Does an Installment Loan Help or Hurt Your Credit?

Installment loans can be a great way to improve your credit score, as long as you make your payments on time. Credit bureaus understand that loan balances will be high at the beginning of its useful life, so they forgive large loan balances. However, ordering any credit product may temporarily lower some points of your score due to a credit check from the lender. Paying off an installment loan can hurt your short-term credit.

When you cancel a loan, you close an active account and your combination of credit accounts may decrease, if you do not have other open installment loans. Both factors contribute to credit score calculations, so losses in those areas may result in a temporarily lower score. That said, it may be easier to budget for installment loans, as monthly payments are predictable. As long as you make scheduled monthly installment loan payments on time, your credit score will improve.

Payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO score calculation, so it's important not to miss a due date. An installment loan and how you use it could have an impact on your credit ratings. Your credit ratings could also have an impact on your installment loan. Lenders consider your scores when deciding whether to offer you a loan.

Your credit score may also influence interest rates and the terms offered to you. This refers to whether you need an asset, or “collateral,” that could be used to repay the loan if you can't.While you shouldn't apply for an installment loan just for the purpose of creating your credit, if you need an emergency financial solution, creating your credit could be a ray of hope with installment loan. This essentially acts as a payment schedule, meaning that you would make the same monthly payment for 63 months to repay that loan and its interest. Unlike payday or short-term title loans, an installment loan is designed to be repaid in a series of simple and manageable payments over the term of the loan.

Personal loans can be used to do things like consolidate outstanding debts, make home or car repairs, or pay an unexpected bill. An installment loan is a type of credit that is amortized in fixed payments, usually on a monthly basis, for a set repayment period. You can choose smaller monthly payments if you agree to repay the loan for a longer period of time, or you can make larger payments in a shorter term. Buy Now and Pay Later Loans allow you to spread your payments over a few installments, instead of paying what you buy right away. Repayment terms for such installment loans can last for months or years, depending on the terms of the loan. And, if you can make payments on time and pay off the loan as agreed and your account is reported to the credit bureaus, you could have the added benefit of improving your credit rating.

Making all monthly payments on time will help improve that part of your score and help build up your credit profile. Installment loans can help improve your credit score by adding a history of on-time payments to your credit report. When you don't have credit or minimum credit, these installment loans can help you build your credit profile.