Compare the whole offer
Two responses for the same requested amount can cost very different sums. One can show a lower interest rate and then add fees. Another can stretch the term so each payment is smaller while interest runs longer.
Name the provider, then read the documents that state the APR, finance charges, fees, and payment schedule before you accept.
APR is a comparison figure, not a GameBank rate
APR means annual percentage rate. It is meant to express the yearly cost of credit. It can sit above the interest rate when certain required charges are folded into the calculation.
That is useful when two offers are built differently. It is not a number GameBank publishes for itself. GameBank has no house APR range. Any APR you see has to come from the provider making that offer.
Interest rate and APR answer different questions
The interest rate is the percentage charged on what you borrow. APR is a wider yearly cost measure and may include certain finance charges on top of interest.
A large interest-rate headline is not the whole disclosure. Read the provider’s figures together.
Fees that may show up
A contract may include an origination or processing charge, a late fee, a returned-payment fee, or another charge the agreement names. Not every provider uses every fee.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tells people looking at personal installment loans to read the lender’s disclosures so they can see which fees apply and how those fees add to the cost.
What the term changes
The repayment term is how long the schedule is supposed to last. The agreement should also say how often a payment is due and how much each one is.
A longer term can shrink the installment and still raise the total you pay. A shorter term can do the reverse. Neither is automatically the right choice. The question is whether that provider’s schedule fits your budget.
A smaller installment can hide a larger total
Illustration, not an offer: one schedule collects a modest amount each month for many extra months, and another collects more each month and ends sooner. The modest payment can still cost more overall once interest and fees are included. The provider’s total-repayment line is how you see that, not a guess from the monthly figure alone.
Total repayment
Total repayment is what you would pay if you followed the schedule to the end, including principal and the borrowing costs the disclosure includes. Use the provider’s numbers for the offer in front of you. GameBank cannot compute or promise that total for a product it does not control.
The agreement outranks this page
A GameBank article is not a substitute for the provider’s disclosures. Those documents should state the amount offered, APR, fees, due dates, term, and what follows a late or missed payment. If a line is unclear, ask the provider before you accept.
You can decline an offer you do not understand.
Put the payment next to the rest of the month
Before you take on the payment, set it beside housing, food, utilities, transportation, insurance, and debts you already have. Being shown a larger amount does not mean you should borrow all of it.
Continue with Responsible Lending.
The CFPB’s overview of personal installment loan fees is the outside reference for the fee questions above.