In a rapidly evolving economy, expenditure patterns also evolve rapidly. Especially in today’s age, one that is increasingly dominated by millennial professionals. With the tremendous rise in the corporate culture (and rising costs of living) in all the metropolitans, unplanned and contingent expenses are off the roof. More than any time before, people want that dream vacation or the dream car or that spontaneous shopping plan or road trip. Millennials have been characteristized with that go-getter attitude – they need it all, sometimes without even having the saved up money for it.
The need for money for unplanned expenses saw a further surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, where people suddenly saw unexpected medical expenses or even day-to-day expenses mounting up while the entire economy was on a complete lockdown.
While the need for money for unplanned expenses is multi-fold, a one stop solution to all of it is a relatively young concept: an instant loan. An instant loan can come in handy in a plethora of situations to take care of expenses falling out of your budget or the ones which arose out of nowhere. And as many of us are painfully aware, there’s no dearth of such scenarios in our lives. In fact, they’re often alarmingly frequent.
Why is an instant loan better than traditional loans from banks?
We’re settled into lifestyles that enable us to order everything from an app: food, clothes, or books, to name a few. It’s no surprise then, that several instant loan apps have mushroomed simultaneously during this period. In fact, it’s a fairly competitive and arguably even saturated industry.
What’s fuelled this growth? Why are consumers increasingly picking instant loan apps over traditional banks? How sustainable is this growth?
Well, even though commercial banks also offer personal loans, an instant loan from an online vendor, scores over traditional loans on the following accounts:
- Instant disbursement of money into your account
- Flexible repayment options
- Flexible repayment options in the form of EMIs
- Available to even low salaried persons or self employed professionals
- An unsecured loan means there is no need for any collateral
- Convenient to apply and get: you can complete the entire process in a matter of minutes.
It’s a fairly compelling combination of features and does help us justify the success and popularity many of these services have received. But it doesn’t end there. In a competitive market like this, brands make an effort to stand out. And the winner, ultimately, is the consumer.
The Advantages of an Instant Loan
Competent and mature fintech brands offer a unique blend of services, like financial wellness programs, and even credit cards, in addition to the instant loan apps on offer. Not only does an instant loan from a competent platform offer several benefits, but the right brands can often even have some relatively novel features, including:
- Low processing fee and no hidden charges
- Instant disbursement of the loan amount.
- Applicability for emergency situations that may need instant liquidity.
- The option of paying the EMIs through digital payment portals as well, which makes not only taking the loan easier, but also its repayment
- The EMI snooze feature also helps you avoid having a bad credit score and deferring the payment by a month, giving a person enough breathing room in case of a default.
In this new decade, availing of an instant personal loan can honestly be as easy as ordering a pizza online. All you have to do is keep a few tips in mind – in terms of choice of service, their interest rates, the fine print, etc.
About the Author
Shruti Aggarwal is the co-founder of StashFin, an app-based digital lending venture. A graduate from Sri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, Shruti pursued Chartered Accountancy and Masters from Columbia University in New York.
Disclaimer: The views in the article are those of the author and do not represent the views of MediaCatalyst, its associates or any of its employees.