Splash Financial Reviews: Receive Multiple Quotes for Refinancing in One Place

Splash Financial is a student loan marketplace that allows potential borrowers to check their APR options without commitment. These APRs are awarded through Splash Financial partner banks, credit unions and other lenders.

Founded in 2013, the company now claims more than 100,000 customer accounts, with $6 billion-plus in requests for student loan refinancing. It has unique perks, such as graduated repayment onramps for certain professionals and consolidation options for spouses and parents with education debt.

Splash Financial reviews: Student loan refinance

Splash Financial is unique because it allows creditworthy medical and dental school graduates to make monthly payments of just $100 during their residencies or fellowships, plus six additional months. But the company also works with bachelor’s and certain associate’s degree-holders, as well as spouses and parents of graduates.

Splash Financial student loan refinancing is a good fit for citizen or permanent resident degree-holders who are shopping around and have the credit (or cosigner) to qualify for multiple APR quotes in one place.

Splash Financial student loan refinance review: The basics

With Splash Financial, it’s possible to refinance private and federal student loans, including parent PLUS loans.

APRs	● Student loan refinancing: ○  Fixed: 1.99%–7.84% ○ Variable: 1.74%–1.74% ● Medical student loan refinancing: ○ Fixed: Start at 2.81% ○ Variable: Start at 2.28%
Basics	● Prequalify and check rates without affecting your credit ● Refinance as little as $5,000 with minimum and maximum borrowing amounts varying by SplashFinancial partner.
Eligibility	● U.S. citizenship or permanent residency ● Hold a four-year degree from a Title IV school, or an associate’s degree in certain career fields ● Minimum income: $5,000 ● Minimum credit score: 650 (660 with a cosigner)
Applying	● Option to apply with a U.S. citizen cosigner ● No application, origination or other fees
Repayment	● No prepayment penalties ● Repayment term options of five to 25 years vary by Splash Financial partner ● Release your cosigner after as little as 12 months of prompt payments (varies by Splash Financial partner) ● For medical loan refinancing, pay only $100 per month while in residencyvor fellowship, plus another six months
Support	● Deferment or forbearance (which pauses repayment if necessary) might be available with Splash Financial partners, but the requirements for qualifying aren’t publicly shared

What to like about Splash Financial refinance for student loans

Morphing from a lender to a marketplace for lenders, Splash Financial advertises competitive rates for its medical resident and general refinancing products. You can use the platform’s “Check My Rate” function to estimate your rates without harming your credit score. Here’s what else to like about the company’s refinancing offering.

Low monthly payments for medical, dental residents

The medical resident refinancing product is exclusive to medical and dental school graduates in residency or in fellowship. It’s designed to simplify repaying medical school debt, helping new doctors lower their monthly payments before their typically high salaries kick in.

In fact, Splash Financial promotes that you could lower your monthly payment to as little as $100 for every year of your residency or fellowship, plus a six-month period following it (as long as your total loan term doesn’t exceed 20 years).

Of course, a low monthly payment could catch up to you — the longer you stretch your repayment, the more interest you will owe later.

Spousal and parental consolidation loans

Another unique benefit of Splash Financial refinancing is that you and your spouse could consolidate and refinance your student loan debt together. One partner could take over the repayment (with the other serving as a cosigner), or you could both take the reins of repayment simultaneously.

Keep in mind that spousal consolidations loans aren’t right for every couple. For some, teaming up informally — without consolidating at a lender like Splash Financial — is a better way to speed the process toward becoming debt-free. Keeping their student loans separate (and cheering each other on from the sidelines) would make the future less messy in case of a falling out.

In the case of parents, Splash Financial also offers the option to refinance federal parent PLUS loans, as well as loans originally borrowed in their child’s name. The big requirement is that the child needs to have earned their degree. The company doesn’t clearly state, however, whether it allows the ex-student to refinance parent loans into their name.

Accessible to associate’s-degree holders

Some student loan refinance companies restrict eligibility to bachelor’s degree-holders. Splash Financial stands out, in part, for making associate’s degree-holders eligible — if you work in one of the following medical positions or categories (or if you’re in the last term of your degree program and have an employment letter in the same industry):

• Cardiovascular technologist
• Dental hygiene
• Diagnostic medical sonography
• EMT/paramedics
• Nuclear technician
• Nursing
• Occupational therapy assistant
• Pharmacy technician
• Physical therapy assistant
• Radiation therapy
• Radiologic/MRI technologist
• Respiratory therapy
• Surgical technologist

Potentially speedy path to cosigner release

When you refinance your student loans, you could remove your original cosigners as part of that process. If you need to apply for refinancing with a cosigner, however, it’s nice to know that Splash Financial has a cosigner release program in place.

Though details of Splash Financial refinancing depend on the partner lender you borrow from, it’s possible to release your cosigner as soon as 12 months after refinancing, assuming you meet other credit criteria. In fact, the company says this timeline is “typical” among its partner lenders.

What to keep in mind about Splash Financial refinance for student loans

Even if you like what you hear so far in Splash Financial reviews, refinancing with this company might not be the perfect fit for your repayment. Its eligibility criteria and lack of repayment protections are among the reasons you might look elsewhere. Read on to confirm.

Strict eligibility requirements

To qualify for student loan refinancing with Splash Financial, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 650, although a 660 could get you in the door if you’re joined by a creditworthy cosigner

Even if you qualify without help, you could secure an even lower interest rate by bringing on a cosigner. Splash Financial will use the better of the two credit histories on your application to determine your loan terms.

In addition, Splash student loan refinance is limited to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. You must also be a college graduate with a bachelor’s or professional degree (though, as noted above, some associate’s degree-holders can qualify).

If you don’t fit into any of the buckets above, there’s probably a refinancing lender out there that will cater to your background.

Alternative lenders to consider

Alternative lenders to consider
If you’re not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident	Prodigy Finance is among the available options for international borrowers
If you didn’t graduate	Citizens Bank works with nongraduates who have a positive payment history

SplashFinancial is merely a middleman

Basic information about the company’s refinancing products isn’t clear, as it’s the lender — not Splash Financial — that sets the parameters. Here is some of the crucial loan information that Splash Financial doesn’t list online:

• Autopay or other APR discounts
• Fees for late or invalid payments
• Forgiveness in the case of death or disability

While Splash Financial reviews are generally positive, you’ll be passed off to a different lender to complete an application — and, likely, to that lender’s third-party loan servicer to actually repay your refinanced loan. If you end up borrowing from a Splash Financial partner credit union, you may have to pay its membership fee.

Details on deferments, forbearance are sparse

Deferment and forbearance are key features to look for in a refinancing company, since they can protect you if your finances fall on hard times. Unfortunately, Splash Financial says only that your access to these repayment pauses will depend on the lender you’re ultimately matched with.

The company simply directs distressed borrowers to their lender or loan servicer when encountering repayment struggles. If that bothers you, consider lenders with clear-cut relief programs. SoFi, for example, is among companies with job loss protection.

How Splash Financial student loan refinance compares

As you pore through Splash Financial reviews, it’s wise to make comparisons between other lenders. Shopping around helps to ensure you get the best possible loan for your situation.

	Splash Financial	Laurel Road	Citizens Bank
SLH rating	4.2/5	4.6/5	4.6/5
Products	● Student loan refinancing ● Medical student loan refinancing	● Student loan refinancing ● Parent PLUS Loan refinancing ● Medical resident refinancing	● Student loan refinancing ● Parent loan refinancing
Eligibility requirements	● 650 credit score (660 with a cosigner) ● Citizenship or permanent residency ● Four-year degree  (or an associate’s degree in certain career fields)	● 660 credit score ● No minimum income requirement ● Citizenship or permanent residency ● Bachelor’s or advanced degree ● Associate degree-holders must be working in certain healthcare fields	● 700 credit score ● $24,000 income ● U.S. citizenship, permanent residency or have a Social Security number ● Bachelor’s or advanced degree ● Associate degree-holders and nongraduates must make 12 monthly payments before applying
APRs	Variable starting at 1.74% and fixed starting at 1.99%	Variable starting at 1.89% and fixed starting at 2.50%	Variable starting at 1.99% and fixed starting at 2.84%
Minimum loan amount	$5,000	$5,000	$10,000
Repayment terms available	25 years	Up to 20 years	Up to 20 years
Apply with a cosigner	Yes	Yes	Yes

Is refinancing student loans with Splash Financial right for you?

Whether you’re looking for the best way to pay off medical school debt or you’d like to lower your interest rate or monthly payment, Splash Financial refinancing could be a worthwhile option to consider. But before wading too deep into one lender over another, remember that browsing competitors will help you secure the best loan possible.

Maybe you’re attracted to Splash student loan refinance because of unique perks like the option of spousal or parental consolidation loans, but perhaps you’re put off by its lack of repayment protections. In that case, compare Splash Financial versus other lenders in our student loan refinancing marketplace.

How to apply for refinancing with Splash Financial

You can “check your rate” within minutes using the button on Splash Financial’s website. If you register with the site and see a rate that’s appealing — ideally, after comparing rates with other lenders — you could proceed to a formal application.

What you need to begin the refinancing process with Splash Financial
● Identification ● Recent pay stubs ● Proof of credit union membership (if you decide to refinance with a Splash Financial partner credit union) ● Additional information verifying your income, assets, debt and property ownership ● Payoff verification statement from your current loan servicers

How to contact Splash Financial

As an online company, Splash Financial prides itself on offering an array of ways to contact its customer service. Aside from its online chat function, you can contact the company in these ways:

Email	[email protected] (customer service) [email protected] (general information)
Phone	800-349-3938	● Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST
Mail	Splash Financial, 812 Huron Rd E, Suite 350, Cleveland, OH 44115

Frequently asked questions about Splash Financial student loans

If you didn’t find your question answered in our Splash Financial reviews, see the following FAQs:

How does Splash Financial work?

Splash Financial isn’t a lender or loan servicer — it’s an online marketplace that creditworthy applicants can use to collect multiple quotes for student loan refinancing. These quotes, comprising APRs and other loan details, originate from Splash Financial partners. Once you complete the application process with Splash Financial, your loan will be disbursed by a third-party lender, such as a bank or credit union, and it’ll very likely be serviced by yet another company.

Does Splash Financial offer student loans?

Splash Financial launched in 2013 to refinance federal and private student loan debt, but it recently began offering customers a pathway toward new student loans for higher education. If you visit Splash Financial’s website and input your prospective or current school’s name, you’ll see a list of contracted partners that offer private student loans for your case. Because Splash Financial is merely the middleman between you and the lender, it offers very few details about its student loan product, at least as of February 2022.

Methodology for ratings

To come up with our star rating for student loan refinancing lenders and companies/private student loan lenders and companies, Student Loan Hero asks hard questions — 20 of them, in fact. These questions span three categories: Accessibility, Rates & Terms and Repayment Experience. That’s because we want to judge financial institutions on their products and services from start to finish — when our users are shopping around, filing applications and paying down their debt. A top-rated lender, for instance, has inclusive eligibility criteria, allows you to prequalify and check rates without harming your credit score and is supportive as you face monthly payments.

The answers that we get to our 20 questions — either from the lenders themselves or by combing through their fine print — determine their overall rating. We score answers consistently, sometimes awarding partial points, to ensure that you can make equal comparisons between all lenders that we put under the microscope.

Student Loan Hero isn’t paid for conducting these reviews, and lenders don’t have a say in their content. The goal with our reviews and ratings, along with everything else we do, is to give our users the most comprehensive and up-to-date information available to make the best decisions according to their borrowing needs.

Student Loan Hero has independently collected the above information related to Splash Financial student loan refinancing, which is current as of Feb. 8, 2022, unless otherwise noted. None of the financial institutions named has either provided or reviewed the information shared in this article.