Fast 123 Money is a new tribal loan company that has appeared on the scene. I'm not exactly when this new company started, I'm pretty sure it was after August of 2013 and definitely before January of 2014.
There's only one problem. Well, that's wrong, actually there are several problems. And they all have to do with how Fast 123 Money operates their business.
On the surface you would think that I would like this new tribal loan company. After all, they are a tribal lender that issues a line of credit to their customers, rather than a payday loan. I have been pushing for Native American lenders to make available a line of credit loan product similar to the way Mobiloans (one of the best tribal loan shops) does and now there are actually companies doing that. And Fast 123 Money is one of them.
By the way, just an aside, when I say I am pushing for the tribal lenders to come up with new (and hopefully inventive) loan products, I do actually mean that I am pushing them. I've used social media, email, I have phoned them, I have talked to managers, I have sent out a good number of tweets on the subject. The line of credit is a substantially better loan product than the wretched (and boring, and done way too many times) payday loan.
So what's the problem? Well, for starters the interest rates are not disclosed. I'm noticing this trend more and more with all the tribal lenders, whether they are issuing installment loans, lines of credit or payday loans. I guess we (as customers) are just supposed to be thrilled with the fact that we get approved for any debt structure, no matter what the terms are and no matter what the cost of the loan turns out to be. These lenders may want to think that, and perhaps for thousands of customers it's true, they just want any amount of money for any price listed and away the Native American lenders go with their uneducated customers. Wonderful.
The other big problem is that I have been contacting (and applying) with some of these firms just as a test basis, I'm not truly in the market for loans right now. I'm noticing another disturbing trend, which is that these companies throw out a figure that available for customers but then they don't actually want to provide this amount when people apply for a loan.
That's the case with Fast 123 Money. They advertise the fact that they have lines of credit "up to" $1,500 but the reality is that almost no customers will qualify for that level of borrowing. I have a pretty decent credit score and I make decent money, but they wanted to provide me with $800 as a line of credit. Last time I checked $800 is not $1,500.
Fast 123 Money isn't anything to write home about. Yes, I am glad that they provide a line of credit that is a benefit. But it's not enough. I prefer a company like Mobiloans that broadcasts their rates right up front and out loud. I like the fact that they offer a $1,500 line of credit and stand behind that amount.
What about being fast? As in getting the money to you quickly if you are approved? That doesn't matter because nearly all the Native American (and state licensed) lenders have the same money delivery method. They approve you on the day you apply, then send the money through the electronic banking system the next day, and you get the money the day after that.
It's roughly a 48 hour t0 60 hour turn time. So that doesn't do anything to distinguish them from the other online lenders and you shouldn't give any credit to the fact that they are "fast" because it's a meaningless concept these days.
I will stick with Mobiloans for a line of credit and Plain Green Loans for the installment loans. Fast 123 Money is not going to be a meaningful lender as long as these other, higher quality lenders are around.
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