Financial products assessment methodology

Credit-10 provides detailed reviews of various financial products, primarily microloans, and consumer loans. We understand that your financial situation and well-being may depend on the choice of a financial organization, which you make based on the materials on our website. Therefore, we have developed a financial product assessment methodology, as well as a set of internal rules that help us draw up reviews and ratings as accurately and objectively as possible.

How we choose companies for assessment

When creating reviews, we give priority to financial institutions that are widely popular in the lending market, since the assessment of such companies is most relevant for most of our visitors.

We also prepare reviews of financial companies that participate in affiliate programs. Every time users click on a link from our site to perform a targeted action on partner sites, we receive a commission. These funds allow us to pay for the work of specialists, and our visitors can use the services of the Credit-10 service absolutely free.

Why participation in the affiliate program does not prevent us from being objective?

When adding reviews to the site, we follow 4 main rules:

The company must be licensed in the country for which we are reviewing.
Regardless of participation in the affiliate program, we evaluate all loan offers according to a single list of criteria.
All reviews remain freely available on our website even if the company terminates its participation in the affiliate program.
Each user, using the feedback form, can send us a financial institution that provides credit services for review. And, if it does not contradict the rules of the service, we will test it.

What we assess and how we compose reviews

Organization safety and credibility

What we evaluate: the presence of all necessary licenses and permits, as well as the reputation of the organization itself and its owners.
How the check is carried out: our specialists study the information presented on the website of the company or service, as well as official documents in open databases, on the website of the state regulator, independent analytical platforms.
Companies that disclose full information about registration and owners directly on their website and have all the proper permissions and licenses are highly assessed.

Companies without an appropriate license don’t appear on the site!

Transparency of conditions

What we evaluate: full information about the cost of the service, no hidden fees, and fines.
How the check is carried out: service specialists carefully study the information on the company's website, compare it with the accompanying documentation, contracts for the provision of financial services and products.
Products for which the amounts, terms, interest rates, additional commissions, and fees (if any) are clearly indicated; the conditions stated on the site correspond to those indicated in the contract are highly assessed.

Important! We take into account the full actual cost of the loan in comparison with similar offers in the region. Companies, where the cost of the loan, other things being equal, will be cheaper, get a slight advantage when ranking in the rating table.

We also post detailed conditions for processing loans and bank cards on our website so that you can independently compare the offer and choose the most profitable option.

When comparing bank cards, we also take into account data on additional services and bonuses.

Repayment flexibility

What we assess: loyalty in terms of loan repayment, an accessible and understandable procedure for a loan prolongation and restructuring, methods of working with debtors.
How the check is carried out: our specialists study the information on the site, including accompanying documentation and agreements on the provision of financial services, analyze the reviews of borrowers.
Organizations that clearly and unambiguously inform borrowers about the possible consequences of delay or refusal to repay a debt, offer flexible repayment terms, as well as the possibility of early repayment, prolongation, and debt restructuring are highly assessed.

Important! We also assess the size and likelihood of penalties for delays and non-payment of a loan. Companies in which, other things being equal, the borrower faces a smaller penalty for violating a loan agreement, receive a slight advantage when ranking in the rating table.

Ease of loan issuance

What we assess: the ability to get a loan or a bank card online, the simplicity of the procedure, the speed of processing the application.
How the check is carried out: our specialists, disguised as ordinary clients, register on the company's website and go through all the stages of obtaining a loan, record all the necessary actions and requirements.
Companies that provide an opportunity to apply for a loan online, offer a simple and straightforward process of registration, as well as registration and management of a personal account, are highly assessed.

Important! We also analyze the package of necessary documents and requirements for the borrower, collect data on refusals and approved applications. Companies in which, other things being equal, the borrower has more chances to get a loan, get a slight advantage when ranking in the rating table.

Customer service

What we assess: the availability and competence of the customer service.
How the check is carried out: our employees, disguised as ordinary clients, contact the customer service through all available communication channels with a request to help in solving typical issues that may arise when applying for a loan.
Companies in which the support service is always available through several communication channels, including instant messengers and hotline phones, employees respond within 2 minutes during business hours and can assist in solving common problems are highly assessed.

User reviews

What we assess: single reviews are usually subjective and cannot serve as a reliable basis for evaluation, so we analyze not the reviews themselves, but the presence of positive and negative trends.
How the check is carried out: our specialists study user reviews from all available sources and, using the method of comparison and systematization, highlight the main trends. In addition to an independent assessment criterion, reviews can also serve as a reason for additional verification of the company.
Organizations with positive tendencies in reviews, where users don’t mention unresolved conflicts and serious violations are highly assessed.

How we form a rating

The creditors' rating on our website is formed with the help of an automatic calculation using a special algorithm. The calculation data is constantly updated.

The calculation takes into account:

6 basic assessment factors:

Organization safety and credibility
Transparency of conditions + cost ratio
Repayment flexibility + loyalty rate
Ease of loan issuance + probability of approval rate
Competence of customer support
User reviews

3 additional “benefit” coefficients:

cost factor - offers with lower cost gain an advantage;
loyalty rate - offers with a lower late/non-payment penalty get an advantage;
probability of approval rate - offers with a higher probability of approval rate gain an advantage.

user rating - rating and user reviews that were left at Credit-10 and were moderated

3 additional “stability” coefficients:

coefficient of positive dynamics - companies that are rapidly gaining the trust of users (positive trends prevail when analyzing reviews), get an advantage;
negative dynamics coefficient - companies that are rapidly losing the trust of users (negative trends prevail when analyzing reviews) receive a fine;
stability coefficient - companies that have retained user confidence for more than a year (no negative trends) get an advantage.

You can also influence the rating of lenders on our website - share your experience and leave a rating on the page of the company that issued a loan to you.