Truist Personal Loan Review September 2026

If you searched for a Truist personal loan, what you actually get is a LightStream loan. LightStream is Truist Bank's online unsecured personal loan brand, and every unsecured personal loan application on truist.com routes there. 

Truist Bank underwrites the loan; LightStream manages it. This might be confusing, since you could get correspondence from either brand, and you can see your LightStream loan in your Truist account. However, you can’t apply for a LightStream loan in your local Truist branch, and there’s no benefit or discount for being an existing Truist customer.

Regardless of the confusing optics, the LightStream loan itself is a solid product. Its personal loan rates are competitive, funding can be fast once approved, and the loan cap is higher than many other lenders. The credit bar is high, however, so it’s best for folks with strong scores.

Truist personal loan top features

A personal loan from Truist has some good perks as well as important limitations.

Loan amounts: You can borrow from $5,000 up to $100,000. The minimum is higher than many lenders—but so is the maximum loan amount.

Credit required: Truist requires a “good-to-excellent FICO Score” just to get your application reviewed.

Rate discounts: While you don’t get a deal for being a Truist customer, you can get a rate discount of 0.50 percentage points for enrolling in AutoPay at signing. Truist also offers the Rate Beat Program, which could beat a qualifying competitor's unsecured loan rate by 0.10 percentage points.

Fees: Truist’s personal loan is a true no-fee loan, with no origination fee, no late fee, and no prepayment penalty.

Terms: Available terms depend on what you’re using the loan for, with most ranging from 24 to 84 months, though some unsecured home improvement loans go up to 240 months.

Funding speed: Get the money as soon as the same day you’re approved when everything is completed before 2:30 pm ET on a banking business day.

Prequalification: No risk–free prequalification here. Checking your rate requires a full application, which triggers a hard credit inquiry. To compare offers first without touching your score, a soft credit check elsewhere may fit better.

Loan use: You need to tell Trusit what you’re going to use the loan for when you apply. Then, you can only use the loan for that purpose. The rates and terms you’re offered could change depending on the intended use.

Where Truist could improve

As a bank, Truist has some room for improvement based on customer reviews. The LightStream personal loan also has some factors that might make potential borrowers pause.

You can’t check your rate without a hard pull. Truist doesn’t use a soft-pull prequalification, so you have to submit an official loan application just to see your rate. A loan application means a hard inquiry that’s likely to ding your score a few points for a short time, so save the Truist LightStream application for when you're sure you want to apply.

You need at least good credit—and that might not be enough. Truist states plainly that it approves only good-to-excellent credit profiles for LightStream loans. The bank also suggests applicants need a long credit history, assets like savings and investments, and a low debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.

You can’t apply for a LightStream loan in a Truist branch. If you’re already a Truist customer and want to handle your loan in person, you’re out of luck. You need to apply for and manage your LightStream loan online.

Truist doesn’t have the best customer reviews. While LightStream might have different branding, you’re still dealing with Truist, and the bank isn’t that well-liked on online review sites like the BBB and TrustPilot.

Qualifying for a Truist personal loan

The bar to get a Truist personal loan through LightStream is pretty high. Truist looks at your full profile, including credit score, credit history, income, employment, and debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Your DTI is all your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income, and housing costs are part of that. 

Truist does not accept co-signers, but joint applicants are allowed. If you apply with a joint applicant, Truist will apply the same scrutiny to both borrowers.

Credit score and income requirements for a Truist personal loan

Truist makes no qualms about only accepting applicants with good-to-excellent FICO Scores. To see what that means in numbers, FICO’s credit score tiers are:

• Poor: under 580 
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Good: 670 to 739 
• Very Good: 740 to 799
• Exceptional: 800+

FICO doesn’t even list a range with an “excellent” label, and lenders typically have their own guidelines and definitions of what “excellent” means. A score of 670 might be the minimum to get your personal loan application under review, but third-party estimates put it in the 700s. This is important to know since there is no risk-free prequalification with Truist. Truist also weighs your full credit history, as well as debts, savings, and other assets. 

Does Truist allow co-signers on a personal loan?

No, Truist does not allow co-signers on LightStream personal loans. It does allow joint applicants, which isn’t the same thing. A co-signer guarantees a loan but doesn’t have rights to the funds, while a joint applicant shares full rights and responsibility for the loan funds.

How to apply for a Truist personal loan

You can only apply for a Truist personal loan online. Truist will direct you through the LightStream portal to choose loan options and apply. The application itself only takes a few minutes to fill out, but an answer could take a few business days in some cases.

To apply, you need to create a Truist online-banking profile, consent to electronic records and e-signatures, and submit. There is no separate in-branch personal-loan product.

Does applying for a Truist personal loan hurt your credit?

Yes, like any loan application, applying for a Truist LightStream personal loan could ding your credit. Truist does not offer soft-pull prequalification, so you need to apply just to check your rate. A formal application means a hard credit inquiry, which lowers your score by a few points for up to a year or two.

Because you can’t get a quote without a hard pull, it’s probably best to prequalify with at least a couple other lenders first. This could give you a better idea of whether you’d qualify for a Truist personal loan, and if so, what a competitive rate should be. To learn more about potential credit impacts, see our guide on how a personal loan affects your credit.

What do you need to apply for a Truist personal loan?

The LightStream application requires the standard information, including personal and contact information, current address, employment information (employer and income), and basic financial information (income, debts, other monthly obligations). You’ll also be asked for information about your current assets, such as home equity and retirement accounts.

In addition, you’ll need to provide consent to electronic records and e-signatures, and a personal bank account for the loan funds. Funding and payments must use a personal account, not a business one.

Loan approval and funding from Truist

Since you’re applying online, you could get an approval decision fairly quickly, though it may take up to a few days if your application needs extra review. This might happen if you’re self-employed, for instance.

The 0.50 percentage-point AutoPay discount applies only if you choose AutoPay before funding.

How long does it take to get a Truist personal loan?

Once approved, funding could be as soon as same-day by wire when e-signing, as long as everything is completed before 2:30 pm ET on a banking business day. Otherwise, the loan could be scheduled for a subsequent banking day. Home-improvement loans can be scheduled to fund within 90 days of approval; all other purposes within 30 days.

Truist customer service and satisfaction

Loan applicants can reach Truist by phone at 844-4TRUIST (844-487-8478), Monday through Friday from 8 am to 8 pm ET and Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm ET. Spanish-language support is available at the same number, option 9. You can also email customerservice@lightstream.com.

You can manage your LightStream loan and other Truist accounts through the Truist Mobile app. The app is rated 4.8 stars on both Google Play and the Apple App Store, with more than 1.3 million reviews.

Truist Bank operates approximately 1,928 branches across 15 states plus D.C., but don’t expect in-person service for your LightStream loans. You can get help with general Truist banking needs by visiting a branch, but LightStream-related queries and issues are handled online. 

Is Truist a legitimate personal loan lender?

Yes, Truist Bank is a legitimate bank and lender. Truist Bank is registered with NMLS ID 399803. The Truist Bank headquarters profile on the BBB carries an A+ rating.

Since 2020, no CFPB action has been brought against Truist Bank. Entity-level federal actions since 2020 exist on unrelated matters such as recordkeeping and legacy trust-account administration, and none involve the personal loan or LightStream.

What do customers say about Truist?

This is one place Truist could potentially do some work. The Truist Bank profile on the BBB shows a customer review score of 1.1 out of 5 across approximately 933 reviews. Trustpilot also shows a poor score, rating Truist at 1.2 out of 5 across approximately 2,138 reviews.

If you’re specifically looking at a LightStream loan, this might not be as concerning. Both platforms are dominated by complaints about wider account service, such as branch experience, checking, and mortgage servicing, rather than the personal loan experience itself. 

That said, the LightStream page on TrustPilot doesn’t have a much better score, showing 1.6 out of 5 across 117 reviews. However, on inspection, it looks like many reviews are from people who were the victim of scammers impersonating LightStream personnel. Other negative reviews complain about the hard inquiry to check rates, as well as the high bar for approval.

Truist personal loan vs. Truist's other borrowing options

Truist Bank offers a variety of borrowing options, not just LightStream personal loans. Another product may fit better depending on how much you need and what you're using the money for:

• Truist credit cards. Truist offers a range of consumer credit cards, including several rewards options and a secured credit card option. 
• Truist auto loan. If you’re purchasing a vehicle, an auto loan may be a better fit with a lower interest rate. Truist offers new car loans, used car loans, and auto refinance loans.
• Truist home equity loan or HELOC. You can choose from multiple Truist home equity products, including a home equity loan, home equity line of credit, or cash-out refinance loan. See our Truist home equity loan review for more information.
• The LightStream personal loan itself (this review). Best when you want $5,000 to $100,000, don’t want to involve your home, and hold good-to-excellent credit.

For a focused look at the LightStream loan, check out our dedicated LightStream personal loan review.