Important: Tappily ceased lending after going into administration in 2023. You can still use this page to explore other loans like Tappily.
Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For help, go to moneyhelper.org.uk.
Please note: High-cost short-term credit is unsuitable for sustained borrowing over long periods and would be expensive as a means of longer-term borrowing.
| Name | Established | Loan types | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tappily |
2017 |
Line of credit |
|
 |
Fund Ourselves |
2016 |
Peer-to-peer instalment loans |
|
 |
Creditspring |
2018 |
Instalment loans through a membership scheme |
|
 |
Lending Stream |
2008 |
Instalment loans |
|
 |
Drafty |
2015 |
Line of credit |
|
 |
Polar Credit |
2019 |
Line of credit |
|
 |
SteadyPay |
2017 |
Instalment loans through a membership scheme |
Fund Ourselves (read review) is a direct lender (not a broker), which offers peer-to-peer instalment loans of up to £1,500 over terms of up to 6 months. That's £1,000 less than Tappily (although for new customers the maximum is £800) but with a lower representative APR of 1,310.4%. Peer-to-peer services bring together investors who want to lend money with borrowers who want to borrow money. In theory, peer-to-peer platforms have lower overheads and so can pass on lower interest rates.
Fund Ourselves representative example: Borrow £300 for 106 days at a rate of 176% p.a. (fixed). Representative 1,310.4% APR and total payable £452.97 in 4 monthly payments of £113.24.
Next up, Creditspring (read review) is also a direct lender, which offers instalment loans through a membership scheme of up to £1,000 over terms of up to 12 months. That's £1,500 less than Tappily but with a higher representative APR of 54.6%. With credit membership schemes, you pay a weekly or monthly subscription fee and can then receive low-interest or no-interest loans when needed. You'll need to have been a member for a specified amount of time (often two weeks) before you can borrow money.
Creditspring representative example: Total amount of credit £1,000 repayable over 13 months. 12 monthly membership payments of £12. Rate of interest 0% p.a. (fixed). Representative 54.6% APR. The first repayment for each advance is £83.35, due 45 days after drawing, followed by 5 monthly repayments of £83.33. Total amount payable £1,144.
Lending Stream (visit site) is another direct lender, which offers instalment loans of up to £1,500 over terms of up to 6 months. That's £1,000 less than Tappily but with a lower representative APR of 1,271%. With instalment loans, you borrow for an agreed amount of time at a fixed interest rate, and pay back a set amount each month until the loan is cleared. You'll know in advance exactly how much your loan will cost and when it'll be cleared. Like Tappily, Lending Stream uses open banking as part of its approval process – analysing your bank account transactions to assess risk and affordability (you'll need to give it permission through your internet banking).
Lending Stream representative example: Borrow £300 for 6 months at a rate of 292% p.a. (fixed). Representative 1,271% APR and total payable £578.36 in 6 monthly payments of £96.39
Drafty (visit site) is a direct lender which, like Tappily, offers an ongoing line of credit but could let you borrow up to £3,000. That's £500 more than Tappily but with a higher representative APR of 96.2%.
Drafty Representative Example: Assumed credit limit: £1200. Representative 96.2% APR (variable). Annual interest rate 69.4% (variable).
Polar Credit (read review) is a direct lender which, like Tappily, offers an ongoing line of credit but could let you borrow up to £2,000. That's £500 less than Tappily but with a higher representative APR of 68.7%. Polar Credit also uses your banking transactions in its affordability and risk assessments.
Polar Credit Representative Example: Amount of credit: £1,200, interest rate: 49.9% pa (variable) and 1.65% transaction fee. Representative 68.7% APR (variable)
Finally, SteadyPay (read review) is our last direct lender, which offers instalment loans through a membership scheme of up to £1,000. That's £1,500 less than Tappily but with a higher representative APR of 91.25%.
SteadyPay representative example: Total amount of credit of £300. Subscription £90 over 120 days. Representative APR 91.25% and total payable: £390.