Splash Financial Student Loan Refinancing Review

Splash Financial operates as an online platform. Specializing in the refinancing of student loans, it's a virtual middleman that pairs borrowers with banks and credit unions. Though a relatively new company, founded in 2013, Splash has handled more than 100,000 accounts and more than $6 billion in refinancing requests, according to its website. 

Refinancing is a tempting proposition: the average individual student loan debt was $38,792 as of Q3 2020. PLUS Loans disbursed between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, had a fixed interest rate of 6.28% and undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized loans at 3.73%. If you’re thinking about refinancing your student debt through Splash Financial, here’s what you need to know. 

Pros Explained

• No loan maximum: Unlike many other lenders, Splash Financial does not have a cap on how much you can refinance.
• Loan prequalification available: You can get a rate quote from Splash Financial with just a soft pull of your credit report, which doesn't impact your credit score. 
• Low interest rates: Splash Financial offers very competitive interest rates, with variable rates starting as low as 1.74% and fixed rates as low as 1.99%. 
• Spouses can refinance loans together: Splash Financial is one of the only companies that may allow couples to refinance their loans jointly (Depending on the lending partner). Spousal refinancing not only simplifies repayment, but it can also be a huge help for couples if only one is a wage-earner, as the lender will look at the couple’s combined income. 

Cons Explained

• Highly variable loan terms and policies: It's important to remember that Splash Financial partners with lenders, but is not a lender itself. And because it works with several different banks and credit unions, the lenders’ terms can vary greatly—on everything from repayment to financial hardship and forbearance to release of cosigners.
• Limited choice of lenders: You don't have a choice of lenders; Splash simply matches you with one that is the best fit—and you only learn its identity when you submit a full application. Some loan platforms actually show you multiple offers and allow you to pick which institution you want to work with.
• Credit union membership may be required: If you opt for a loan from a credit union, you may be required to join it before you can be approved for refinancing. 
• Death and disability discharge may not be available: Because Splash Financial is not a direct lender, it doesn't have a central policy for discharging loans. Instead, it's up to its partners to decide how to handle loan discharges in extenuating circumstances. Depending on the lender, death and disability discharge may not be an option.

Splash Financial Refinancing Loans Available

Splash Financial works with its lending partners to offer refinancing loans with variable and fixed interest rates. Loans fall into two basic categories: general student loans and medical student loans.

Student Loan Refinancing

Whether you have an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or graduate degree, you can qualify for student loan refinancing through Splash Financial. If you’re married, you and your spouse can refinance your loans together, or one partner can take over the other's debt. Parents who took out educational loans for their child’s education are also eligible for refinancing, and the child doesn’t need to have graduated. 

Medical Student Loan Refinancing

Splash Financial actually began as a refinancer of medical school debt.

Loan Eligibility

To qualify for student loan refinancing through Splash Financial, you must meet these requirements: 

• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• You must be a graduate with an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or be a parent of a student
• You must have at least $5,000 in student loans to refinance

Is Loan Prequalification Available?

You can use Splash Financial’s prequalification tool to check your rates in as little as two minutes. The process does not affect your credit score. 

Loan Fees

Splash Financial does not charge application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties. 

Because your loan is serviced by one of Splash Financial’s partner lenders, whether or not there is a late fee or returned payment fee is dependent on who your lender is. 

Loan Discounts

If you sign up for automatic payments, Splash Financial will apply a 0.25% discount to your APR.

Repayment Options

With Splash Financial, as with most refinanced student loans, you don’t have multiple repayment options. you begin making principal and interest payments right away. 

Splash Financial offers some special grace for its medical school refinancing loans. though. When you refinance your medical school debt, you can pay just $100 per month during the course of your residency or fellowship program plus six months—up to a maximum of 84 months. Once that period expires, you have to make full principal and interest payments on your debt. 

Rewards and Benefits

If you refer friends or family members to Splash Financial and they refinance their loans, you’ll both receive a $200 cash bonus. There’s no limit to how much you can receive. 

Are Cosigners Required?

Splash Financial doesn’t require applicants to have a cosigner in every instance, but having one may increase your chances of qualifying for a loan. The exact terms of the cosigner agreement depend on the individual lender.

Forbearance and Loan Discharge Options

Splash Financial works with several different banks and credit unions to offer student loan refinancing, so there isn’t one single financial hardship and forbearance policy. 

Before submitting your loan application, check the individual lender’s hardship policies to see if they offer forbearance and loan discharge in the case of death or disability. 

Customer Service

On Trustpilot, Splash Financial has a 4.8 (out of 5) TrustScore with more than 404 customer reviews.

If you have questions during the application process, you can contact Splash Financial at contact@SplashFinancial.com or 800-349-3938. However, once your application is approved and disbursed, you should work directly with your lender if you have any issues with your account. 

Applying for a Splash Financial Loan

If you decide to move ahead with refinancing through Splash Financial, you’ll need to provide the following information on the loan application: 

• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Phone number
• Email address
• Current address
• Monthly income
• Housing costs
• Employer information
• A copy of your diploma or transcripts

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Methodology

Investopedia is dedicated to providing consumers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of student loan lenders. We collected over 45 data points across more than 15 lenders—including interest rates, fees, loan amounts, and repayment terms—to ensure that our content helps users make the right borrowing decision for their education needs.