MaxLend Review

MaxLend is a tribal based lender and is not state regulated. The Payday Hound generally prefers state licensed lenders versus tribal lenders as state licensing may provide an additional layer of oversight. The advantage of tribal lenders is they are often willing to make loans to residents of states where other lenders do not. In many cases, these tribal lenders may be your only choice for a short term loan.

The MaxLend loan application process is simple and quick. The first step is to make sure you meet the basic qualifications:

• You need a provable source of direct deposit income into your checking account.
• You need a checking account that has been open for a significant amount of time, i.e. it's not brand new.
• You are at least 18 years old and a United States citizen.
• Your take-home pay meets their minimum income requirements.
• You are currently not a debtor in a bankruptcy case or presently intend to voluntarily file for bankruptcy relief.
• You do NOT live in Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, or West Virginia. MaxLend does not make loans to residence of these states.

Having good credit is NOT a requirement. In other words, if you have bad credit or no credit you may still qualify for a loan.

If you think you meet the basic requirements then the MaxLend application process requires four steps:

1. Fill out the secure online application. This can take less than 5 mins if you have all the information like bank account numbers available.
2. Your application will be reviewed by MaxLend's underwriting rules for approval or denial. If you are approved during usual business hours, a MaxLend representative will contact you within the hour (and typically within 5 minutes) to verify all of your information. If you are approved you will often be able to sign loan documents online or eSign.
3. Once your details have been confirmed, they will send a copy of the application by email. Print and save this for your records.
4. At this point MaxLend deposits money into your bank account. The deposit will hit your bank account as soon as the next business day.

MaxLend loans are not cheap. Their pricing on their website is about $60 per month per $100 borrowed for new customers. This is an APR over 700%. For returning customers the rate is a little lower at about $50 per month per $100 borrowed. As these loans are very expensive they are best used only if immediate cash is absolutely necessary and you've exhausted other options. The advantage of MaxLend is that they are available in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Many lenders are not able to offer loans in this many states.

First-time MaxLend customers can qualify for up to $1,000, while returning customers may qualify for up to $2,000. Payments are due on scheduled due dates as per the loan agreement. These dates typically match with your weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly pay dates. MaxLend states its installment loan's are typcally 6 month loans; however, there is no pre-payment penalty so you can pay them off in full at any time without penalty. Their website lists discounts for paying via ACH (direct deduction from your bank account) versus paying via credit card. They list credit card transactions as debits -- this means if you choose this option it may mean additional interest expenses as credit card companies charge additional fees for debit (cash) transactions. In general, using a credit card to pay for a short term loan does not make financial sense. Credit cards generally have significantly better rates than short term loans so if you have available credit on your credit card it makes more sense to use your credit card instead of a short term loan.

MaxLend is regulated by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, a federally-recognized sovereign American Indian Tribe. If you take a loan from MaxLend and you have a disagreement the legal resolution of your disagreement will be based on their Tribal law and your loan agreement. This typically means the dispute will use Tribal dispute resolution, or individual arbitration before a neutral arbitrator. If you are not comfortable doing business with a sovereign entity that cannot be sued in court, then MaxLend may not be a good choice for you.