There are many situations when you may need a bank loan, such as for buying a car or a house. In short, if you need larger sums of money amounting up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of pesos, a bank loan is your best option.

However, there are many other times when a cash loan might be better suited for your circumstances. For example, if you need additional money for school tuition, emergency medical expenses, or household bills, a cash loan is a quick and hassle-free solution. The same goes for additional capital for small businesses, minor home repairs, or even lifestyle purchases.

In essence, all loans are the same because you’re simply borrowing money from a lender. Nevertheless, there are some noted differences among popular financing options in the country. Let’s take a closer look at three alternatives—bank loans, personal loans, and credit cards—and how they compare to cash loans.

Bank Loans

As previously mentioned, if you need to borrow a large amount of money to buy a vehicle or a real estate property, your best bet is to go to a bank. This is because cash loan companies like Cashalo only have micro-loan offerings; in this case, Cashalo loans start at Php 1,000 and are capped at Php 7,000 for good-paying customers.

Another big difference between bank loans and cash loans include the requirements for application and approval; it’s no secret that banks are quite strict when it comes to documentation in this regard. With cash loans, you only need to provide the most basic personal details and paperwork. This also means faster approval.

With bank loans, you also have limited options in terms of disbursement. Usually, you can only choose between the two: through check or through digital transfer to your nominated bank account. With cash loans, you have more choices. Aside from a bank account, you can also have your loan proceeds credited to your e-wallet like GCash or PayMaya.

Lastly, there are some bank loans that require collateral. This isn’t a concern at all for cash loans, because the loanable amount is much lower.

Personal Loans

Usually, loans that don’t fall under the usual categories of auto, business, or home are called personal loans. They usually have lower loanable amounts, but are still considerably higher than those offered by cash loans. As such, personal loans still require a handful of documents for processing and approval.

The good thing about personal loans is that you can get them from other financial institutions, and not just banks. The interest rates are also quite competitive, in order to attract more potential customers. Do note, however, that some lenders may require collateral depending on the amount of the loan.

Credit Cards

A credit card isn’t strictly a loan product; rather it’s a revolving fund that you have access to as long as you’re in good standing with the provider. Nevertheless, it can still be considered a loan when you factor in the monthly payments you have to make. Just think of it as a pre-approved loan from the provider that you can use at your leisure as long as you have a remaining credit balance.

The problem with a credit card, however, is that there’s a higher tendency for overspending. With a high credit limit and ready access to your funds, you may end up swiping your card for every purchase. With a cash loan, you’ll only have the amount you borrowed; this helps you curb your spending and manage your finances better.

What’s more, cash loans are completely online. While banks and other lending institutions may allow you to submit an application digitally, you will still have to visit the nearest branch upon approval to sign documents and contracts. On the other hand, all transactions for cash loans are made through an app or website.

Another big difference between cash loans and the above-mentioned financing options is that approvals are so much faster. You can even expect to be approved for a loan in as fast as 1 working day. The loan proceeds, on the other hand, will be credited in 1 to 3 days. Compared to bank loans, which can take weeks for approval and a few more days for disbursement, cash loans are much faster and more convenient.

In general, personal loans have an interest rate of around 3% at the minimum and around 25% at most. With Cashalo, cash loans have an effective daily interest rate of 0.5% which falls within the mandate of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Do note that there will be additional interest when you miss out on your payment due dates. This is a separate computation but will still be based on the principal amount.