You may be able to get a personal loan if you have steady income from such things as employment or investment holdings.

While the national average score is around 700, a company like Synchrony Financial will consider lending to a person with 640 because the individual has other things going on in his life that could counteract his lack of creditworthiness. For example, having a big savings account which could be accessed in an emergency situation.

Synchrony says it determines creditworthiness by looking at factors including “account balances and payment history on loans/lines” and “whether client fell into bankruptcy during previous 24 months” among others.