My Back Wallet is a very small (almost unknown) tribal lending company that's been around for a couple years. This is a tribal lender that would be at the other end of the spectrum from a company like Western Sky or Great Plains Lending, where those companies are very popular. My Back Wallet is just one of the most unknown Native American lenders in the market today.
Which is too bad, because My Back Wallet is a tribal lender that's willing to issue a line of credit and that puts them on a higher rating than many other tribal loan companies. Just like the other Native American lenders who have entered into the line of credit business, like Mobiloans and American Credit Line, for some reason My Back Wallet also issues the $1,500 line of credit.
It is somewhat annoying that all of these unrelated companies are choosing to pick this figure for their maximum loan. You would think one of the firms would want to compete and push that number higher so they could market themselves as a better alternative to the others. But competition has never been the angle of the tribal lenders, instead they like to just show up on the scene and offer whatever loan product they deem is the best.
My Back Wallet does have a few differences between them and Mobiloans (which is the company we'll compare them too since they are both line of credit loan shops) and some of those differences are meaningful. First, Mobiloans doesn't have any preclusion on the customer checking account, but the management over at My Back Wallet must have been burned a few times because they insist that your (the customer) checking account have been opened at least 60 days before you apply for their line of credit.
This is a different situation, you don't find this kind of high level monitoring among the tribal lenders, at least not usually. I don't doubt that My Back Wallet will confirm with your bank that the checking account has been established and open for that minimum amount of time.
I know how My Back Wallet will do this too because I experienced it once with Minute Funds. The tribal lender will call you, they'll ask for your banks contact phone number (to their customer service department) and then (with you still on the phone) the lender calls your bank and asks you to request the bank to confirm the information, right there with all three of you on a conference call. Most tribes do not care about these background checking measures but a few do and My Back Wallet is one of them.
Second, and this one is definitely not in favor of My Back Wallet, is that new customers to the company are only allowed to borrow a maximum of $600.
This is weak. I realize that lenders are always on the prowl for borrowers that are going to flagrantly run off with their cash and that a certain percentage of people who have every intention of making good with the firm will fail to do so, either through financial hardship or job loss or illness or any number of problems that can arise which will throw off the repayment schedule. And when the schedule gets bumped (when a borrower falls behind) then we know how things tend to wind-up in those scenarios. Not very good.
That doesn't mean I think it's alright for this company to toss out a low grade $600 amount for us. I don't. Sometimes people write to me wondering why I like Mobiloans so much, and there is good reason to because they don't put these kinds of limitations and embarrassing restraints on their new customers.
It looks like My Back Wallet has tried to leave behind the whole ACH banking debacle that so many other tribes are caught up in by simply switching their customers to agree to have a credit card or debit card available. As the loan is being set-up the firm appears to have customers also agree to a credit card authorization transaction agreement.
This is smart and I don't know why more tribal lenders aren't taken advantage of this option for repayment while they are taking such a beating with the ACH and banks that are pushing them away. I think the tribes simply find it so offensive that their sovereign immunity is not helping them with the CFPB and the NY Attorney General (and a federal judge) that they want to continue to fight against these organizations rather than focus on practical measures that can keep the customers happy.
Another major problem I have with this tribal lender is that they don't publish their interest rates anywhere on their website. Not a hint, not even a mention and no reference to the fact they you will be paying interest on these loans at all. This isn't very professional behavior and it's omission is obvious. This is silly, just post your rates or at least give examples of rates that your average customer is paying. Maybe it's 20% or 30%, or maybe somewhere in between? No matter what amount it is you can believe it'll be more expensive that Mobiloans 10% on their loans over $500.
Here's another weird (and not really good or bad) thing about this firm, and that's the fact that they have a Go To Meeting button at the top of their page, they actually integrated this corporate service into their site. This official and business-like feature is quite surprising, I can't say that it's impressive because I find it hard to understand how it pertains well to a supposedly simple sign-up process, but it's something that I just never expected to see. It's not a bad thing, just strange.
Then there is also a live chat option which is separate from the meeting request. It's funny how much get together time this lender is willing to arrange and provide. Makes me wonder a little bit about the super easy two step loan application? Is it really that easy? It might not be.
One more point about My Back Wallet is that they let their customers know that they may opt to do a credit check on the customers in certain situations. These doesn't conform to the typical tribal lending operation, where they overtly promise not to provide your information to, or conduct any type of credit check or background check.
Overall I like what this company is trying to accomplish but I think it comes up short. My Back Wallet has a decent site, with a good level of site protection including encryption services. I like that and their simple application process is nice too, assuming it's truly that short.
The main strikes against the company are the cloning of the Mobiloans business (which is the same problem I have against American Credit Line, with that $1,500 loan amount) and also I find the new borrow limit of $600 to be a disappointment. Yes, it is not surprisng and no, I still don't like it.
I won't say that My Back Wallet is a bad lender, they're not and I would potentially consider a loan with them. But Mobiloans just wins in so many departments that I can't say to walk away from such a good, known quantity to go to something a bit speculative and not all around that special.
I tried to borrow money from this company. They weanted a letter from my bank concerning a credit adjustment. I got the letter and still was denied the loan. I thought it was a stop payment but it was a credit adjustment. It is obvious they are two different things.
Posted by: amy warren | 01/16/2015 at 10:16 AM
this is the most awful company to deal with. i borrowed 550 dollars Ive paid over 1200 dollars into it and was never told none of it went toward the loan. i would not advise anybody to ever deal with these crooks
Posted by: conserned client | 06/05/2015 at 02:32 PM
That's right, this is how they operate. Tribal lenders will set-up their loans so that you (the customer) will repay 30% of the outstanding loan on every payday. That is only the finance charge, none of that 30% repayment goes toward the principal loan amount. This is an endless cycle where the customer pays 30% and the loan goes unpaid (100% of the loan value is still outstanding) and the cycle repeats every 14 days. That's the trap of payday lending when you opt for extensions, or if automatic extensions have already been put in place without your knowledge.
Posted by: Native American Loans | 06/13/2015 at 04:20 PM
They use gotomeeting to view your checking account. Balances, any other pay day loans, returned checks, and go back far enough to determine how long the account had been opened. Even to verify your account number and rooting number by clicking on a cancelled check.
Posted by: carol Howard | 11/03/2015 at 02:23 PM
I took a loan from them for $500 and paid it off in full next paycheck. Had to pay $650.00. That gives you an idea of how expensive they are.
Posted by: Rebecca | 05/27/2016 at 03:50 AM
My back wallet Is a great company they have helped me out plenty of times when needed thanks my back wallet.
Posted by: Norlender farmer | 09/16/2016 at 03:55 AM
My back pocket are a bunch of scam artist. They will get all of personal info including bank info and then you never hear from them. Run people Run don’t even bother.
Posted by: Pissed off | 09/27/2021 at 10:42 AM
Thanks for the comment, and I have been saying the same. Please be very aware of what you are about to do when you digitally 'sign' for these loans. They are destructive, they will not help you. It might feel as though you are being helped for the first few hours or days, but that sense of relief will promptly turn into a sense of doom and horror once you see the enormous cost this loan will hammer you with.
Posted by: Native American Lending | 11/26/2021 at 09:49 AM