Covid impact: ‘Contactless’ personal loans are here

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The concept of ‘contactless’ and ‘touchless’ services gained immense popularity soon after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic last year. The world shifted online only to discover infinite possibilities available on the internet to cater their everyday needs.

Among other thing, digitisation also made it possible to avail a personal loan online and the concept of ‘touchless personal loan’ started gaining momentum. It is one of those facilities that will eventually help most of us at some point in life.

What is a touchless personal loan?

Touchless personal loans are digital or app-based loans through which one can avail loans from licensed NBFCs, banks and other financial institutions.

“With the ongoing pandemic touchless personal loans are gaining importance due to the obvious benefits of safety, 24 hrs service, zero paperwork, one time KYC process with minimal documents and quick disbursals,” said Charlie Lee, founder and CEO of Balance Hero.

These loans are available with all leading banks, NBFCs and fintech platforms. A customer should avail these touchless digital loans from any of the RBI-licensed lenders of their choice rather than just falling trap of the unethical/illegal loan apps/lenders.

Eligibility

If you are eligible to get a personal loan offline, you can avail it online too. The online loans are, in fact, not limited by geographical restrictions and can be opted by anyone across the country.

Is a touchless personal loan more expensive than regular ones?

It is important to remember that all online personal loans are not always costly or come with high rates of interest or high processing charges. Interest rates depend on various factors such as a borrower’s income, the loan amount, and the credit score.

“The rate of interest varies company to company, so it is advised to compare and get details on the charges and credibility of the platform before borrowing money to avoid any financial trouble in future. It is most important to check the fact that the lender is licensed, platform is registered and in compliance with the RBI guidelines,” said Lee.

Meanwhile, it is mandatory for lenders to disclose all charges explicitly on the platform for borrowers to check and agree. However, given the fact that they (platforms) provide loan during emergency situation, these touchless loan platforms are a boon to customers.

But it is also advisable for customers to compare interest rates offered by various companies and pick the one that suit your financial portfolio the best.

What is the process to get an online loan?

Once you’ve decided the lender, go to their website and fill the application form for online personal loan. Important prerequisites to fill this form include the following:

— An active net banking facility on the savings bank account in which you receive your salary — The mobile number on your Aadhaar Card, bank account and the one you’re applying for a loan with must be similar — Your address must be updated on Aadhaar and with the savings bank account — Original KYC documents and updated KYC footprint

It should be noted that if your photo on the KYC documents do not match with the one captured on video KYC, the application for online loan may be rejected.

Online personal loans provide the ease of applying for a loan from the comfort of your homes. Perhaps, the post-Covid world will soon witnessed the eradication of offline personal loan that involves infinite paperwork and logistics. But considering their high rate of interest avoid taking personal loans unless there is an emergency.