Borrowing a few hundred or a few thousand dollars should not mean filling out the same application on six different websites. We built our service so you can describe what you need once, in plain language, and let a network of participating lenders and lending partners review it. If a lender can work with you, you see its offer, read its terms, and decide for yourself. If none can, you have lost nothing but a few minutes.
Who we are
We are a loan request and matching service based in Springfield, Illinois, connecting U.S. consumers with independent lenders for personal loans from $500 to $5,000. We do not lend money, approve applications, or set rates.
Our team includes people who have worked inside consumer lending, credit unions, and nonprofit credit counseling. That background shapes how we run the service: we know what a borrower sees on a loan disclosure, which fees tend to surprise people, and why a clear monthly payment matters more than a headline rate. Over time, more than 43,000 customers have used our request form, and we compare offers from 28 lenders and partners.
People sometimes find us by searching for bow credit or bowcredit, and some expect to download a bow credit app. Our request form runs in any phone or desktop browser, so there is nothing to install.
Our mission
Our mission is to make small personal loans easier to compare and easier to understand, so borrowers can make a calm, informed decision instead of a rushed one when an unexpected expense lands.
In practice that means three things. First, one request instead of many: you share your details once rather than repeating them on site after site. Second, clear information before you commit: our guides explain APR, origination fees, repayment terms, and how a loan fits a monthly budget. Third, no pressure: you are never required to accept an offer, and declining one costs you nothing.
We also believe a loan is not always the right answer. Some of our guides point readers toward options such as a payment plan with a medical provider, a hardship arrangement with a utility, or a small credit union loan. If one of those fits your situation better, we would rather you use it.
How we earn money
Our service is paid for by participating lenders and partners, who compensate us when we pass along a request or when a borrower is connected with them. Borrowers never pay us a fee for submitting a request or receiving offers.
Being open about compensation matters because it can influence which offers appear and in what order. A lender that pays more may be shown more often. We explain the details on our advertiser and lending disclosure page, and we encourage you to compare the full terms of any offer, not only its position on the screen. Any interest, fees, or charges on a loan you accept come from the lender and are listed in that lender's agreement.
Our standards for participating lenders
Participating lenders must hold the licenses required where they operate, disclose APR and fees before a borrower signs, follow federal consumer lending laws, and treat borrowers fairly during collection and servicing.
Before we add a lender or partner to our network, we look at several points:
- Licensing and compliance. State licensing or a valid lending structure, plus adherence to the Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act where it applies.
- Clear disclosures. APR, finance charges, total of payments, and any origination fee shown in writing before the borrower agrees.
- Reasonable terms. Installment repayment over months rather than a single lump-sum payment due within days, with typical APRs in the range of about 5.99% to 35.99%.
- Fair servicing. A working customer service channel and a process for hardship requests and complaints.
We review partners periodically, and we remove those that stop meeting these standards or generate a pattern of borrower complaints. We cannot control every decision a lender makes, but we can decide who stays in our network.
Editorial independence of our guides
Our guides, calculators, and glossary are written by staff editors with lending and credit counseling experience, and no lender or partner pays to shape what those articles say, recommend, or rank.
Editors write about costs honestly, including when a personal loan is more expensive than an alternative such as a credit card promotion or a payment plan. Lenders do not review our articles before publication, and compensation arrangements are handled by a separate business team. When we make a mistake, we correct it and update the page. If you spot something that looks wrong, please tell us using the details on our contact page.
The math in our examples uses standard amortization, and every rate or payment figure is labeled as an estimate. Representative example: $2,000 over 12 months at 24.99% APR is about $190 per month, with roughly $2,281 repaid in total. This is an estimate only; your lender sets the actual terms.
How we protect your information
We protect the details you submit with encrypted connections, limited internal access, and contracts that restrict how lenders and partners may use your information after they receive it.
We share your request only with participating lenders and partners that may be able to make an offer, plus service providers that help us run the site. We do not sell your information to unrelated marketers. The full details, including your rights to access or delete data, are in our privacy policy.
Contact us
Our support team answers questions about the request process by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 296-0218, Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings, Central Time.
You can also write to us at 6437 Chestnut Road, Suite 291, Springfield, IL 62701. For questions about a loan you have already accepted, such as a payment date or a balance, please contact your lender directly, since it holds your account. To see each step of the process before you start, read how our service works.