Published date: 11 Jul 2020 Updated on: 11 Jul 2020 It is our continued effort to demystify the process of abroad education loans. In this blog, we will dissect and study the disbursement process of Prodigy Finance education loans. Prodigy Finance is a UK-based fintech platform that lends funds to international students for post-graduate studies. It uses a borderless credit model that makes securing funds easier for international students for fields such as business, engineering, public policy, law, and health sciences. Let’s Dive Into the Disbursement Process of Prodigy Finance - What is the Difference Between Loan Sanction and Loan Disbursement? Most students get confused between these two terms. A loan sanction letter is proof that the applicant is eligible for a loan. The letter includes all the terms and conditions of the loan. Loan disbursement, on the other hand, means transferring the funds from the lender to the borrower’s loan account and then to the university or the forex card. In the case of Prodigy Finance, the disbursed or the released amount is sent directly to the university. What Steps Are To Be Taken Before the Prodigy Finance Disbursement Process? The Prodigy Finance Loan Application Has 4 Stages - Apply Online - Students will be able to apply for the loan on their platform. Prodigy Finance has strict eligibility criteria for nationality, country, college, and course. For guidance, students can contact GyanDhan’s executive to know their eligibility criteria and apply for the loan via GyanDhan. Get a Quote - If the application is successful, the lender makes a Provisional Offer. This response is given within 2 days and is valid for up to 2 weeks. Upload Your Documents - Once the student has accepted the Provisional Offer, electronic scans of the Prodigy Finance required documents are to be submitted. There are certain currency conversions and language translations done at this stage that might confuse the students. To ensure that there are no mistakes, apply for the loan via GyanDhan. Our education loan counselors will help you with this step and offer guidance on every step. Sign Your Loan Agreement - After the documents are verified, the lender will send a Loan Confirmation Letter, otherwise called a sanction letter, confirming the loan application. There are two types of letters issued - a) A conditional loan confirmation letter if an I-20 form is required from the school. b) A confirmation loan letter is required when applying for a student visa. Letters will be available on the dashboard. A final loan confirmation letter will be available after the loan is finalized and approved. The final loan agreement will be given to the students to e-sign once they reach the university. Students will receive an email before the classes are due to start to let them know that the loan agreement is ready to be signed online. Once all the above steps are completed, the stipulated funds are sent directly to the school/university. What are the Documents Required For Prodigy Finance Loan Disbursement? Proof of Identity - Students need to upload a government-issued identification document or a driver’s license in a readable format. A colored-scan of the identification page is required. Proof of Address - To complete the KYC, proof of address is necessary. Utility bills such as electricity bills, water bills, gas bills are acceptable. Bank statements and even rent agreement between the applicant and the landlord is also accepted. However, the document should not be dated older than 90 days at the time of upload. Credit Report - Credit report shows the previous and current payment behavior of the applicant and is helpful to determine the creditworthiness. Students can get this information on CIBIL (dot) com at a cost of Rs. 550. Students with no credit history will be shown a message ‘No Hit’ - a screenshot of this message needs to be uploaded. Proof of Income - Salary slips of three months and corresponding one month’s bank statements have to be uploaded. If the student doesn’t have proof of income, they can submit a) a tax certificate no older than 12 months, or b) if the student is self-employed, they can submit 3 service contracts or invoices, along with corresponding bank statements. Proof of Admission - An admit letter that confirms admission into a university. The letter should include the student’s name, university’s name, campus, course and program, start and end date of the course, etc. The lender also accepts an email from the university that confirms the admission. Proof of Scholarship - If the student has won a scholarship, the proof of the same has to be submitted. One of the favorable features of the lender is that the deadline for the document submission can be extended if you are facing certain difficulties in getting a document. All you have to do is reach out to the Prodigy team. Or if you are applying for the loan via GyanDhan, then we can help you obtain those documents as soon as possible. What is the Prodigy Finance Disbursement Process? Once all the documents required are submitted and verified, students get the sanction letter right after the approval without paying any processing fees. As mentioned above, the Prodigy loan sanction letter can be used as proof of funds in the visa application. The Signing of the Loan Agreement - the final loan agreement will be signed online once the student has reached the university. Prodigy Finance will email before the start of the session as a reminder to sign the agreement. Courses Starting Online Due To COVID-19 - The COVID-19 situation has forced several universities to resort to online teaching. Prodigy Finance, therefore, has made provisions for the students to sign the agreement from the safety of their home. The Disbursement of the Funds - The disbursement process of Prodigy Finance is hassle-free as they send the funds directly to the university. Some Things To Keep in Mind About the Process - The university sets the date when they are expecting the funds. The lender aligns the date for disbursement as close to it as possible. Funds will be released only after the student has e-signed the loan agreement. A student attending a University in the USA can request to reschedule the date of disbursement. If the student is attending a university outside of the USA, the date of disbursement cannot be changed. It will take approximately 3 to 5 days for the funds to arrive in the university’s account. If your loan amount includes living expenses (hostel fees), all the funds are sent to the university. Once the tuition fee is paid, the university will transfer the funds to you directly. You will have to coordinate with your university regarding the time and date of the transfer of funds. What are the Benefits of the Prodigy Finance Education Loan? The Prodigy Finance education loan comes with a bag full of benefits that are as follows- No Co-signer, No collateral - students can apply for a loan with a co-applicant or collateral. The loan is granted on the basis of the future potential of the student, course, and the college. Quick Online Application - the entire loan application process is online and takes a maximum of 30 minutes to complete. However, since the loan amount will not be in INR, therefore, students will be required to make currency conversions to calculate the amount. Any wrong calculation will result in the cancellation of the application. To eliminate such mistakes, it is advisable to take the loan via GyanDhan. Our education loan counselors will assist you in the entire process. Prepayment - there is no penalty on the prepayment of the loan amount. Loan Tenure - the lender offers a flexible loan tenure and a repayment term of 7 to 20 years. Repayment - the repayment of the loan starts 6-months after the classes end. In other words, students get a grace period of the study period, plus 6-months. Mobile app - to stay on top of the loan process, students can track the payments on the mobile app of the lender. What are the Features of the Prodigy Finance Education Loan? Eligibility - The eligibility criteria for the loan is pretty simple The student must be admitted to a university and the course that the lender supports. To know the list of eligible colleges and courses, contact GyanDhan Loan Counselor. The student must be attending an abroad university. The student must be a citizen of the country that the lender supports. India is an eligible country. Interest Rate - Prodigy Finance uses simple interest rates, which means that the interest is not compounded in the loan duration. The Prodigy Finance interest rate, however, is variable and can change during the course of the loan. Processing Fee/Admin Fee - The admin fee is 4% of the loan amount. However, students are not required to pay the fee upfront. The fee is added to the loan amount and spread across the interest payments. Expenses Covered - The loan covers tuition fees and living expenses. To Apply For Prodigy Finance Education Loan Fill this form and get in touch with an expert What’s the Advantage of the GyanDhan Gateway For Education Loans? GyanDhan strives to make the entire loan process as hassle-free for the students as possible. GyanDhan has partnered with Prodigy Finance to aid students in the application process. Additionally, our education loan counselors are well-versed with education loans and will suggest the lender that best suits your needs. We coordinate with the concerned officials to keep you updated on the progress of your loan. So if you are looking to secure funds for your abroad education, contact GyanDhan right away. Or you can start the process by checking your loan eligibility.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.gyandhan.com/blogs/prodigy-finance-education-loan-disbursement-process