FastCash2U had a website that did not work for a short period of time early in 2014. During that time it looks as though the company was hard at work creating a new product line to offer. Rather than focusing on the payday lending product that they had back in 2013 the company now offers a more modern, much improved Flex-Pay Loan which is another way of saying that the company has switched to installment lending.
Installment loans allow the customer a longer period of time to repay the debt, where a payday loan has to be fully repaid on the customer's next payday, or the loan must be extended. That's almost always a lower quality situation when compared to an installment loan because getting a payday loan (also sometimes referred to as a paycheck loan) will usually result in an extension of that loan, and that sets up a negative cycle of revolving high interest debt. Plus, even if you (the consumer) do not decide to opt for the extension the interest rate the consumer will pay is going to normally be higher than that of an installment loan.
FastCash2U is still not a quality tribal lending company, at least not enough for this site to recommend them to people. Why? The main problem is that even though they switched to installment loans as their sole product they did nothing in regards to increasing the available dollar amounts that can be issued. A first time customer at FastCash2U will be limited to a $300 maximum loan and even returning customers aren't treated very well (or with much trust) as they can only borrow up to $500. That's not a base amount, that is the maximum amount any customer can borrow at this tribal loan firm. And that is simply not enough.
Now, if you've been reading these pages long enough you know (and perhaps you know from your own experience) that many customers of tribal lending are not looking for large dollar amounts. Instead, customers are often satisfied getting just a small loan and they are many times more interested in the time frame that the lender can get the money to the customer which is normally around 24 to 36 hours, usually 48 hours at the high end.
We discovered this by looking into the numbers of Greenline Loans, which also has small dollar loans (around $300) that are issued not as installment loans because that lender chose to stick with the traditional payday loan structure.
If we take out the fact that many potential customers of tribal lending (and maybe this means you) are looking for rapid cash in place of getting a big loan, then we have to reconsider the quality of FastCash2U. The company is quick when you apply for a loan and the loan application is one of the lightest (least questions and fields) of all the tribal lenders I have worked with and tested over the last few years. It's truly simple.
Another big question is how well does this company fare in the cost department? Is a loan at FastCash2U more or less expensive than the equivalent debt from competing Native American lenders, we won't even bother to compare the firm to state licensed lenders as those operators will obviously be substantially cheaper.
When we compare FastCash2U with some other popular tribal lenders like Plain Green Loans and Mobiloans it turns out that FastCash2U is more expensive. The base rate for a first time customer is the Native American 'industry standard' of 30% for each bi-weekly period that the customer has the loan or $30 for every $100 borrowed.
The only point that saves them (a little bit) is that the company does have a loyalty program for returning customers. After a customer has successfully repaid two loans (with no problems, delays, difficulties) then they enter the first loyalty level which is simply referred to as "Silver" level.
These guys are not really concerned with branding their product, are they? The answer is no.
The Silver level entitles a returning customer looking for a third loan with a $20 credit (rebate) for that loan. The next level of loyalty is the Gold level, and that's for returning customers who have repaid four prior loans, again with no problems, late fees, loan restructurings or penalties.
The Gold level provides the borrower with a percentage discount rather the simple cash discount that the Silver level gave to the customer. Gold level customers will pay 25% for the outstanding loan amount for every 14 days the loan is unpaid. This is a 5% interest rate improvement from the Silver level (and first time) customers.
The Platinum level is predictable, as it provides a full 10% discount from the normal rate. Platinum level customers will only have to pay 20% for every 14 days they have the loan. That's not a bad rate when compared to other tribal lenders, in fact it beats most of them. However, it is still not good enough when compared to the 'top quality' Native American lenders like Mobiloans, Superior Funding, Plain Green Loans and others.
Mobiloans for example will issue loans up to $1,500 and they charge only 10% for every 14 days the loan is outstanding. How can a company like FastCash2U compete with that type of loan? One, they hope that their customers never find out about Mobiloans even being in existence and two, FastCash2U does specialize in fast shipments (digitally to your bank account) of cash. If a customer needs cash and is in a hurry then FastCash2U can live up to their name.
Overall, this is not a tribally-based lender that I would include in my own list of quality lenders, which is just a personal choice. The only note or exception that I would make is that if you have already borrowed from this lender a few times then you can qualify for that 20% Platinum rate which makes the company a little more interesting. But on the whole this is not the tribal lender that I am looking for when it comes to going into debt.
Recent Comments