Personal loan basics

Let us look at the various loan products to answer the question.

Particulars
Personal Loan
Credit card cash advance
Loan against property (LAP)
Loan against security
Gold loans

Meaning
This is an unsecured loan taken for personal use.
This is an unsecured loan taken for personal use.
Secured loan [...]

Assess the amount your loan requirement and then decide the amount of personal loan you need. Do not borrow more than you need just because your bank is providing you with it. After all it comes at a cost and in this case at a high cost. Also let the loan amount be such that [...]

Prove your creditworthiness: A good credit score will improve your bargaining power. Banks would go the extra mile to have you as a customer if you have a clean credit history. Therefore you may get a discounted rate. To ensure that you have a good credit score, make sure you have an impeccable repayment history.
Compare [...]

Interest rate: This is the key cost of taking a personal loan. Being an unsecured loan, the rate of interest is high. In fact it is lower to only credit cards in the loan segment. The rate of interest charged, can be anywhere between 14% and 23%, depending on the type of borrower. Borrowers with [...]

A loan that is taken after mortgaging any valuable property/asset.

A loan that is given without any mortgage of valuable property/asset.

The length of time a loan is repaid over, usually specified in months. So, [...]

The small print on any loan agreement contains vital information that all borrowers should take time to read and understand [...]

Charges like stamp duty, sales tax, etc., that are imposed by the government.

Instructions given to a bank to debit a fixed amount from your account to pay a financial institution.