What to focus on before applying for a loan with Abra
To ensure the lender is legitimate, check if it meets the following criteria:
The lending company has a physical address and a secure website. Physical address should be an actual office address, and only a Post Office box is not enough. In addition, a company’s website must use a secure HTTPS connection to prevent a leak of borrowers’ personal information. You can recognize the secure website with a padlock icon near a domain name.
The money lending company is always interested in your credit history. The lender provides you its money, and you should beware of its proposal if a financial company doesn't seem to expect your repayments.
Lending organizations should clarify their fees before you sign a loan agreement. Furthermore, all details should be transparent to you as a borrower.
How do you know if a loan company is registered?
The lending company is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has a tax identification number (EIN). Note that tribal lending companies operate under the jurisdiction of tribal laws, and they don't have to register with the SEC. But still, tribes must act under federal consumer protection laws enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
According to the FTC requirement, the lending company is registered in your state, excluding tribal lenders abiding by tribal and federal laws only. That is why tribal lending companies can charge interest rates exceeding your state's maximum.
Finally, the State Attorney General can verify the registration of the lending company if you need additional proof of whether it is legitimate.
If a US lending company scams you, please report to local law enforcement, your state attorney general, CFPB, or FTC.
Finanso® also recommends
Learn the total cost of a loan, including:
- Interest rates
- Annual percentage rate
- Late fees
- Prepayment penalties
- Application fees
- Any other financial charges
- Any available discounts (e.g., for automatic repayments or promo codes)
It will be best to read a loan agreement carefully before signing it. If any part of the agreement seems incomprehensible, do not hesitate to ask the lender about particulars.
Remember that you don’t have to make an immediate decision when considering getting a loan. However, you must be sure that you are ready to repay following your loan documents. If the lender’s terms and conditions are uncomfortable for you, you are free to search for another proposal, as there are about 780 lending companies in the US.
What’s the difference between Abra and a bank?
- You need to have a good credit history to qualify for a credit card with a bank. In contrast, even bad credit history debtors can borrow money from US lenders with personal or payday loans.
- Interest rates and annual percentage rate for a loan with an online lending company are significantly higher than with a credit card released by a bank.
- Applying for an online loan with a lending company doesn’t require paperwork or even visiting their office. Instead, a borrower can apply entirely online and receive money via direct deposit on the next business day.
- The online lending business is high-risk for investors, and their capital is not protected from unfair borrowers.
- A loan with legitimate loan companies for bad credit is a simple but expensive form of borrowing to resolve financial hardship.
