
Not every request receives an offer. Each lender applies its own criteria, and some lenders do not serve every state or every loan amount, so a request without an offer is common and is not a judgment about you.
If no lender responds, a few practical steps can help:
- Check that your income, phone number and bank details were entered correctly.
- Consider requesting a smaller amount that matches one specific expense.
- Review your credit reports for errors and dispute anything inaccurate.
- Ask your bank or a local credit union about small personal loans.
- Talk with the company you owe about a payment plan before borrowing.
People sometimes search leap credit requirements after a request without an offer; our FAQ answers the most common follow-up questions.
Using the Service Responsibly
A personal loan can solve a short-term problem, but it is still a fixed obligation for months. Borrow the smallest amount that covers the need, and choose a payment you could still make if an unexpected bill arrived.
A quick budget check helps: subtract rent, utilities, groceries, transportation and existing debt payments from your take-home pay, then see whether the new payment fits with room left over. If it only fits on paper, a smaller loan or a different plan may serve you better.
