Speedy Cash Loan Review

Today we're reviewing a popular express installment lender Speedy Cash and diving deep into the customer reviews to see what people are saying about these loans.

Speedy Cash Loan Review

About Speedy Cash

Speedy Cash is a financial services company that specializes in offering short-term loan products, including payday loans, installment loans, title loans, and check cashing services. The company operates over 30 locations in several states across the United States, including Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and California.

Speedy Cash's loan products are designed to provide fast and convenient access to funds for customers facing unexpected expenses or emergencies. The payday loan product provides a small, short-term loan that is due on the borrower's next payday. Installment loans provide a larger loan amount that is repaid in multiple installments over several months. Title loans use a borrower's vehicle as collateral for a loan, with the loan amount based on the value of the vehicle.

In addition to its loan products, Speedy Cash also offers check cashing services, money orders, and money transfers, as well as prepaid debit cards for customers who need a secure and convenient way to access their funds.

Company background

Speedy Cash was founded in 1997 in Wichita, Kansas. The company has since expanded to operate over 30 locations across several states, including Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and California.

Products and services offered by Speedy Cash

Speedy Cash offers a range of financial solutions to meet the diverse needs of its customers. The company's products and services include:

Payday loans

Payday loans from Speedy Cash are designed to provide quick and convenient access to funds for customers facing unexpected expenses or emergencies. The loans typically range from $100 to $1,500, and are due on the borrower's next payday. Eligibility requirements vary by state but generally include being at least 18 years old, having a regular income, and having an active checking account. The payday loan application process is quick and easy, and can be completed online or in-person at one of the company's locations. Repayment options include automatic debit from a checking account, paying in-person at a location, or mailing a money order or cashier's check.

Installment loans

Installment loans from Speedy Cash provide customers with a larger loan amount that is repaid in multiple installments over several months. Loan amounts typically range from $300 to $2,600, and eligibility requirements are similar to those for payday loans. The installment loan application process is quick and easy, and can be completed online or in-person at one of the company's locations. Repayment options include automatic debit from a checking account, paying in-person at a location, or mailing a money order or cashier's check.

Title loans

Title loans from Speedy Cash are based on the value of a borrower's vehicle, and loan amounts can range from $100 to $25,000. The loan term is typically 30 days, but can be extended if necessary. Eligibility requirements include having a clear vehicle title, being at least 18 years old, and having a regular income. The title loan application process can be completed online or in-person at one of the company's locations, and repayment options include automatic debit from a checking account, paying in-person at a location, or mailing a money order or cashier's check.

Check cashing services

Speedy Cash offers check cashing services for customers who need to cash checks quickly and conveniently.

Money orders and money transfers

Speedy Cash also offers money orders and money transfers for customers who need to send or receive money.

Prepaid debit cards

Speedy Cash offers prepaid debit cards for customers who need a convenient and secure way to access their funds.

A sample of their eligibility requirements is as follows (NOTE: SpeedyCash does not lend to Military Service Members as they would only be allowed to charge a maximum of 36% and they charge far more than that)

Minimum Age 18
Bank Account Required? Yes
Application Types Accepted Individual Applications
Eligible Credit Score 300 - 640

Interest rates, fees, and transparency

While rates vary from state-to-state, according to other reviews of SpeedyCash’s rates & fees, they look like this.

Personal Loan Amount $100 - $5000
Loan Term 1 - 18 months
APR 132% - 680.7%

Take note of that APR! The average short-term personal loan will have rates capped somewhere around 30%. SpeedyCash, apparently charges up to 30 times that amount!

Customer reviews and testimonials

Well, here’s the thing with Speedy Cash, if you took this at face value…

You’d think “WOW! That’s impressive”, and in some ways it is, but if you dig a little deeper like I did you’ll start to notice a trend.

Many good reviews have the label “Invited” and nearly every poor review came on their own!

See for yourself: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/speedycash.com

Here’s an example of an “invited” review, which you can see to the right of the green stars.

What does this mean? Well, if we look at reviews as the lifeblood of a service business, you need them. Take Amazon sellers for instance. Without reviews and ratings they have no chance competing against competitors. In the fast loan industry, it’s just as important.

So what do Amazon sellers do? They immediately email customers and ask for a review, except sometimes the “ask” is actually incentivized, meaning, they give something of value away for the the review.

Now, I can’t prove that Speedy Cash is incentivizing reviews, they could very well have 8,000+ happy customers that get an invite via email and jump on immediately, but what I do know is they ARE prompting these reviews and typically in order to get someone to leave a review you have to push them to do it, these reviewers have to have a good reason, or incentive, for leaving a review. It could be they love SpeedyCash or it could be they were given an incentive to do it. I can’t say at this point.

(NOTE: I’m going to try and track down some of these emails to see what they do so I can offer some clarity on this, it just looks super fishy)

If you’ve read any of the other reviews on MoneyMingo you’ll notice that I don’t put a ton of weight into 1 star and 5 star reviews. I like to throw them out, BUT that only applies when reviews aren’t prompted. These reviews are encouraged, so I have to look at it differently.

What I know is that people who’ve complained have sought out TrustPilot on their own to write a scathing review, and those that have said nice things were prompted to show up. It doesn’t seem very genuine to me so I want to learn more.

Now, what I will say is that I would throw out MANY of those 1 star reviews. Some of them seem so absolutely inaccurate that I can’t even take them seriously.

Such as this completely absurd review.

When I see the word “fraud”. especially in a title, and ESPECIALLY in all caps, I know I’m dealing with someone that’s very mad , likely misinformed and ready to go scorched Earth on a company.

Not a great recipe!

If you read the entire review above, which to me is a bit slanderous, it’s hard to take Kevin’s claim seriously. No legitimate company is going to risk their entire business by selling your information to scammers!

Honestly, the above review should be taken down from TrustPilot because it looks like the only fraud being committed is by the reviewer himself.

And if it isn’t clear, posting this review is simply to show the type of reviews you should immediately disregard. This would be one of them.

Now, here’s a 1 star review that I would actually take note of.

Alright, this is a fair statement. Companies like Speedy Cash tend to charge higher interest on average than most lenders. Now, the problem here is this; you have to sign documents and agree to these terms! If you took the money, you agreed to those terms.

So, why do I point out this review? Because this person broke down actual dollar figures in terms of borrowed money and interest. Of course, we don’t know if it’s accurate, but it’s one data set we can use to make a determination.

Is it true that if you get an $1,100 loan (car title + payday loan) that with interest it will cost $3,000? Possibly. Depends on the rate (APR) and the term (length of the contract); either way, I want to take note of this and see if others are saying similar things.

Let’s find a few more.

This is an interesting review because the borrower claims they didn’t realize their $300 bi-weekly payments were interest-only. While she didn't state her APR, since we know SpeedyCash installment loans start at 132% APR, that’s a very steep price to pay for a $1,300 loan.

This one is pretty sad. It’s one of many reviews I’ve seen on the lack of communication between SpeedyCash and customers. Esperanza did however miss a payment, and often when you miss payments that can trigger all sorts of penalties. More fees & automatic debits being a couple of them.

It really sucks, if true, because she had to balance paying household bills and eating to paying off a very expensive short-term loan. I get the frustration.

Another mention of bad communication, but I’m not going to count this review because it doesn’t seem to contain any facts, just opinion. Edgar is mad. Maybe rightfully so, but this isn’t the correct way to vent frustration.

In the future Edgar, present some facts and your review will carry a lot more weight with potential future customers looking for solid reviews.

Pros and cons of using Speedy Cash

Pros:

  • No prepayment fee.
  • Considers applicants with fair credit.
  • Fast funding within 1 business day.

Cons:

  • High APRs, up to 680.7%.
  • Includes an origination fee.
  • Does not offer pre-approval with a soft credit pull.
  • Does not report to credit bureaus.
  • Incurs a late fee.

Our Thoughts

While we wouldn't personally advise anyone taking out a loan starting at 132% and going as high as 600%+; we do understand that not every qualifies for personal loans and there are companies like this to help fill that void.

Now, that can come with an extreme cost, and it's fair to say that this cost could be considered usury it's so large (even the Government doesn't allow lenders to charge more than 36% to their service members!), but it clearly has its place. Like pawn shops or any other fast money service.

If you're considering taking out a payday loan, or express installment loan of any kind, please read the fine print and understand what you're agreeing to.