Many or all companies we feature compensate us. Compensation and editorial research influence how products appear on a page. Personal Loans LightStream Personal Loans: 2025 Review Updated Jul 16, 2025 9-min read Reviewed by Alene Laney Reviewed by Alene Laney Expertise: Credit cards, mortgages, loans Alene Laney is a personal finance writer specializing in credit cards, mortgages, and consumer financial products. A credit card rewards enthusiast and mother of five, Alene enjoys sharing money-saving and money-making strategies. Learn more about Alene Laney Best for Excellent Credit 4.8 /5 View Rates Personal Loans Customized loans that match your financing needs Funds can be available as soon as today Will beat the rate from other lenders if the loan terms match No fees or prepayment penalties Doesn’t offer a soft credit check to prequalify You must borrow at least $5,000 TermDetailsMinimum credit score660Fixed rates (APR)7.99%% – 25.49%%, varies by loan type and credit profileRate discounts0.50% for enrolling in autopay at loan applicationLoan amounts$5,000 – $100,000Repayment period24 – 144 monthsUnsecured or secured?UnsecuredJoint loans?YesTime to funding after approvalAs soon as same dayFeesNoneUnique features$100 customer service guarantee; Rate Beat Guarantee; Tree planted with every loan; fully digital experience LightStream is a fully digital personal loan process, and offers low interest rates and no fees. But there is a catch: You need a strong credit profile that includes sufficient income, assets, credit history, and payment history. For those with an excellent credit profile, LightStream personal loans are a strong contender for easy lending with low rates and minimal fees. We offer a full picture of what a LightStream loan offers, how to apply for one, how these loans are serviced, and the potential downsides you should anticipate. Table of Contents What is Lightstream? How Lightstream Works At a glance: Rates and terms Amounts Rates Repayment Costs and fees Application process What can a LightStream personal loan be used for? Eligibility requirements Pros and cons Customer reviewss Customer service How to apply FAQ What is Lightstream? LightStream is part of Truist Bank, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its mission is to offer excellent-credit customers a streamlined and straightforward process. Its loans come with no fees and competitive rates. LightStream partners with the conservation organization American Forests to plant a tree for every loan originated. It’s a reflection of the paperless online loan process that’s a hallmark of LightStream personal loans. How Lightstream works At a glance: Rates and terms The table below offers a quick look at personal loans from LightStream. We’ll cover everything in detail below. TermDetailsMinimum credit score660Fixed rates (APR)7.99%% – 25.49%%, varies by loan type and credit profileRate discounts0.50% for enrolling in autopay at loan applicationLoan amounts$5,000 – $100,000Repayment period24 – 144 monthsUnsecured or secured?UnsecuredJoint loans?YesTime to funding after approvalAs soon as same dayFeesNoneUnique features$100 customer service guarantee; Rate Beat Guarantee; Tree planted with every loan Amounts LightStream personal loans offer low, fixed rates on loan amounts from $5,000 to $100,000. Rates Fixed rates range from 7.99%% to 25.49%% APR. To qualify for these low rates, you must have an excellent credit profile. In evaluating your credit profile, LightStream looks at income, assets, debt, credit history, and payment history when making a decision about your loan. By looking at the complete picture of your credit, LightStream awards the best terms to those with not just the best credit, but those who can most easily repay the loan. Your rate is also determined by your loan term amount and loan term repayment period, as you can see in the examples the table below. Loan amountRepay period (mos.)Rate rangeEst. mo. pmt. range$10,000247.99% – 17.99%$452.23 – $499.19$100,000489.49% – 18.59%$2,511.84 – $2,968.42 Repayment Repayment periods are from two to 12 years. Repayment of a personal loan from LightStream begins at application. On the application, borrowers are given a choice on how to pay for the loan. To get a 0.50% discount, borrowers can select “AutoPay” instead of “Invoice” when applying for the loan. What this does is set up repayment of your loan. You will have already provided your bank information for repayment to LightStream. You’re also given a due date and your repayment of the loan begins immediately. If you select “Invoice” when you apply, you’ll need to set up payment later—just without the discount. In any case, there are no prepayment penalties, so if you’re able, you can pay off the loan early. Costs and fees Loans don’t require any collateral, and there are no fees. The cost of the loan is built into the APR you receive when you submit your application. It’s clearly disclosed when you take a look at your loan offers. Application process LightStream touts its streamlined application and funding process, which looks like this: Apply for the loan Accept the loan agreement Designate where the funds need to go Use the funds The process is entirely online. Everything is set up from the get-go, including payments if you choose autopay from the application. This is an efficient choice for customers who don’t need to make any changes and always make their payments. You can apply with a co-borrower, and it’s possible to receive funds the same day. What can a LightStream personal loan be used for? LightStream personal loans can be used for many purposes. You must select the use of your personal loan on your application and are required to use it for that purpose. Some of these include: Home improvement Debt consolidation Swimming pool Medical Wedding Timeshare Boats Solar Landscape Adoption or IVF Jewelry Horses Tiny home LightStream personal loans cannot be used in the following circumstances: To refinance another LightStream loan To purchase bonds, stocks, stock options, or pay back a loan against a stock option. To contribute to retirement, life insurance, or education savings plan Who’s eligible for a LightStream personal loan? LightStream personal loans are available to citizens of the United States. You must apply with a Social Security number. Joint applications are accepted. RequirementDetailsCitizenshipLoans are made in the United StatesEmployment statusNot disclosed but applicants must have sufficient incomeState of residenceAll 50 statesMinimum ageNot disclosedMinimum credit scoreNot disclosed, but only good-to-excellent profiles are approvedMinimum incomeNot disclosed, but sufficient income is required Pros and cons of LightStream LightStream personal loans have several benefits, but they also have potential drawbacks. Pros Guaranteed lowest loan rates LightStream will beat competitor rates by 0.10% for unsecured loans if you were approved for a personal loan with another lender with a better rate. No fees No origination fees, no credit check fee, or other junk fees. Fast funding You can schedule a wire for same-day funds if you log on to your account by 2:30 Eastern Time and schedule a wire by 3 p.m. Easy application process The application process only takes a few minutes and is all online. Discount for autopay When you apply for the loan, you can receive a .50% discount when you opt in to autopay. Cons Must have good credit LightStream looks at your entire credit profile to determine if they will lend to you or not. It considers more than your score, so your debt-to-income level, payment history, and credit history need to be just right. Rates vary by purpose You could get a higher rate than advertised, depending on what you select as your purpose for the loan and your credit profile. No soft credit check option Many online lenders offer a soft credit check option that doesn’t result in an inquiry on your credit, but LightStream doesn’t. Customer service reviews are poor We’ve found that LightStream has low customer service reviews from the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. Its scores are similar to those of some other lenders, like Wells Fargo, but below those of other online lenders. Little flexibility on loan servicing You can’t make same-day payments. You can’t change the due date of your loan, you must schedule payments at least two days in advance, and customer service is only available via email. To summarize, LightStream offers low loan rates and fees, an easy application process, and fast funding. However, you must have good credit with sufficient income. You also might find customer service lacking if you need help servicing your loan. Is LightStream a reputable lender? SourceCustomer ratingNumber of reviewsTrustpilot1.8/596Better Business Bureau1.38/565 Collected on June 16, 2025. Lighstream’s customer service reviews are on par with those of its parent bank, Truist Bank. They’re low and reflect ongoing customer service issues. This is disappointing considering its competitive rates. If everything runs on autopilot for your loan, you might be able to avoid these kinds of headaches. If you’re concerned about customer service issues, you may want to look at SoFi or Upgrade, which have excellent customer service ratings. LightStream customer service If you need to reach the LightStream customer service team, email [email protected]. The customer service team hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Eastern time. If you need to reach LightStream by mail, you can use the following address: P.O. Box 117320, Atlanta, GA 30368-7320 Application processing hours are from Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m Eastern time. How to apply for a LightStream personal loan The application process for a LightStream personal loan is all online, and a credit decision is made during the process. The application involves a hard credit check. When you go through the application, it will look something like this: Choose your application type, either individual or joint application. Select primary loan purpose. For personal loans, you can select from: Home improvement/pool/solar loan Timeshare/Fractional purchase or refinance PreK-12 Education loan or refinance Medical and family planning Credit card/debt consolidation loan Other Type in your ZIP code, loan amount, and term length in months. Choose a payment method, either “autopay” for a 0.50% discount or “invoice” if you want to figure out your payment method later. Fill in the application. This includes your personal information, housing status, social security number, work status, and financial information. Continue to the next page. Create a user ID, password, and security question. Authorize the lender to check your credit for the application. Review the loan options. Select the one that most closely matches what you need. Submit information on where and when LighStream should send the money. Accept your money. FAQ What if I’m denied a personal loan from LightStream? If you’re denied for credit, lenders are required to notify you with the reason. You’ll likely receive a message via email and/or a letter in the mail. If you want to ask for reconsideration, you can email customer service at [email protected]. Can you have more than one LightStream personal loan? Yes, you can have more than one LightStream personal loan. However, LightStream restricts new loans from refinancing other LightStream loans. Can you pay off a LightStream personal loan early? There are no prepayment penalties if you want to pay off a LightStream loan early. How we rated LightStream We designed LendEDU’s editorial rating system to help readers find companies that offer the best personal loans. Our system awards higher ratings to companies with affordable solutions, positive customer reviews, and online transparency of benefits and terms. We compared LightStream to several personal loan lenders, using hundreds of data points from company websites, public disclosures, customer reviews, and direct communication with company representatives. We weighted, scored, and combined each factor to produce a final editorial rating. This rating is expressed on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest possible score. Our take is represented in our rating and best-for designation, recapped below. ProductBest forOur ratingLightStream personal loanBest for excellent credit4.8/5