BNPL & Installment Loans at High Rates

Is Snap Finance legit?

Snap Finance is a legitimate lease-to-own service, founded in 2012. To date, it’s claimed to have helped more than seven million customers with their financing needs. But that doesn’t mean customers shouldn’t still be cautious. Watch out for possible hidden fees, plus triple-digit interest rates if you can’t pay it off within the promotional window.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) also reported a government action against Snap Finance from the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General in 2023. The suit alleged that Snap Finance used misleading advertising to promote “100-day cash payoffs” when in reality contracts were for 12 months at leasing fees equivalent to 152% APR. Without admitting guilt, Snap and its affiliates were ordered to pay over $10 million in cash restitution and consumer debt relief.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also sued Snap Finance in 2023 under similar allegations. Ultimately, CFPB chose to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the case was permanently closed.

Compare Snap Finance to other short-term financing

What makes Snap Finance shine?

Snap Finance offers lease-to-own, RICs and installment loans of up to $5,000 to borrowers with less-than-perfect credit, giving them access to consumer goods such as furniture, electronics, appliances and auto parts. These loans are generally easy to qualify for, with a low minimum income requirement of $750 to $1,000 a month.

Its most affordable option is to complete your payments within 100 days or less, although there is an unspecified finance charge. If you need longer to repay the loan, Snap offers terms up to 18 months.

Where Snap Finance falls short

One of the drawbacks to Snap Finance is its lack of transparency about loan terms, rates and fees. Nowhere on its website does it disclose a range of interest rates for any of its loan products or the financing or processing fees it charges.

However, customers who have used Snap financing — and were unable to pay within 100 days — report having to pay double or triple the original cost of the product or service.

Snap Finance details

Snap Finance contact info

How to qualify for Snap Finance

Qualifying for Snap is typically easy. These are the requirements:

• At least 18 years old
• Regular income of $750 to $1,000 a month
• Active checking account
• Valid email address and smartphone number

Snap Finance reviews and complaints

Snap Finance has high ratings on the BBB, Trustpilot and the app stores, with many customers saying they’ve used the app multiple times. Top reviews say the service is convenient and flexible and has good customer support.

But the picture isn’t completely rosy. There are complaints of high interest rates, payments being taken after the loan is already repaid and difficulty getting refunded. Many customers also warn that if you don’t repay the loan within the 100-day promotional period, full-term interest is applied and you’ll end up paying two or three times what you borrowed.

On top of that, several customers said their very last payment before the 100 days failed to be deducted — through no fault of their own — triggering the full interest. And when they reached out repeatedly to customer service about what seemed to be a technical error, they were told nothing could be done. However, at least some of those instances appeared to get resolved after customers filed formal complaints.