The criteria lenders usually list
One UK broker, Sunny, lists these basics for its loans: you must be 18 or over, a UK resident, not bankrupt, have three years of address history, income of £500 or more a month, a debit card and bank account details, and a working mobile and email. This page checks four of them that you can answer without giving personal details: age, living in the UK, a UK bank account and debit card, and monthly income of £500 or more.
These are one broker's published criteria, not the law, and lenders differ. Meeting them does not mean a lender will say yes, and missing one does not always mean a no. Brokers usually start with a soft search, which does not affect your credit score, while applying to a lender can leave a record.
Worked example: what £200 costs at the FCA cap
The FCA caps the price of high-cost short-term credit. Interest and fees may not exceed 0.8% of the amount borrowed for each day, may not total more than the amount borrowed (CONC 5A.2.3R and 5A.2.2R), and the FCA says a 30-day loan repaid on time costs at most £24 per £100 borrowed. The calculator shows the most a lender may charge for one repayment, not a quote.
Borrow £200 for 30 days and the interest at the cap is £48.00, so you repay £248.00: £24.00 for every £100 borrowed. Borrow £400 for 150 days and the 100% total cost cap applies: the interest stops at £400.00, the total is £800.00 and the cost is £100.00 per £100.
Could you afford the repayment?
The FCA's rules ask lenders to consider whether you can make the repayments as they fall due without borrowing to meet them, without failing to make any other payment you must make, and without a significant adverse impact on your financial situation (CONC 5.2A.12R). The calculator applies the same idea to your own numbers: income, less essential spending, less other credit payments, less the total to repay.
With income of £1,500, essentials of £900 and other credit payments of £150, repaying £248.00 leaves £202.00 a month, and the repayment is 16.53% of your income. If your income is £1,000 instead, you would be £298.00 short and the calculator shows a stop message. We apply no pass mark to the amount left, because none is set in the rules we read: look at the numbers and ask whether you really have that spare.
What this tool cannot tell you
A calculator cannot predict approval, a credit score or the rate a lender would offer. A lender must check your income and spending itself and should not rely only on what you tell it. If the repayment does not fit, free help is available from MoneyHelper and StepChange, and a credit union may offer a cheaper loan.
To see how much you could comfortably borrow, use the loan affordability calculator.
If past payday loans were unaffordable, estimate a refund with the payday loan compensation calculator.
Use the right country page
This page stays in pounds and uses UK rules: the FCA price cap and the FCA's affordability rules. The country choices above the inputs open separate local pages. Choosing United States opens the US payday loan eligibility calculator, which uses dollars, a flat fee per $100 and the CFPB's requirements. The inputs reset and amounts are not converted.
Inputs for the payday loan eligibility calculator
Live in the UK
Lenders lend to UK residents only.
UK bank account and debit card
Lenders usually need both to pay out and collect repayments.
Your age
Lenders must be sure you are 18 or over.
Monthly income after tax
Money coming in each month. One broker's example criterion is £500 or more.
Monthly essential spending and other credit payments
Rent, council tax, bills, food and transport, then loan, card and overdraft payments each month.
Amount and days
The amount you would borrow and the days until you repay it in one payment. The cost is the most the FCA cap allows.
CALCULATOR QUESTIONS
UK payday loan eligibility calculator questions
Can I get a payday loan?
Only a lender can decide. This calculator checks the basic criteria one UK broker lists and your affordability, but it is not an application and not an approval.
What is the most a payday loan can cost in the UK?
Interest and fees are capped at 0.8% of the amount borrowed per day and 100% in total. On £200 for 30 days that is £48.00 of interest, £24.00 for every £100 borrowed.
Does the calculator affect my credit score?
No. It is not a credit check and it sends nothing to any lender. A soft search by a broker does not affect your score, but applying to a lender can leave a record.
How do I know if I can afford the repayment?
Take your income, subtract essential spending and other credit payments, then subtract the total to repay. In the example £202.00 is left, and the repayment is 16.53% of income. If the answer is below zero you could not repay it without borrowing again.
Is £500 a month the minimum income?
It is the figure one broker lists, not a legal minimum. Other lenders set their own rules.
Where can I get help instead?
MoneyHelper and StepChange give free debt advice, and a credit union may offer a cheaper small loan.