Guide to Loans for Hispanics in the U.S.

Disclosure: Stilt is a lending company. Nonetheless, we are committed to recommending the best loan products to our readers when their needs are outside Stilt’s loan offerings.

Whether you are a U.S. citizen or an immigrant living on a visa, life can feel like it’s stacked against you. Sometimes you just need a break. The good news is a loan can help provide the financial relief you need. But what if you’re Hispanic. Are there loans for Hispanics?

Here you can find some loan options for Hispanics. It’s much easier than you’d think. You just need to comply with the simple eligibility criteria. This is what you need to know.

Are there Loans for Hispanic People in the U.S.?

So are there loans for Hispanics? Yes, Hispanics can get loans in the U.S. You can get loans for both business and personal reasons. Just like with the best business schools in the U.S., you’ll need to apply. Look for lenders and credit unions who are willing to help you and apply. Your next project is not just a dream. You can make it a reality. Get the financial help you need and go finance that project.

Best Personal Loans for Hispanics

Personal loans are a great credit solution. Personal loans are generally unsecured. You don’t need to supply collateral to secure the loan. Plus you can use a personal loan for whatever you want to. Traditional banks, as well as conventional lenders, offer personal loans. But you can also get personal loans from non-traditional lenders like credit unions and online lenders.

Non-traditional lenders are especially helpful towards immigrants. They understand the hardships you experience as an immigrant. They have more lenient eligibility criteria compared to traditional lenders. So it is generally much easier for immigrants to get a personal loan with non-traditional lenders as opposed to traditional lenders. Here are two non-traditional lenders that offer personal loans for Hispanics for your consideration.

Stilt

Stilt offers personal loans of up to $25,000 that start at an APR of 7.99%. They don’t require a minimum credit score and they are willing to help immigrants living on a visa in the U.S. You don’t need a cosigner or an SSN (Social Security Number) and they don’t charge you any prepayment penalties. You just need to comply with their simple eligibility criteria.

Latino Credit Union

The Latino Credit Union aims to serve its members. People from the Hispanic community can apply to become members and make use of their services on offer. They serve their members with personal loans of up to $15,000 for individual applicants and $20,000 for joint applicants.

You need the following to apply for a personal loan with the Latino Credit Union:

• Be a Latino Credit Union member
• Provide proof of income
• One year of tax returns for a self-employed individual
• One year of credit history.

The Latino Credit Union can be a great option if you can comply with their eligibility criteria.

Best Business Loans for Hispanics

How can you get a loan for business purposes as a Hispanic? Do loans for Hispanics in this category even exist? You might be surprised to know that you can. Let’s look at a few options.

SBA Community Advantage Loans

The SBA Community Advantage loan is a good option. This loan ranges between $50,000 to $250,000 from an interest rate between 7% to 9%. The loan is federally guaranteed and is generally administered by community-based lenders. These loans are fairly affordable and could help your business to succeed.

For-profit businesses are welcome to apply for a loan. Only small businesses with the following characteristics are, however, eligible:

• Fewer than 500 employees
• Total assets less than $15 million

ACCION

ACCION offers business capital to people of the Hispanic community. They have already supplied more than 60,000 business loans to date. They have over 25 years of experience and have served more than 500,000 entrepreneurs in the process.

They pride themselves on fair and flexible business practices by supplying financial services to small business owners with top-level connections and resources through their loan expertise. They have local insights that help them provide simple online application systems to create great products.

Opportunity Fund

Opportunity Fund serves thousands of people with loans for Hispanics. Their business finance offers help to improve businesses in 13 states with a high Hispanic population. 61% of their clients experience a rise in sales and 56% of their customers have improved credit scores thanks to them. They have a stellar 94% business survival rate amongst their clients.

In their past 25 years of operations, they have provided over $900 million of funding. They love to provide capital to hard-working entrepreneurs and strive to help business owners in underserved Hispanic communities with the help they need to succeed.

Grants for Hispanic-Owned Businesses

Both private and government grants can help Hispanic-owned businesses. It can be tough to find options. So here are a few for your convenience.

• Grants.gov – A website with the largest repository of federal government grants. Most federal agencies with grants list their help on this website. Their services are especially helpful towards businesses in the science and technology fields.
• Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer – The SBIR and STTR programs are government grants from mainly different federal government agencies. These grants also focus on science and technology. The nature of these grants is competitive since only the top applicants receive help. Those who do get the financial aid they apply for may get up to $1.15 million in funding.
• USDA Rural Business Grants – Only Hispanic business owners in rural areas are eligible for these grants supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are open to start or expand small businesses. These are businesses with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover of less than $1 million are eligible.
• National Association of the Self-Employed – The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) offers grants of up to $4,000. Apply with them and demonstrate how the grant would help achieve your business goals.
• Amber Grant for Women – Hispanic women face extra obstacles since they need to conquer both racial and gender-based issues. The Amber Grant can provide $2,000 in funding to 12 female business owners per year. The 12 recipients compete each year for the $25,000 grand prize.

Resources for Hispanic-Owned Businesses

Loans alone may not be enough to help build businesses. You need more than just money. Maybe you need to know how to send money to Mexico? Here are some additional resources Hispanic business owners might find helpful.

• Minority Business Development Agency – This program helps to connect you to more resources that could help you to penetrate new markets with your business. Contact your local MBDA center and get access to business specialists in your industry.
• U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce – Contact your local U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. They could help give you the connections you need to get good loan offers.
• SCORE – SCORE is sponsored by the government and also partly funded by SBA. The site is available in Spanish which helps to serve the Hispanic community with greater efficiency. Their resources help improve Hispanic businesses by explaining regulations and providing help to grow operations.
• The Latino Coalition – The Latino Coalition helps Hispanic business owners with business-related resources. They offer advocacy and lobbying services at a government level for their members. They also have regular networking events to grow the Hispanic business communities.

Conclusion

Hispanic communities have thousands of entrepreneurs who keep Latino cultures vibrant through community-based businesses. But sometimes it becomes hard to start a new business or to grow existing operations without any upfront capital.

You can get loans for Hispanics to help grow or start your business. Both personal loans or business loans can help finance your next project. Apply today and get started.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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