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Yrefy review

Updated September 30, 2026 · SumCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 30, 2026

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Our verdict

Yrefy suits US borrowers with private student loans and a thin credit file, and it lends directly at APR of 0.1% to 5.99% with no minimum credit score asked for. The catch is a 5% origination fee charged on the refinanced amount, and terms of 36 to 240 months.

Key facts

Best for
US borrowers with private student loans and a credit file the mainstream lenders turn down.
APR
0.1% to 5.99%↗
Term
36 to 240 months↗
Arrangement fee
No application fee; 5% loan origination fee assessed on the refinanced amount↗
Credit check
Hard↗
Rate type
Fixed↗
Lender type
Direct lender↗
Free early repayment
Yes↗
Eligibility
U.S. citizen or permanent resident, no minimum credit score, private student loans only, delinquent or defaulted loans accepted↗
Origination fee (%)
5%↗
Loan types
Student, Debt-consolidation↗
Credit needed
Poor↗
Legal entity
YREFY, LLC↗
Headquarters
United States↗
Founded
2017↗
Support channels
Email, Phone, Help-centre↗
Pricing model
Fixed rate
Official website
yrefy.com

Facts checked September 30, 2026, 5 sources

Apps and profiles

Elsewhere
LinkedIn

Pros and cons

Pros

  • APR of 0.1% to 5.99% compares well with the 12.74% to 13.01% listed for Ibancar Prestamos, the 21.59% at AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito and the 23% at Mi Prestamo.
  • A direct lender, so the borrower deals with the company that carries the loan rather than a broker passing the application on.
  • Free early repayment, so clearing the balance ahead of schedule costs nothing extra.
  • Eligibility sets no minimum credit score, accepts delinquent or defaulted loans, and the credit needed is listed as poor.
  • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, including phone and a self-serve help centre.

Cons

  • A 5% origination fee is charged on the amount refinanced on top of APR of 0.1% to 5.99%, so the advertised rate is only part of what the refinance costs.
  • Every loan is fixed rate, so there is no variable option quoted alongside it.
  • Loan types are student and debt consolidation, so debt that did not come from studying cannot be folded into the refinance.
  • The credit check is hard, so an application is judged on the full file rather than a quick screen.
Yrefy

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Scored 8.9 / 10 by SumCue.

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Who it suits

  • Borrowers carrying private student debt who fell into delinquency or default and need a refinance.
  • US citizens and permanent residents with no minimum credit score to offer, since eligibility asks for none.
  • Readers who want a fixed rate, free early repayment and a single origination fee visible upfront.

Who should look elsewhere

  • Ibancar Prestamos, at 12.74% to 13.01%, for readers who want to price a general loan before committing to a refinance.
  • Mi Prestamo, at 23%, as a cost benchmark at the far end of the market.
  • AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito, at 21.59%, for card and credit in a single product rather than a single debt refinance.

Safety of your money

Direct lending is the part of the model that keeps a borrower clear of intermediaries. Yrefy is a direct lender, so the application, the credit decision and the finished loan all sit with the same company, and the contract you sign is with the lender whose licence is listed below rather than with a broker that passes your details to a lender you never chose. For a refinance, where an existing balance is closed and a new one opened in the same process, that single relationship is the practical safeguard: there is a single servicer to call and a single set of terms to read. The register is NMLS Consumer Access, licensed under the Oregon Consumer Finance Act, under licence 2542605. That is the record to check before signing, and the record to look up rather than take on trust, because it shows who is licensed to make these loans and under which state law. The money at stake is a loan balance, not cash sitting in an account, so a borrower here relies on the licence and the contract rather than on any savings protection.

Regulation and registers

Two register details define how Yrefy is supervised, and the second one shapes the contract itself. The first is NMLS Consumer Access, licensed under the Oregon Consumer Finance Act, under licence 2542605. That is a US register with the licence held under a named state scheme, so a reader can verify the entry and see the framework any complaint would be handled under. The second is lender kind. Yrefy is a direct lender, so the loans are written by the company that sells them rather than by a network of funders chosen later. In a direct arrangement the borrower sees a single interest rate, a single set of terms and a single fee, and the lender carries the credit risk for the whole term. That is why a direct lender can hold a quote steady and why there is no third party in the repayment chain to pass a question to. The practical check is simple: look the licence up, confirm the entity behind it, then read the fee line, because in a direct loan the cost sits with the lender rather than with an intermediary who might charge separately for arranging it.

Rates and costs

The cost of a Yrefy refinance is the rate plus a single fee, and the fee is the part that catches readers out. APR runs 0.1% to 5.99%, a low headline figure. The arrangement charge is a loan origination fee of 5% taken on the amount being refinanced, and there is no application fee to soften it. Because the fee is charged on the refinanced amount, the first repayment is larger than the rate alone would suggest, which is why two offers at similar rates can differ in what they cost in practice. Early repayment is free, so a borrower who clears the balance ahead of schedule pays nothing extra for it, and the saving is the interest that would otherwise have accrued at a fixed rate. The term matters for the total too: across 36 to 240 months the interest is spread over a long stretch, so a borrower who stops paying still has debt outstanding rather than a clear end date. The useful comparison is therefore the total cost on the amount being refinanced, fee included, rather than the advertised rate alone.

Who runs it

Yrefy trades as YREFY, LLC, is headquartered in the United States and was founded in 2017. It is a direct lender, so the company named on the contract is the company you deal with, and its licence is registered with NMLS Consumer Access under the Oregon Consumer Finance Act, listed as 2542605. Support runs on email, phone and help centre, so a borrower can pick up the phone, send an email or work through the help centre without booking anything. A direct lender handling its own servicing usually means a single point of contact, which matters when a payment date has to move or a balance needs restating after a missed month. The practical picture for a US borrower is simple: a named legal entity, a licence number worth checking in the register, and phone and email support from the same company that holds the loan.

How Yrefy compares

Where Yrefy is available

Licence in United States
NMLS Consumer Access (licensed under the Oregon Consumer Finance Act) (2542605), checked September 30, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What does a Yrefy refinance cost?+

There is no application fee. The arrangement cost is a 5% loan origination fee taken on the amount being refinanced, so it lands on the first repayment rather than on the rate. On top of that, APR runs 0.1% to 5.99% for the whole term. Early repayment is free, so nothing extra is charged for clearing the balance ahead of schedule.

Is the rate fixed or variable?+

Every loan is fixed rate, which suits anyone who wants a repayment figure that does not move while the balance runs. The listed rate model is fixed rate, so no variable option is quoted alongside it. With APR at 0.1% to 5.99% and terms of 36 to 240 months, the repayment is set at the start and stays put for the full term.

What credit do I need to qualify?+

The credit needed is listed as poor, and the credit check is hard. Eligibility asks for a US citizen or permanent resident, sets no minimum credit score, covers private student loans only, and accepts delinquent or defaulted loans. That combination is why readers refused elsewhere keep coming back to this page.

Which loans can I refinance with Yrefy?+

The listed loan types are student and debt consolidation. Private student debt is the core product and debt consolidation sits alongside it. Loans that did not come from studying, such as a car loan, a home loan or a business loan, sit outside that list, so a borrower with mixed debts will move only the student side across.

How long can I borrow for?+

Terms run 36 to 240 months, which is far longer than the site median for borrowing of 36. A long term keeps the repayment manageable but leaves the balance outstanding for years, so the fixed rate matters more on a long loan than on a short one, and early repayment is what shortens the total.

Can I pay the loan off early?+

Free early repayment: yes. Nothing extra is charged for clearing the balance before the term ends, and because the rate is fixed the amount saved is the interest that would otherwise have accrued. Readers who receive a windfall, or whose income rises, can cut the outstanding balance without a fee conversation.

Who am I actually borrowing from?+

Yrefy is a direct lender, so the contract is with the company that writes the loan rather than with a broker that passes the application on. It is registered with NMLS Consumer Access, licensed under the Oregon Consumer Finance Act, under licence 2542605. The lender is headquartered in the United States and the entity behind the loans is YREFY, LLC.

What if I fall behind on the repayments?+

Terms of 36 to 240 months mean the repayment is spread across a long stretch, and free early repayment means catching up later costs nothing extra. The wider picture matters too: retail loss rates across lenders on the site sit at 72%. A refinance that cuts the rate is easier to hold than one that only stretches the balance.

Sources

  • yrefy.com checked September 30, 2026

    Backs: Headquarters, Support channels, Licences

    “6910 E Chauncey Ln #210 Phoenix, AZ 85054”

  • yrefy.com/about checked September 30, 2026

    Backs: Founded

    “Yrefy was established in 2017 by a student loan industry professional”

  • yrefy.com/resources/faq checked September 30, 2026

    Backs: Credit check, Free early repayment, Legal entity, Lender type, Pricing model, Arrangement fee, Origination fee (%), Term

    “A soft credit check is done for prequalification, which does not hurt your score, but a hard credit check is required for final application.”

  • yrefy.com/student-loan-refinance checked September 30, 2026

    Backs: APR, Credit needed, Loan types, Rate type

    “We offer fixed interest rates between 0.1 - 5.99% APR on all refinanced loans.”

  • yrefy.com/student-loan-refinance/bad-credit checked September 30, 2026

    Backs: Eligibility

    “U.S. citizen/permanent resident status; Loan type: Yrefy only refinances private student loans that are delinquent or in default.”

Compiled from 5 source pages, checked September 30, 2026. We did not open an account.

Not confirmed yet: Loan amount, Funding time, Representative example.

Yrefy

Yrefy

US borrowers with private student loans and a credit file the mainstream lenders turn down.

8.9/10See alternatives