FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions

Applying for a loan

To apply for a Spotloan, you’ll need:

  • A job or other regular source of income
  • A checking or savings account
  • A SSN, a valid email address, a mailing address, and phone number
  • To be at least 18 years old

Once you apply for a Spotloan online loan, we’ll be able to tell you whether or not you qualify for a Spotloan. Please note that there are a few instances where we may need to verify your identity once you’re approved. In that case, you’ll be required to verify your identity with our third party provider before your loan is funded.

To apply for a Spotloan, you’ll need:

  • A job or other regular source of income
  • A checking or savings account
  • A SSN, a valid email address, a mailing address, and phone number
  • To be at least 18 years old

Once you apply for a Spotloan online loan, we’ll be able to tell you whether or not you qualify for a Spotloan. Please note that there are a few instances where we may need to verify your identity once you’re approved. In that case, you’ll be required to verify your identity with our third party provider before your loan is funded.

 

Spotloans are currently available to residents of the following states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

As soon as you complete your application online, you’ll know within one minute or less if you are approved.

The application process is fast as it is done completely online. Most people complete the process in about 10 minutes. Please see "When do I get my money?" for more information on loan funding times.

Monday through Friday before 1:45 p.m. CT

Spotloan will transfer the money to your bank by the end of the business day on the same day the approved loan was accepted by you.* Your bank could make that money available to you immediately thereafter. If you do not see your funds by the end of the day, be sure to contact your bank for specifics.

Monday through Thursday between 1:45 p.m. CT and 8 p.m. CT

Spotloan will transfer your funds to your bank overnight.
Your bank could make that money available to you first thing in the morning.* If you do not see your funds by 9 a.m. local time, be sure to contact your bank for specifics.

On a Friday after 1:45 p.m. CT through Sunday

Spotloan will transfer your money over the weekend and it will be waiting at your bank on Monday morning.* If you do not see your funds on Monday morning, be sure to contact your bank for specifics. However, please know that in some instances, for your protection, after you are approved we may ask you to provide verification of your identity before your loan is funded. In these cases, we will notify you by email with a request for additional information. *If this falls on a banking holiday, this will apply to the next business day. See federalreserve.gov for details.

You have three days from the date you receive your funds to return the funds at no cost to you. To start the process, you can either pay back your loan in full online or contact us at (888) 681-6811 or help@spotloan.com. Be sure to contact us during business hours, before your three-day rescission period comes to an end.

UNDERSTANDING THE COST OF A SPOTLOAN

APR

Our maximum Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 490%. APR is the annual percentage rate of your loan, or the cost of your credit as a yearly rate.

For example, on your first Spotloan your APR is 490%. If you borrow $600 and choose a bi-weekly payment schedule of ten payments over five months, then you would pay approximately $775 in finance charges, for a total payback of $1,375. (This assumes that your first payment occurs 14 days after the loan is funded and you make all scheduled payments in full and on time.)

Interest

A Spotloan is a simple interest loan. Interest is charged daily based on the outstanding principal balance of your loan. For every day you carry a principal balance on your loan, you will be charged a daily interest rate as calculated by your APR.

For our maximum APR of 490%, the daily interest rate will be approximately 1.34%. This is the interest rate that will be charged daily on your outstanding principal balance.

If you pay off your first Spotloan in full and on time, you may be eligible for a lower rate of 330% to 460% APR on your next Spotloan. Customers with an established track record with us will earn an even lower rate of 99% APR, starting with their tenth Spotloan.

There are no hidden fees associated with a Spotloan. The fees that you are responsible for are outlined when you apply for a Spotloan, and in your loan documents.

Our maximum annual percentage rate (APR) 490%. APR is the annual percentage rate of your loan, or the cost of your credit as a yearly rate.Repeat borrowers get a lower APR.

Additionally, you may be charged $10 for any returned checks as an NSF fee. Spotloan does not charge an origination fee.

Spotloans and payday loans are completely different. Spotloans are short-term installment loans, which means you pay back your loan over time. With a Spotloan, you choose how long you want to pay the loan back - up to ten months. Plus, you can pay your loan off early with no prepayment penalties.

On the other hand, payday loans are fixed loans. When the loan term is up, usually within two weeks, you need to pay back the entire amount. If you don’t have that money available, you can rollover the loan for another two weeks (or whatever your loan period is). This racks up additional fees and gets expensive fast.

Only you can decide if a Spotloan is right for you.

It is important to note that a Spotloan is an expensive form of credit and is intended only for short-term financial needs. Spotloans are designed to help you deal with emergencies such as rent, medical bills, car repairs, and expenses related to your job. Spotloans are not intended to solve longer-term credit or other financial needs, and alternative forms of credit may be better for you, including borrowing from a friend or relative, using a credit card cash advance, taking out a personal loan, or using a home equity loan or savings.

PAYING OFF YOUR LOAN

We have lots of options! We can process changes to your payment schedule or payoffs the same business day. Here’s a breakdown of your payment options:

Automatic Debit (ACH): Automatic debits from your bank account are the easiest way to make sure your payments are made on time.

97% of Spotloan customers choose to make their payments using ACH because it is a convenient way to make loan payments, and it can also save you money over the life of your loan by helping you avoid missed payments.

Customers that choose not to use ACH for their payments are almost five times more likely to default on their programs. Those missed payments can result in additional finance charges, which make the loan more expensive over time.

Call us at (888) 681-6811 to set up ACH payments.

Debit Cards: One-time debit card payments can be made online or via phone. Please call us at (888) 681-6811 to set up recurring payments via debit card.

Checks and Money Orders: To make a payment by check or money order,
mail it to us at:
Spotloan
P.O. Box 720
Belcourt, ND 58316

Your payment will be on time as long as the check or money order is received by your payment due date and your payment clears. It can take your bank seven to ten days to clear your payment.

We understand that sometimes you may need to change your payment schedule or payment amount. Just call or email us at least two business days before your next payment is due and a Customer Service Representative will work with you on repayment options.

If you defer a payment, additional interest will accrue on your loan. In most cases, this will increase the total cost of your loan.

WORKING WITH SPOTLOAN

That’s easy! Send an email to help@spotloan.com or call (888) 681-6811. Our hours of operation are: Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. CT and Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. CT.

We deposit your loan using the bank account information you provided us during the application process. When you make us aware that funds have not been received, it takes five to seven business days for a bank to return the funds to Spotloan so we can deposit the funds into the correct account.

If you make a late payment, you may be subject to additional interest charges and fees based on the balance due of your loan. Late and unpaid amounts may be reported to credit reporting agencies. Failure to pay your loan may also result in your account being transferred to a collection agency.

If you find yourself unable to make your upcoming loan payment, be sure to contact us two days before your payment due date to discuss payment options.

At Spotloan, we take identity theft very seriously.  If you believe an unauthorized person has submitted a Spotloan application or received a loan using your personal information, you have the right to request from us any business records that we maintain relating to transactions and accounts that resulted from the theft of your identity.

To request these records, please mail your request to:  Attn: Spotloan, P.O. Box 720, Belcourt, ND 58316.  With your request, please include:

  • Proof of your identity, such as a copy of a government-issued identification card;
  • A copy of the police report you filed regarding the identity theft; and
  • A completed affidavit of identity theft similar in form to the one that can be created using the FTC's Identity Theft Report at www.IdentityTheft.gov

You may also authorize a law enforcement officer to make the request on your behalf.

Please note that if we are unable to verify the identity of the person asking for the information, if in our judgment the request for records appears to be based on a misrepresentation, or if you’re requesting Internet navigational data or similar website visit information, we will not be able to honor such requests, in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

YOUR INFORMATION

When you apply for a loan, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. You give Spotloan permission to verify the information you provided to us in your loan application for our Services.  We may also use the information you provided to gather additional data related to your loan application for our Services.  This information may come from a number of sources, including consumer reporting agencies and alternative data sources, and may be shared with our employees, affiliates, vendors, partners, and third parties as required to offer you a loan and to service your loan if a loan is made to you.

In some instances, for your protection, after you are approved for a loan we may ask you to provide verification of your identity before your loan is funded. We may also ask for a copy of your driver's license or other identifying documents.

Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account with us for our Services.

Our privacy policy can be found here through this link.

If we extend credit and provide our Services to you, we will consider the bank account information provided by you as eligible for us to deposit the loan funds. In addition, as part of our information collection process, we may detect additional bank accounts owned by you. We will consider these additional accounts to be part of the loan application process.

A qualifying bank account can be a checking or savings account that’s under your name at a bank or credit union and is not associated with other accounts at Spotloan. Spotloan does not accept pre-paid debit accounts.

We do request data from many sources, including non-traditional credit reporting agencies. External parties may be able to see a credit pull on your non-traditional credit report with the non-traditional credit reporting agency we may have used. It is important to note that non-traditional credit reporting agencies are separate and different from traditional credit reporting agencies. Data requested from non-traditional credit reporting agencies does not impact your traditional credit score and will not be seen on your traditional credit report for major credit bureaus.

If we are unable to approve your loan based on reports received from consumer reporting agencies, we will inform you via an email to let you know what data affected the decision. If you think there was a mistake, please contact the applicable credit reporting agency.

The typical non-traditional credit check we run will provide Spotloan with insight into any accounts where you have accepted credit.  These accounts will include mortgages, credit cards, loans, and any credit agreements that you have, such as items purchased using various loan or financing programs.

We do not report loan activity to the main credit reporting agencies. However, we may report to non-traditional credit reporting agencies. This means that while making on-time payments with Spotloan may not help improve your credit score with traditional credit reporting agencies, it may still help boost your credit score with non-traditional credit reporting agencies. Additionally, unlike other online installment lenders, Spotloan does not charge late fees if you fall behind on payments.

If we extend credit and provide our Services to you, you agree that Spotloan, its agents, and service providers may contact you using written, electronic, or verbal means.  We may contact you regarding your loan or application, to remind you of upcoming payments, regarding collections, and on other loan-related issues.  We may also contact you by prerecorded or artificial voice messages, text messages, emails, and/or automatic telephone dialing systems.  We may use any email address or phone number you provide, now or in the future, including a number for a cellular phone or other wireless device, even if you incur charges as a result.

If you believe our records contain inaccurate or incomplete information about you, notify us at P.O. Box 720, Belcourt, North Dakota 58316 or email us at help@spotloan.com. We will investigate your concerns and correct any information we determine to be inaccurate.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SPOTLOAN

You can find a copy of our Terms of Use agreement here through this link.

Responsible lending is all about acting in the customer's best interests. To do so means to ensure affordability, provide transparency of terms and conditions, and to support a borrower if and when they experience repayment difficulties.

At Spotloan, we aim to abide by responsible lending best practices. And, we believe that Spotloans are a much better alternative to payday loans. However, while Spotloans cost up to half as much as competing loan products, Spotloans are still an expensive form of credit. Spotloans are designed to help you deal with emergencies such as medical bills, funeral costs, car repairs, or expenses related to your job. We highly recommend that before you apply for a Spotloan, you fully research alternatives that can save you money.

Our loans aren’t intended to solve long-term credit or other financial needs. You may have better alternative forms of credit, such as borrowing from friends or relatives, using a credit card cash advance, taking out a personal loan, or using a home equity loan or savings.

You can have only one open Spotloan at a time. When you pay off a Spotloan and after your payment clears the bank, you may apply again for another Spotloan.

Spotloan is owned by BlueChip Financial, a tribal lending entity wholly owned, organized under, and governed by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, located within North Dakota and operating within the Tribe's Reservation. We comply with applicable tribal lending laws and federal lending laws that do not conflict with our Tribe's sovereignty, including Federal Truth in Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act privacy requirements, and those applicable implementing regulations.

Spotloans are currently available to residents of the following states: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

If we receive a proper written information request from a governmental authority (any agency or department of the U.S., or any officer, employee, or agent thereof) requesting the financial records and transactions of a Spotloan customer, we disclose the requested information to the governmental authority.

Also in compliance with the Financial Privacy Act, Spotloan will provide a copy of the government request and the disclosed Spotloan records to the affected Spotloan customer if: (i) the customer requests such information from Spotloan, and (ii) there is not a court order blocking the disclosure of such information to the customer.

BlueChip Financial, which owns the Spotloan brand, has a valid lending license issued by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Lending Commission. Though Spotloans are available to residents of certain states, consumers should know that its lending license is issued by the Tribe's Lending Commission and not the state in which its consumers may reside. Spotloan makes all loans from our Reservation. When you agree to take out a Spotloan, you promise to repay the loan amount with interest. You will be legally entered into a binding contract when you electronically sign your loan agreement. This means that you are responsible to pay back both the principal and interest of your loan.

We know it can often be difficult to tell the difference between legitimate business requests and online theft or scammers. Here are some tips to help keep you safe.

  • If someone’s asking you for money or collecting on a debt, ask questions! Don’t hesitate to ask the collector for details such as their name and their company’s name, address, phone number, and website address. If they’re not willing or able to answer all your questions, and if the information they give you does not match the company’s information listed on their website, that is likely a red flag.
  • Some fraudsters use scare tactics and threats of arrest, jail time, or getting sued unless they pay by credit or debit card over the phone. While it may be scary, you can’t be arrested for not paying your bills. Hang up and call the company you are used to dealing with using the number you’ve used in the past or find it on their website. 
  • Are you being asked to make payments in an unusual way, like through a prepaid gift card? Stick to trusted payment methods, like for instance, Spotloan’s secure online payment portal.
  • Take note of how they are communicating with you and pay attention to the details. If they’re saying they’re from a company you’ve worked with before, go check the phone number and email address from which you’ve previously received that business’s communications. Is it a different phone number? Are they using a new email address or one that’s slightly similar to the email addresses you’ve seen before? If so, it could be a scam. 

If you ever receive a suspicious email, text, or call from someone saying they’re with Spotloan, avoid clicking on any unknown links or webpages, avoid giving them any additional personal information until you’ve confirmed it is safe, and report the email as phishing or spam through your email provider. If you receive anything that seems suspicious regarding your Spotloan, please contact us directly to validate the information and send a screenshot to help@spotloan.com