I work on the credit side of Securis. The question I get more than almost any other on WhatsApp is some version of: “should I just go to my bank for a personal loan instead?” It’s a fair question — both products are called the same thing, both show up on your CIBIL the same way, and both will land money in your account. But under the hood they’re underwritten very differently, and that difference matters a lot when the borrower is a 21-year-old student or a 24-year-old in their first job.

Here’s an honest breakdown of how the two product types actually differ, where each one fits, and where we genuinely think a bank personal loan is the better call.

Why the two products feel similar but aren’t

A bank personal loan and an NBFC personal loan are both unsecured loans regulated by the RBI. That’s the part that’s identical — same regulator, same consumer-protection rules (Key Fact Statement, APR disclosure, no prepayment penalty on floating-rate retail loans sanctioned on or after 1 January 2026, EMI cap of 50% of net income, the lot).

What differs is the cost of funds and the underwriting model behind them.

A bank funds its loans largely from depositor savings — the cheapest source of capital in the system. An NBFC funds itself from a mix of bank borrowings, debt market issuances, and equity. That means NBFCs structurally sit at a higher cost of funds than banks. The honest consequence: on a like-for-like prime-credit, large-ticket, long-tenure loan, a bank will usually price cheaper than an NBFC, and we don’t pretend otherwise.

But cost of funds isn’t the only thing borrowers care about. Speed, eligibility cut-offs, minimum ticket size, and willingness to underwrite thin-file applicants — that’s where the NBFC product takes a very different shape.

The five structural differences that matter for a student

1. Minimum ticket size. Most bank personal loans start at ₹50,000 or ₹1,00,000. Below that, the operational cost of underwriting a personal loan doesn’t make sense for a large bank. NBFCs, especially ones built around digital underwriting, can profitably do ₹25,000 or even ₹15,000 tickets. If you need ₹30K for a CFA Level 1 prep package or a refurbished laptop, the bank product is usually structurally off the table.

2. Credit history requirements. A typical bank’s salaried personal loan policy expects a CIBIL score of 720+ and 12+ months of salary credits. A 21-year-old with a 6-month-old credit card has neither. NBFCs underwrite below 720 more often, and many — Securis included — will evaluate the parent or guardian as the primary applicant on a college-student file, sidestepping the missing CIBIL entirely.

3. Speed to disbursement. Banks typically take 3–7 working days end-to-end on a fresh applicant; pre-approved offers are faster. NBFC digital flows like ours typically run 1–2 working days. If you’re trying to register for an exam window that closes Friday, that matters.

4. Tenure floor. Banks tend to have a 12-month minimum tenure; we routinely do 6, 9, and 12-month loans for small tickets. A six-month loan for a ₹40K course is just a cleaner product than a 24-month one — less total interest paid, less duration risk.

5. Underwriting flexibility for non-standard income. A student earning ₹15K/month from a freelance contract, or a fresh graduate paid partly in UPI rather than a bank salary credit — these profiles confuse a bank’s automated personal-loan engine. NBFCs underwriting in this segment have learned to price these profiles rather than reject them.

The EMI math, like-for-like

Take a fairly typical ask: ₹85,000 over 18 months. Assume the same standard reducing-balance EMI both sides.

  • Indicative bank personal loan rate for a strong-profile salaried borrower: ~12% APR → EMI ≈ ₹5,212/month, total payback ≈ ₹93,820
  • Securis (NBFC) loan, mid-band for a 700-750 score borrower: ~17% APR → EMI ≈ ₹5,361/month, total payback ≈ ₹96,500

The gap is roughly ₹2,680 over 18 months — about ₹149/month. That’s not nothing, but it’s also not catastrophic. The decision usually doesn’t turn on this difference — it turns on whether the bank product is even available to that borrower (it often isn’t, if they’re a college student or a thin-file early-career professional).

Where the gap does bite is at large tickets and long tenures. On a ₹5,00,000 loan over 60 months, the same percentage spread compounds into tens of thousands of rupees. That’s why our honest position is: once your ask is large enough and your credit profile is strong enough that a bank will say yes, take the bank loan. We say this on WhatsApp every week.

Considering a small loan and not sure which lender type fits? Apply for a Securis loan — typical disbursement is 1–2 working days, and you’ll see your offered rate before you commit.

When a bank personal loan is the right call

Three signals, any one of which probably means the bank product fits you:

  • You’re a salaried professional with 12+ months at the current employer and a 750+ CIBIL, and you’re borrowing ₹1L+ over 12 months or longer.
  • Your salary bank already has a pre-approved offer in the app — there’s no reason to add a fresh hard enquiry to your bureau report just to comparison-shop a small spread.
  • You need a ₹5L+ amount over 36+ months. The cost-of-funds gap matters at this scale.

When the NBFC product fits better

Equally clearly:

  • You need a small ticket (₹25K–₹2L) for a laptop, exam fee, course, or short-term college expense. Bank personal loans usually don’t go this low.
  • You’re a college student or fresh graduate with a thin or missing credit file. The bank’s automated underwriting will struggle; an NBFC built for this segment won’t.
  • You need money in 1–2 working days — a registration deadline, a hostel deposit, an internship setup window.
  • Your income is non-standard (freelance, partly UPI, partly cash). NBFC underwriting is built to price these profiles rather than auto-reject them.

Where neither product is the right answer

If you’re borrowing ₹5L+ for college tuition to be paid to the institution, neither a bank personal loan nor an NBFC personal loan is the right shape. That’s a bank education loan — a different product entirely, with moratorium periods, government interest subvention for eligible income brackets (the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme for NIRF-ranked institutions, for instance), and longer tenures. Start at your usual bank’s education loan desk for that, not here.

For families still managing pocket money for younger teens before college, our sister brand has a guide on how to plan for college-bound spending early — that’s a different conversation from a loan, but a useful one.

A note on choosing

Pick the product, then pick the lender — not the other way around. A bank personal loan and an NBFC personal loan are different shapes, not different brands of the same shape. If the shape doesn’t fit your situation (you’re a student, you need ₹40K, you need it Tuesday), the slightly cheaper rate at a place that won’t approve you isn’t really a rate at all.

If you want a second opinion on your specific situation, WhatsApp us — we’ll be honest about whether Securis fits.