Assessment
Fair Finance is used by UK borrowers with bad credit, on benefits, or with defaults and county court judgments who are turned down by mainstream lenders. New customers can borrow about $535 to $1,340 over 6 to 12 months, and existing customers can borrow up to about $4,010 over up to 18 months. A $670 loan over 12 months has a representative APR of 280%, which puts it at the high end of UK personal loan prices, and its closest competitors are Creditspring, Abound, and other small-loan lenders.
Faisel Rahman founded Fair Finance in 2005 as a social enterprise to tackle financial exclusion, and it now operates as a direct lender. Tim Marshall became chief executive in 2026, and Rahman stays on as founder and executive director. It says it decides on income and spending as well as a credit score, gives 24-hour decisions, and reinvests any surplus into lending to underserved communities.
It fits a borrower who has been refused elsewhere and wants a regulated direct lender that looks at affordability. It is a weaker fit for anyone who can get a cheaper loan from a bank, credit union, or community lender, because the stated cost is high.
Rating by criterion
We score each of the eight criteria out of 100.
Sector criteria
Loans start at about $535 for new customers, and every application is assessed on affordability, not only a credit score. The loan range is narrow, and one product is offered.
Decisions come within 24 hours. One Trustpilot reviewer applied on a Saturday, was accepted on Monday, and had funds the same day.
Fair Finance says it charges no late-payment penalties and is regulated by the FCA, but some Trustpilot reviewers complain about how overpayments and repayment terms were handled.
The application links to a bank account through open banking, according to one reviewer. No developer access or reporting tools are described.
Vendor criteria
The site describes personal loans plus advice and credit-building pages, with no other lending products.
Reviewers describe polite advisers and an easy application, and Fair Finance publishes a phone number and an office address in London.
A representative example is published: borrow about $670 for 12 months, repay about $1,243, with 132% fixed interest and a 6% administration fee, and a representative APR of 280%.
New customers can borrow up to about $1,340 over 6 to 12 months, and the larger loans go to existing customers. Read the agreement and the FCA complaints route first.
Against its peers
These are the other companies in lending and credit infrastructure, with their ratings.
User comments
We read recent Trustpilot reviews of Fair Finance to see what borrowers value, and set them against the main limit a borrower meets.
Where customer reviews couldn't be found, our analysts attempted to give a voice to buyer sentiment, drawing on real information from review sites, forums and product documentation.
Based on: Fair Finance, home page; Fair Finance, leadership transition.
Fact file
| Legal entity | Fair Finance, registered in London |
|---|---|
| Loan size | About $535 to $1,340 for new customers, up to about $4,010 for existing customers |
| Representative APR | 280% on a $670 loan over 12 months |
| Chief executive | Tim Marshall, 2026 |
| Founder | Faisel Rahman |
| Regulator | Financial Conduct Authority |
Source pages
- Fair Finance home page: https://fairfinance.org.uk/ (As of October 29, 2026)
- Fair Finance, personal loans: https://fairfinance.org.uk/personal-loans/ (As of October 29, 2026)
- Fair Finance, leadership team: https://fairfinance.org.uk/leadership-team/ (As of October 29, 2026)
- Fair Finance, leadership transition: https://fairfinance.org.uk/news/fair-finance-leadership-transition/ (As of October 29, 2026)
- Trustpilot, Fair Finance: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/fairfinance.org.uk (As of October 29, 2026)
Competitive landscape
UK lenders a borrower with a thin or poor credit file would compare with Fair Finance.
Fair Finance: 65
- Fair Finance65
- Abound76
- Creditspring72
- Lending StreamNot reviewed
- ZopaNot reviewed
Comparisons
Key leadership
Tim Marshall became chief executive in 2026. Faisel Rahman founded the company and stays on as founder and executive director.
How this review was created
This profile gives our own assessment of Fair Finance to companies selecting a Lending & credit infrastructure provider. The Fintech Index receives nothing for featuring a firm, for sponsorship, or for advertising, and Fair Finance gave us no payment for the profile.
The rating equals the average of eight criteria, with every criterion running from 0 to 100. Four address buyer needs in this sector, and four address the company together with its commercial terms.
Ratings are our editorial judgment, made from public information: pricing and legal pages, product documentation, compliance disclosures, public reviews and filings. Fact-checking took place on October 29, 2026. Figures reported in pounds were converted to US dollars at the Federal Reserve H.10 rate of $1.3375 per pound on October 23, 2026.
Verified customer / Trustpilot / January 2026