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Splash Financial Review

Sunday, April 2nd

2023 Student Loan Refinance Company Reviews

Splash Financial Review 4 Star Rating

Splash Financial

4 Star Rating
  • "A-" rated and accredited by the BBB
  • Works with a network of about 10 lenders to get students the best rates on refinancing student loans
  • Very competitive interest rates
  • Excellent customer service

Splash Financial is on a mission to help you save money on your student loans through refinancing. In business since 2013, this site serves as a referral platform that lets you shop around for the best rates and terms among Splash Financial's lending partners. More than 100,000 people have created accounts with this service, submitting more than six billion dollars in refinancing requests.

Social Security number required for quotes

You can get a rate estimate for your student loan refinancing by answering a series of questions about your degree, how much you owe, your current financial situation (income and investments), and your contact details. The last step of the process requires you to enter your Social Security number, but Splash Financial reassures prospective clients that it will result only in a soft pull on their credit report at that stage of the process. (Of course, if you like what you see and decide to apply for a specific refinancing loan, a hard pull will be done at that point.)

Competitive interest rates

We were impressed with the rate quotes we got during the prequalification process. They'll always depend on the current market and the lenders in Splash Financial's network (which, incidentally, we would love to see them list straight out - but they don't). The interest rates we received on our student loan quote weren't the lowest we found, but they were still competitive with the better lenders in our review.

Find out which lenders are a match

When you select a loan that interests you and click "Continue" , the next page will disclose the lender you've been matched with. Everything you entered during your prequalification rate check gets passed along to that lender, to make it faster to complete your full refinancing application. For what it's worth, every single loan presented to us was a match with Earnest, another lender in our student loan refinancing evaluations. That wasn't as much variety as we were expecting, but at least we were given options there with very competitive rates and terms.

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Easy to get help from customer support

We got a quick response when we reached out to Splash Financial's customer service team via live chat online. Our rep told us that there are about 10 different lenders in their network, and she (or he?) offered to double-check our prequalification application to see why we had only been matched with Earnest. We also learned from that rep that only one lender in Splash Financial's network offers cosigner applications: in our rate quote, we weren't allowed to indicate spousal income, and that was the reason we only got a match with one lender. Keep that in mind if that applies to your situation as well.

Customer services gets lots of compliments

Although you won't find thousands of client reviews for Splash Financial - which is to be expected, given that they've been in operation for less than 10 years - the feedback you will see is almost universally positive. Starting with an "A-" rating and accreditation with the BBB and continuing on to the 250+ five-star reviews left by happy customers, this referral platform is doing a solid job of connecting people with lenders offering lower-than-average interest rates and great terms on refinanced student loans. The top compliments this service receives tend to relate to their customer service: representatives are described as "responsive" , "knowledgeable" and "friendly" .

Loans serviced by third parties

The one caveat is the same we offer with any lending referral service: remember that, ultimately, your loan will be serviced by the lender and not by Splash Financial. This company connects you to the financial institution, but from there onward it all depends on that bank, credit union, or other lender.

Reliable option for getting multiple lender offers

Splash Financial earns a good ranking among resources for refinancing student loans. We were impressed by their customer service, both in our interactions and in what we found described in client reviews. It isn't the most robust of the referral services in our platform, but Splash Financial still gets high marks for being a trustworthy way to refinance your student loans.

Where Can You Find the Best Options for Student Loan Refinancing?

If you got your student loans back when interest rates were high, you're smart to think it might be a good idea to refinance when rates have dropped. Whether you get a lower rate or take years off your loan (or both), your savings could be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

You can typically qualify to refinance your student loans if your outstanding balance is at least $5,000, though some lenders have higher minimums. You'll often need to be in good standing and up to date on your current loan payments, have steady income and a credit score of 660 or higher. Otherwise, your refinancing may require a cosigner.

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Student Loan Refinance Company FAQ

Refinancing your student loans essentially means that you're taking your current education debt and replacing it with a new loan. This can be done with both federal and private loans.
If interest rates have dropped significantly since you first got your loans, that's a great time to see if a new loan could save you money. And, if you're able to shorten the length of your loan at the same time - like going from having 15 years left on a 20-year term to a 10-year term - you'll save even more.
The qualifications for student loan refinancing are probably different from the ones you had to meet to get your original funding. Most lenders require a minimum refinanced amount of $5,000, though some have higher thresholds of $10-$15k. You'll also need a credit score in the upper 600s or more and a steady income - or a cosigner who meets those criteria. Finally, many financial institutions will only refinance your student loans if you completed your degree.
Be very careful when deciding to refinance federal student loans. You'll lose the perks that are only available with those loans, like income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs. And, of course, refinancing isn't a good idea if it doesn't help you in some way: lowering your interest rate, making your monthly payments more manageable, or saving you in interest over the timeframe of the loan.
Yes! It's the simplest way to get the best rates and terms too. Most providers will ask you some basic questions about your current situation, including your income and the amount of educational debt you're hoping to refinance, and they'll do a soft pull on your credit report (your score won't be affected). They'll use that information to tell you if you tentatively qualify for one of their refinancing loans. Once you decide to complete the full application, a hard pull will be done and if you're offered a loan, all that's left is for you to accept the terms and submit any required documentation. All of that can easily be done online.
It's a subtle distinction, and it can depend on who you ask. If you have multiple student loans (federal and private) and you combine all of that debt into a single new private loan, you're consolidating and refinancing your loans. But, there's also a governmental Direct Consolidation Loan program that is just for federal student loans: it makes it easier to manage your payments and preserves the benefits specific to federal loans, but it doesn't include any private loans you have and doesn't save you any money.
It shouldn't. Most lenders will happily tell you that they charge no fees for applying, originating loans, or really anything else (besides the loan itself, of course). Just remember that the process will usually include a soft pull of your credit during prequalification and then a hard pull when you decide to officially apply; the latter will temporarily impact your credit report.
That varies by lender. You can find out in just a few minutes if you prequalify, and another few minutes to get formally approved if you decide to complete the full application. From there, you'll probably be asked to submit documentation on your current loan, proof of income and other paperwork. Most lenders will tell you to expect it to take up to 45 days for your current loans to be paid off and for your new loan to be finalized.
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Continued from above...

But, be careful if you're considering refinancing your federal student loans into a private loan. There are some benefits offered with government student loans that don't carry over into privately-funded ones. Do your research before you sign on the dotted line and make sure that the benefits you'd gain outweigh the perks you'd lose.

So, you've determined that it's the right time to refinance your student loan. What should you look for in a lender? Here are some factors to guide your decision-making:

  • Referral service or loan originator. Some platforms let you compare loan possibilities with multiple lenders using a single prequalifying application. This one-stop "shopping" can save you some time and hassle, but ultimately you'll still have to complete a full application with the lender you choose. Other refinancing sites belong to the lenders themselves and that can make the process more streamlined.
  • Loan minimums and other eligibility requirements. While most lenders let you refinance student loan balances as low as $5,000, some will only approve loans of $10,000 or $15,000 and up. Not all lenders will refinance your student loans if you didn't finish your degree, either.
  • Customer service. Consider what borrowers have to say about their experience with the lender or referral service - not just during the application and approval process, but also while making payments. Choose a lender that has a good reputation for helping customers both before and after the refinancing is complete.

To help you determine the best way to refinance your student loan, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's top lenders. We're confident that with this information, you'll easily find the right rate and term on your loan refinancing!

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