Bright Lending Review: Best to Avoid This One
Bright Lending isn't available on Finder right now.
- Min. Amount
- $300
- Max. Amount
- $3,000
- Turnaround time
- As soon as same day
Our verdict
This lender offers fast online loans, but you could end up repaying more than four times what you borrowed.
Bright Lending is a tribal lender owned by the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana. It offers short-term personal loans up to $3,000 with loan terms of 10 months for loans under $1,000 or 12 months for loans over $1,000. It doesn’t charge prepayment penalties, and you could receive the loan funds as soon as the next business day, but you’ll pay interest rates so high that payday loans look like a great idea. Because of its predatory nature, borrowers should first start by applying with other short-term personal loan lenders. Or, if you only need to borrow a few hundred bucks to tide you over, you may try a cash advance app instead.
Best for: Borrowers who need emergency funding and can’t qualify for other loans.
Pros
-
Funding as soon as the next business day
-
Discounts for auto-pay
-
No prepayment penalties
Cons
-
Interest rates over 500%
-
Very bad customer reviews
-
Requires bi-weekly payments
Is Bright Lending legit?
Bright Lending is a predatory lender that charges extremely high interest rates and has been sued more than once. Minnesota reached a settlement in February 2024 with Bright Lending and two other lenders operating under the same umbrella organization. A couple of years ago New Jersey filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Bright Lending of usury — the practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates.
The Better Business Bureau also has an alert on the Bright Lending BBB page, alerting consumers to a pattern of customer complaints. These complaints say that after making several payments, borrowers found they owed much more than they originally borrowed. In addition, it’s reviewed very poorly by customers on BBB and Trustpilot, who, by and large, feel they were victimized by a predatory lender.
Where Bright Lending Falls short
Bright Lending charges interest rates from 500% to 725%, according to its website. These rates are incredibly high, even by payday loan standards. Because it’s a tribal lender operating from tribal lands, it’s not required to adhere to state and federal payday lending laws, which is how it can charge such unreasonable rates.
To illustrate how expensive these loans really are, consider an example from Bright Lending’s own website: You take out a loan for $500 for a 10-month loan term at a 725% rate. Your repayment schedule is 21 bi-weekly payments of $140.22, for a total of $2,944 — almost six times what you originally borrowed.
This predatory practice tends to drive borrowers deeper into debt. After all, someone who needs to borrow $500 probably can’t afford to pay back almost $3,000.
What makes Bright Lending shine?
We can’t recommend Bright Lending as a good source for a personal loan because of its extremely high rates and predatory lending practices. Only consider it as an absolute last resort. If you get a loan from Bright Lending, it doesn’t charge prepayment penalties, so you should prioritize paying it back as fast as you can.
You can get a slight discount for allowing Bright Lending to automatically deduct your bi-weekly loan payments, but you may not want this lender to have access to your bank account.
Bright Lending loan details
| Minimum credit score/credit range | Accepts bad or no credit |
| APR | 500% to 725% |
| Loan amounts | $300 to $3,000 ($1,200 maximum for new customers) |
| Terms | 10 or 12 months |
| Approval turnaround | As soon as same day |
| Availability | Not available in: Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia |
| Fees |
|
| Other fees | Undisclosed |
Calculate your monthly loan payments
Use our convenient calculator to estimate how much you’ll need to pay on your loan each month.
Monthly repayments calculator
Calculate how much you could expect to pay each month|
Your loan
|
|---|
| Loan amount |
|
$
|
| Loan terms (in years) |
|
|
| Interest rate |
|
%
|
Fill out the form and click on “Calculate” to see your estimated monthly payment.
or
Compare personal loans nowBased on your loan terms
| Principal | $ |
|---|---|
| Interest | $ |
| Total Cost | $ |
How to qualify for Bright Lending
Bright Lending is vague about listing its minimum requirements to qualify, but this is what it asks for:
- A recurring and verifiable source of income
- To meet external and internal underwriting requirements
- To legally meet all requirements to enter into a contract
- Have an open and active checking account
How to apply
The lending process is pretty straightforward.
- Apply online and prequalify in minutes.
- Complete verification section.
- Review and e-sign contract if application is accepted.
- Receive funding once approved, usually available by the next day.
How Bright Lending compares to other lenders
Bright Lending reviews and complaints
| BBB accredited | No |
|---|---|
| BBB rating | B |
| BBB customer reviews | 1.12 out of 5 stars, based on 143 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot Score | 1.6 out of 5 stars, based on 223 customer reviews |
| Customer reviews verified as of | 15 July 2024 |
Bright Lending has terrible reviews on both the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot, and BBB has a consumer alert warning consumers of a pattern of complaints.
Most Bright Lending reviews and complaints consist of customers accusing it of being a scam or not being up front about its costs. Some reviewers even go so far as to call it criminal. We couldn’t find one positive review about Bright Lending.
Your reviews
Lacey Finder
Writer
Hi there, looking for more information? Ask us a question.
You are about to post a question on finder.com:
- Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank details) as your question will be made public
- finder.com is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or product provider
- We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations
- Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions below to see if yours has already been asked
Finder only provides general advice and factual information, so consider your own circumstances, or seek advice before you decide to act on our content. By submitting a question, you're accepting our finder.com Terms of Use and Privacy and Cookies Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.