An unsecured loan is a loan with no collateral behind it. Nothing is pledged, nothing can be repossessed. The lender’s decision rests on your income and your MLCB record instead. A secured loan is the opposite: something of value backs the loan, which can raise the amount but puts that item at risk. For most everyday amounts, unsecured is the normal and sensible choice, and it is what our personal, payday, short term and installment loans all are.