Here are ten personal loan affiliate programs that pay very healthy commissions for marketing support and traffic to their businesses.
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Ace Cash Express
While many folks assume that personal loan services came about with the explosion of broadband Internet in recent years, players like Ace Cash Express prove that theory dead wrong.
Ace has been operating in the personal lending business as far back as 1968. The company continues to be a significant provider of cash advance and short-term loans today for consumers.
That said, the Internet has made it a lot easier for Ace to generate business with online applications, instant computerized pre-approvals, and electronic cash transfers within 24 hours.
The company provides loans to varying degrees depending on local state laws and what’s allowed, but it does operate nationally.
The commissions offered through Ace’s affiliate program range from a low of $5 to as much as $60 per loan completed and depending on which loan product the affiliate helps happen.
Installment loans pay the best while cash advances are lower, more in the range of $10 to $25 for affiliates.
Profit potential: $5 to $60 per completed loan
Cookie duration: 45 days
EPC: $77.31
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- 45-day cookie referral period.
- $48 Flat fee (Payday Loan – Concluded/ Funded Installment), $20 (ACE Cash Express), $8(Payday – Medium), and $4 (Payday – Low).
- Loans must fund to receive a commission
Check Into Cash
One of the original technology boom babies from the early 1990s, Check Into Cash, has been in business since 1993 and provides both online and physical store services to borrowers nationwide.
Specifically, their product line includes cash advances, payday loans, and check cashing support. The loan sizes are small, ranging from $50 to a maximum of $1,000, allowing the companies to easily provide far more loans than competitors because its risk is smaller on potential defaults. Applications are processed online or in-person at a physical street store.
For the online marketing side, affiliates can expect a commission ranging from $10 to $30, depending on the customer type.
New customers pay the best, with $30 per transaction for a completed application. Existing customers renewing a second loan through an affiliate link will pay $10 per transaction.
All payments are issued when the loan is actually approved versus the more significant delay of being funded as is the case with other affiliates.
Profit potential: $10 to $30 per approved loan
Cookie Duration: 45 days
EPC: $94.66
Fairstone
Canadian-based, Fairstone saw its market expand during the 2009 Recession, especially when many Canadians were being turned away by traditional banks for personal loans and financial support.
However, the company can probably claim the title of being one of the longest surviving players in the industry, with a heritage that goes back 100 years.
Personal loans from Fairstone range from $500 to as much as $35,000, and applications are now processed online and in-person.
Affiliate partners marketing for Fairstone can expect $21 per new lead that turns into a customer.
This commission earning is not based on when the loan is applied for or approved but instead actually completed.
Profit potential: $21 per customer
Cookie duration: 30 days
EPC: $586.33
Lend You
Interestingly, Lend You doesn’t fall in the same category as many of the players in the personal loan industry; it doesn’t deal directly with consumer borrowers.
Instead, Lend You operates as a loan broker, connecting borrowers with viable personal lending programs and companies in its network.
They have a side service in check-cashing with their physical stores, but its primary business is helping bridge consumers with lenders and being paid a commission to do so.
This can be a productive alternative for consumers, particularly those who keep finding themselves at dead ends with traditional banking.
Most loans brokered by Lend You range from $500 to $2,500, and the company operates a very healthy affiliate marketing program
Essentially, affiliate partners can expect to receive a percentage commission on the loan approved and funded when brokered by Lend You.
Pegged at 7 percent of the total loan amount, the payoff for affiliates could be small or large, depending on what the consumer who clicks through actually commits to and gets approved for.
Profit potential: 7% of loan commissions
Cookie duration: 24 hours
EPC: variable
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LoanMart
Unlike cash loans, payday loans, cash advances, and paycheck loans, a title loan follows a more traditional approach of being linked to some kind of property the borrower is willing to turn over if the loan is not paid.
Typically, title loans are short-term borrowing tied to a personal car or similar size property. LoanMart has been a big player for the last two decades in title loans, funding borrowers in 25 different states with related personal loans.
The modern application process provides an Internet-based channel for new borrowers, and approval is provided within 24 hours.
Affiliates can make a very comfortable commission working with LoanMart, receiving a flat $100 commission for each title loan that gets approved, funded, and came through their link. However, this is per customer; there are no recurring commissions for new loans on the same customers or similar.
Profit potential: $100 per funded loan
Cookie duration: 30 days
EPC: variable
Apply at AWIN
Smarter Loan
A big player for Canadian borrowers, they don’t provide personal loans.
Instead, Smarter Loan is a consolidator of information and connection point for as many as 50 different lenders covering everything from small, temporary borrowing to loans up to $30,000.
In short, the site saves potential new borrowers from having to search every option to find which loan program works for them.
Affiliates can still make a comfortable income stream from Smarter Loan marketing.
If a consumer clicks through into Smarter Loan and then actually engages and commits to a personal loan through a site partner, the affiliate could earn as much as $140 per loan sale and approval.
Not bad considering many programs pay less than a third of the same for the same kind of marketing success.
Profit potential: $140 per approved loan sale
Cookie duration: 30 days
EPC: variable
Apply at Linkshare
SoFi
A big player that has established itself in the last five years as the go-to resource for student loan consolidation, SoFi looks to collect and work the upper part of the personal loan market up to $100,000 per transaction.
They are engaged in marketing for small business lending as well.
Affiliates to SoFi marketing can make a healthy income per transaction that graduates as the loan lead moves along the process.
If the lead submits an application that gets approved, an affiliate will earn $100 from a linked consumer application.
If the same loan approval is funded, the commission jumps up to $150 if it’s for a student loan refinancing package.
SoFi has no shortage of business either; the company is making hand over fist in traffic with new customers, and affiliates already partnered with SoFi have earned in total more than $10 million.
Profit potential: $100 to $150 depending on loan approval and loan type
Cookie duration: 30 days
EPC: $101.21
Viva Loans
For website affiliates that get a lot of traffic from the U.K. and similar region, Viva Loans should be considered.
Also operating as a loan broker and connecting U.K. consumers with lenders, the company regularly handles loan application referrals seeking funds ranging from £200 to £2,000.
These opportunities tend to be marketed to U.K. consumers dealing with surprise costs associated with a home repair, vehicle accident, emergency expense, or similar and can pay the loan back within two to twelve months.
Again, the market is specifically focused on U.K. adult residents, so affiliates who see related traffic would benefit the most from Viva Loans and their marketing partnership plan.
Affiliate marketing links will receive a flat $45 for each new customer that commits to and completes a loan application through Viva Loans and gets approved as well as the loan being funded.
Profit potential: $45 per funded loan
Cookie duration: 24 hours
EPC: variable
Apply at AWIN
Zippy Loan
Also in the loan broker side of things, Zippy Loan provides consumers access to pre-sorted and networked lenders that cover personal loans ranging from $100 to a maximum of $15,000 per application.
All applications are online and simplified for processing that takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete. Approved loans are electronically funded through partners within 24 hours.
This particular broker has a much wider market as many of their partners tend to manage installment loans that run as long as five years or 60 months, and they serve small business lending as well.
Affiliates are paid based on verified lead. Each consumer that that is approved pays a $45 commission back to the affiliate.
The catch, however, is that the cookie period is extremely short. So click-throughs need to be very likely applications, or the click-through is wasted, and the affiliate gets nothing, even if the borrower ultimately does end up committing.
Profit potential: $45 per verified lead
Cookie duration: 24 hours
EPC: variable
Apply at AWIN
Zoca Loans
A consistent player in the lower amount of personal loans and short-term lending, Zoca Loans regularly sees a lot of traffic from borrowers asking for anywhere from $200 to $1,500 per application.
All loans are managed online, and decisions are practically immediate for approvals.
Funding is then transferred to the consumer’s bank account as provided.
Affiliates may not seem like they are being paid a lot with this program, $5 per lead; however, Zoca realizes a lot of traffic regularly.
So, positioned right, an affiliate partner could see a healthy payoff monthly with consistent multiple leads and Zoca referrals.
A good example would be aligning an affiliate program like Zoca Loans with a tool that sees significant reader traffic already in tune for small financial advantages, such as a personal finance blog or similar social media channel.
Profit potential $5 per lead
Cookie duration: 30 days
EPC: variable
Conclusion
Personal lending and third-party personal loans outside of traditional banks have gotten a lot of bad press over the years.
Personal loan programs are almost all dubbed in the same category as payday loans, yet they are often very different in service, structure, and even loans.
That said, the market has a place for personal loans, continuing to demand their services, borrowing their funds, and paying their interest fees monthly.
As a result, the industry has grown tremendously, and the Internet has made a big difference in that growth by increasing access exponentially.
The industry has an 11 percent annual growth rate, an incredible figure to sustain year to year.
Affiliate personal loan marketing has also benefitted from the sale, providing a secondary revenue stream for those willing to market these businesses on websites and web portal channels.