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Loans

How to apply for a loan

To apply for a loan online, you must be 18+ and a UK resident with a NatWest current account (held for 3+ months)

What is a personal loan?

A loan could allow you to spread the cost of credit from £1,000 - £50,000 over a defined period of time to suit your budget.  A loan can be taken from a minimum period of 1yr to a maximum term of 10yrs (dependant on purpose).

What information do I need to apply for a loan?

Before you start your application, you will need:

  • To be 18+ and a UK resident with a NatWest current account (held for 3mths +)
  • Your Online Banking details
  • Details of your income and outgoings
  • Your address and employment details
  • An idea of how much you'd like to borrow
  • To understand the APR, terms and conditions of your loan
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What do you need when applying for a joint loan?

Joint loans can help you and a partner plan the big things in life together.  To apply, you'll both need your income, employment and online banking details.

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Your steps to a successful loan application

Now you've thought about whether a loan is right for you and got your details together, let's look at those steps on your journey to get a loan.

Step 1 - Get to know your credit score

Before you get started with applying for a loan, it's good to know what your credit score looks like. 

A credit score is specific to you, with a higher score generally meaning you're more likely to be accepted, compared to low scores which could mean you're less likely to be accepted.

You can find out your score once you're opted in through our mobile app, which makes keeping an eye on your score really easy. 

Not sure what 'good' looks like? No need to worry - we've got some info that could help in our credit scoring guide, along with advice on how to improve your score.

Check your score on our mobile app Open in new window

Credit score is available to customers aged 18+ with a UK address, and is provided by TransUnion. Our App is available to customers aged 11+ with a compatible iOS and Android devices and a UK or international mobile number in specific countries.

Step 2 - Decide how much you need to borrow

There's a bunch of different reasons why you might be looking to borrow money, so it's important to consider exactly how much you need before you get started.

A wedding is likely to cost a different amount from a shiny new extension on your house, so make sure you do your research before you get going.

Step 3 - Get an idea of your monthly repayments

Before you apply, it's important to know how much you're able to pay back towards your loan each month. 

Use our loan calculator to find out what your monthly repayments are likely to be, as well as the Representative APR.

Use our loan calculator Open in new window

Step 4 - Get your personalised quote

Once you've worked out the amount you want to borrow and how long you'll need to pay this off, you can get a quote that's completely personalised for you. 

Good news is that if you have a NatWest current account in most cases we’ll confirm the loan amount and your rate at the start of your application with no impact on your credit score.

Get your loan quote Open in new window

Completing your application

Happy with steps 1 to 4 and ready to start your application? We've got you covered. Here we'll walk you through what you need to apply and how applying works.

What you'll need:

How to apply for a Loan | NatWest

To be 18+ and a UK resident with a NatWest current account (held for 3+ months).

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How to apply for a Loan | NatWest

Your Online Banking details. We ask you to log in so we can pre-fill the info we already know about you, meaning you can finish your application in around 10 minutes.

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How to apply for a Loan | NatWest

Our guide to APR - ready to help you understand your quote.

Guide to APR Open in new window

Step 5 - Apply for your loan

Ready to get started? Head over to our Loans hub and have an explore of all our Loans pages.

When you've had a look around and are ready to apply, just follow our step by step guide below.

  1. Click the Ready to apply button on our personal loans page and read our important information 
  2. When you're happy, click Let's start and answer the questions about online banking, the type of account you have and whether you're applying for a loan by yourself or with someone else
  3. Next, we'll ask you to log in to Online banking using your customer number, PIN and password so we can pre-fill the info we already know about you. Don't worry if you can't remember your details, we can help you get re-registered in no time
  4. Check your details and confirm everything looks correct - this will include info such as your name, date of birth, and where you live
  5. Once you've confirmed this all looks correct, tell us the loan amount and repayment period that you'd like to apply for. On this page we'll also need some info on your monthly income and outgoing details, such as your rent or mortgage payment amounts and any dependents  
  6. At this point, in most cases if you’re a current account customer we’ll do a soft credit check to let you know if you’re likely to be approved, along with giving you a loan quote that’s personalised to you. A soft credit check means that your credit score won’t be affected until you’ve reviewed your quote and decided to continue. 
  7. Happy with your loan offer? Just follow the info on-screen and we'll guide you the rest of the way to complete your application!

Once you're accepted

Congrats! We're excited to have you with us. There are still a few questions you might have at this point, so check out the most common questions below to learn more about what happens next.

Applying for a loan FAQs

Something else we can help you with?