What is Universal Credit?
Founded in 2017, Universal Credit is an online lending platform owned by financial technology company Upgrade. It offers unsecured personal and debt consolidation loans to borrowers with a range of credit scores, including those with poor credit. Universal Credit’s rates and repayment terms are competitive, and funds are typically available within one business day of approval.
What consumers say about Universal Credit
Reviewers on Consumer Reports tend to have had a satisfactory experience with Universal Credit, giving the company an average rating of 3.8 stars (out of a possible five). While most of our reviewers gave Universal Credit a star rating but did not leave a written review, one reviewer shared their negative experience with the lender, expressing dissatisfaction with how their 2023 loan applications were handled.
- “Between my husband and I, we’ve managed to get bogusly played by this company. With me, I had been approved, but then I had my approval revoked after they did a hard credit pull because they saw that I had applied for other the credit recently. This should’ve been seen in the soft credit pull that they did. The husband was denied a loan despite having over an 800 credit score and only 7% credit usage saying his bank loan balances were too high. The only thing he had that was high was a mortgage and a car loan, which 90% of Americans have. Bogus!” — Rob, Ohio
However, across other review platforms, Universal Credit’s customer service and the ease and speed of its application process typically received positive feedback from borrowers. Some borrowers did report issues with the company’s app and online platform, and others complained about fees and delays in funding their loans.
» MORE: Read about Universal Credit
Universal Credit information
| Age of business | Nine years |
|---|---|
| Year founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | 275 Battery Street, 23rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111 |
| Phone Number(s) | (877) 418-9765 |
| support-universal@upgrade.com | |
| Website | https://www.universal-credit.com/ |
| Is website secure? | Yes |
| Forms of contact available | Online form, phone, email, mail |
| Trade organization membership | — |
| States of operation | Nationwide |






