Mogo Loans: Are they a good lender?
A lot has been said about Mogo personal loans: some good, some bad. If you’re looking for personal loans in Canada, you may be wondering whether Mogo is a solid option or whether it would be wise to look elsewhere.
In this Mogo loan review, we’ll go through the company’s loan products and the ins and outs of these loans. We’ll also discuss the good and bad parts. We all know that Mogo is a reputable lender. The question here isn’t so much whether they are great or trustworthy — it’s whether or not Mogo loans are the right loan products for you.
About Mogo
Mogo is a company that claims to break the mold when it comes to financial products. They solely operate online, and most of their business is conducted through apps and their website. This helps speed up the process of lending while making it far simpler for their customers to borrow, as well.
It is a popular company in Canada. As of this writing, nearly a million people have used Mogo at some point, and the company is getting larger and larger. Of course, success doesn’t mean that they are a good lender, but if one million people have trusted Mogo, you know that you’re likely onto something good.
While we’re primarily going to talk about Mogo personal loans here, we do want to point out that the company offers a multitude of other financial products, too. For example; you can avail their mortgage service. You can also buy and sell cryptocurrency. They even offer you training for making investments.
For many people with less-than-great credit, Mogo may be one of the only options available.
Mogo Personal Loans
There are two main personal loan products from Mogo. We are going to talk about them more in-depth in this section and do a comparison between the two.
Two Loan Options
Technically, you actually have three options if you’re planning to go with Mogo; MogoMoney, MogoLiquid, and MogoMini. Since MogoMoney and MogoLiquid share so many similarities, we are going to class them as a single product. There are a couple of differences between these loan types, but nothing that is really going to impact you.
- MogoLiquid. This is your traditional installment loan for those who are looking to pay off their loans over a few years as opposed to a few months. Do note, though, that there are monthly options available for you, as well.
- MogoMini. This is similar to a payday loan, although Mogo doesn’t really class it as such. This is for those who need small amounts of cash fast. It’s also ideal for those who do not qualify for a conventional installment loan.
The amount you can borrow
When it comes to the amount that you can borrow, Mogo covers just about every personal loan. You can borrow anything from $100 to $35,000 across their range of products. As with most personal loan companies, it is unlikely that you are going to get approved for the top loans, but most people (even with poor credit) may find it easy to borrow a few thousand dollars.
Repayment Terms
This is where things really start to become different between the two main personal loan products.
MogoLiquid/MogoMoney will be your traditional installment loan. You borrow cash for anywhere between nine months and five years. You don’t really have that much of a choice over your repayment terms. Mogo will give you an offer and it is up to you to accept it or decline. At the end of your agreed repayment plan, your loan is fully paid off. You are done.
MogoMini, on the other hand, is a bit different. The repayment on this plan is dictated by the borrower. By default, you will always be paying back the interest and fees on the loan each month. This will be your minimum repayment. You do not need to pay off any of the principal each month. Obviously, it would be wise to because if you don’t, the cost of your loan will really start to stack up. However, as long as you meet the minimum repayments each month, Mogo isn’t going to put pressure on you to pay the loan back. They know that the people they are lending to are going to have financial issues on occasion. This means that they ‘have your back’. They aren’t going to give you an actual payment break, but only having to pay the interest on your loan is probably the closest that you’re going to get to a payment break with a reputable lender.
There are some people who claim that the plan put in place with MogoMini is akin to a payday loan. We don’t see it as such. Sure, it shares a couple of similarities to your traditional payday loan, but the interest rates (as you are about to see) tend to be a lot lower. Since the loan is structured more like an installment loan than a payday loan, most people will discover that it is a little bit easier to meet the minimum repayments, too. Basically, as long as you understand how to manage your finances, you are less likely to fall into a debt cycle. We love the fact that Mogo has devised a loan like this. It is something that we wish other lenders provided.
With both loans, you can pay them off early. There are no early repayment fees.
Interest Rates
MogoLiquid products have a variable interest rate. How much the interest is will depend on your personal circumstances and credit score. Expect the number to range between 5% and 47% AIR, though the typical interest rate is going to be around 22%. It’s not going to be the most affordable installment loan in the world, but if you have a poor credit history, then it may be the only option that you have available to you.
MogoMini is a bit more expensive. Mogo makes it ‘simple’ to understand by claiming that for every $100 you borrow (and have yet to repay), the interest is 13 cents per day. It doesn’t really work that way in practice. The fees can add up rather quickly. It also doesn’t allow you to easily compare products. The real interest rate on MogoMini will be 47.71% AIR. This is going to be cheaper than your traditional payday loan (up to 88% cheaper), but more expensive than your standard installment loan. This means that MogoMini is probably only going to be ideal for those who really are struggling to get approved with any other type of loan.
Loan Qualification
Mogo is a bit more lax than other lenders when it comes to handing out installment loans. In fact, they are so lax, that as long as you have been in steady employment for the last couple of months, you should have very few issues being approved for a loan. Mogo doesn’t particularly care if you have a bankruptcy or a couple of delinquencies on your account. As long as you don’t have a major habit of not paying things back, then Mogo will likely approve your application. Just bear in mind that a poor credit score may make some of the options provided by Mogo unaffordable. Always ensure that you can afford a loan before you accept it.
When you are applying for your loan, you will need to provide pay stubs and proof of your identity. If you can’t provide either, then you won’t get approved for a loan with Mogo.
The Application Process & Speed of Cash Delivery
Mogo makes it simple to apply for a loan.
MogoMini is probably going to be the fastest way to get cash. Provided that you have all of your details and requirements ready, you could feasibly have money in your bank account within a day or so. You just need to go through the application process on the mobile app which should take no more than a few minutes. Your application will be manually reviewed before any payment is made. However, Mogo has staff working 24/7 so this process shouldn’t take too long.
MogoLiquid isn’t that much slower. You will be asked to provide a bit more information (copies of your pay stubs etc.), but nothing too different from what you would normally need to submit when applying for an installment loan. The credit check will be carried out right away, and you will be given a decision.
Do bear in mind that this offer can be rescinded, although this is very rare. There may be times where you will be contacted by a customer service agent who may have a few more questions to ask you. However, again, this is rare. In most cases, it should take no more than three days to get your money. However, most people find that it will err closer to a day or two. This is an incredibly fast way to obtain an installment loan — certainly faster than a bank.
Other Features
It doesn’t matter which loan type you apply for with Mogo, you will have access to your credit score for free throughout the duration of your loan. This is a great way to check how your credit history is doing. There is a small delay in the score being updated, but since you are getting it for free, you can’t really complain all that much.
Mogo does make it easy to manage your money. Everything is done through the app. This can be to their detriment on occasion. They do have a chat system built into their technology, but sometimes you do wish you could pick up the telephone and give them a call. You can do that, but you are actively discouraged from doing it.
At all times, you will be able to see exactly how much you have left on your loan, as well as your repayments. This is a lot more information than other lenders provide you. We have seen some personal loan reviews for companies that ask you to email them if you want to find out how much cash is left to pay. This is incredibly annoying particularly in this age of technology.
Who would benefit most from Mogo Loans?
It is evident that Mogo Loans are (mostly) going to be for the benefit of those who have serious credit issues but would have no chance of failing to pay their loan back. If you are employed and a permanent Canadian resident, then Mogo will probably approve your application. Of course, this will come at a higher interest rate, but at least you know that you will be working with a decent lender.
Mogo Loans is also ideal for those people who need money fast, but do not feel that a payday loan is a good option for them. Perhaps they prefer the stability of an installment plan instead. In that case, Mogo is also going to be right for you.
Conclusion
Mogo does have its failings. However, the same could be said about any other lender out there. This is a company that fills a very specific niche when it comes to personal loans in Canada. No, they are not going to be for everybody. However, for those who need money fast, but want to know that they are working with a reputable business, it can be tough to beat Mogo.