Happy Money is a financial technology company that specializes in providing personal loans, particularly focused on helping individuals consolidate and refinance their high-interest credit card debt. Here’s an overview of what the product does and its key features:
Purpose and Use
Happy Money’s primary product, known as the “Payoff Loan,” is designed to help consumers consolidate their high-interest credit card debt into a single, lower-interest loan. This simplifies the repayment process by converting multiple credit card payments into one manageable monthly payment.
Key Features
Direct Card Payoff™
Happy Money offers a feature called Direct Card Payoff™, which allows the company to pay off the borrower’s credit card debt directly. This streamlines the consolidation process, eliminating the need for the borrower to handle the payments themselves. The system can identify all active credit cards, retrieve up-to-date balances, and facilitate balance transfers to over 15,000 financial institutions.
Soft Credit Pull and Instant Approval
Borrowers can prequalify for a loan on Happy Money’s website with a soft credit pull, allowing them to check potential rates and terms without impacting their credit score. For qualified borrowers, instant approval decisions are possible, with an average funding time of three to six business days after approval.
Free Monthly Credit Score Updates
Happy Money provides its customers with free monthly FICO Score updates. This helps borrowers track their credit health and work on improving their credit scores as they pay down their debt.
Competitive Rates and Terms
The loans offered by Happy Money have competitive rates, with APRs ranging from 8.95% to 17.48%, which is significantly lower than many other lenders. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $40,000, and repayment terms can be up to 60 months.
Origination Fee
While Happy Money does charge an origination fee, which ranges from 1.50% to 5.50% of the loan amount, this fee is deducted from the loan funds at disbursal.
Reporting to Credit Bureaus
Happy Money reports loan payments to all three major credit bureaus, which can help borrowers improve their credit scores over time.
Additional Benefits
Happy Money also offers temporary payment assistance in case of unemployment and does not require cosigners or joint loans. However, it is important to note that the loans are limited to consolidating credit card debt and do not offer any interest rate discounts.
Psychological Approach to Finance
In addition to its loan products, Happy Money has also developed a money management app called Joy, which integrates psychology into financial management. Joy helps users understand how their spending habits affect their happiness and provides personalized money coaches, daily savings recommendations, and a free FDIC-insured savings account to promote healthier financial behaviors.
Overall, Happy Money’s products are designed to make debt consolidation easier, more efficient, and less stressful, while also promoting better financial health and happiness.