Spotloan Review: Better Than Most Tribal Lenders; Still Not Good

Is Spotloan legit?

Spotloan is a real lender and brand owned by Blue Chip Financial, which is a tribally owned entity under the Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota. Though Spotloans is available in 38 states, the company’s lending license is issued by the Tribe’s Lending Commission. As such, it’s not bound by the lending laws of the states it operates in.

Readers should also know that Blue Chip, d/b/a Spotloan, was involved in a class action lawsuit that maintained the company’s interest rates and loan terms were illegal. Without admitting any wrongdoing, it agreed to settle the case in 2020, forgiving some loans and giving partial refunds to certain borrowers who got loans between January 1, 2012, and October 31, 2018. It also agreed to remove negative credit reporting. You may wish to compare other loans like Spotloan before applying.

What makes Spotloan shine?

Compared to similar lenders, Spotloan stands out by being transparent about its rates and loan terms. It clearly explains that rates are up to 490%, it charges daily interest and only returning customers can expect lower rates, which never get very low.

Not that Spotloan deserves a medal for openly charging outrageous APRs, but it gets points for informing potential borrowers of exactly what they’re getting into before they apply. Plus, repeat customers could get rates down to 330%, and, if you end up with around 10 loans, rates could drop to 99%.

Where Spotloan falls short

Despite its transparency, there is no getting around that it’s a very expensive form of financing. If you can’t repay the loan early, you could end up paying three or four times what you originally borrowed.

Even if your credit is less than stellar, there are other installment loans that are much less expensive. They can also help you build credit with the major credit bureaus, which is something Spotloan doesn’t do. If your credit is just fair, you may even be able to qualify for a personal loan, where rates are capped at about 36%.

Spotloan loan details

Spotloan contact info

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Use our loan repayment calculator to compare monthly loan payments and the total cost of the loan based on different rates and loan terms.

How to qualify for Spotloan

The requirements to qualify for Spotloan are pretty standard.

• At least 18 years old
• A job or other regular income source
• Checking or savings account
• Valid Social Security number, email address, mailing address and phone number

How to apply

Spotloan says the application process takes about 10 minutes. Here’s how it works:

1. Fill out the online application.
2. Get a decision within minutes.
3. E-sign your loan agreement, if approved.
4. Receive your funds the same day if approved before 1:30 p.m. CT.

Spotloan says it typically checks alternative credit bureaus such as DataX and Clarity as part of the application process.

How Spotloan compares to other lenders

5 of 5 results

Updated regularly

Finder Score	Loan amount	Turnaround time	Requirements	bullet point infobox
Promoted Finder score 9.5 Excellent EarnIn	Finder score 9.5 Excellent	Up to $150/day, with a max of $1000 between paydays	1 to 2 business days or within 30 minutes for a fee	At least 18 and a US resident, Valid Social Security number, At least 60 days of banking history, Proof of consistent income, Positive bank balance, Get paid by direct deposit.	Access up to $150 per day, with a max of $1000 between paydays. Subject to EarnIn terms & conditions.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder score 8.7 Great Current	Finder score 8.7 Great	$50 to $750	Up to 3 days or within an hour for a fee	Among other factors, you must receive a monthly total of $500 or more in Eligible Payroll Deposits into your Current Account.	Get up to $750 before payday, once you qualify. Paycheck Advance is an earned wage access service and is not a loan or credit product. Subject to Paycheck Advance Terms and Conditions.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder score 8.2 Great Cleo	Finder score 8.2 Great	Up to $250	3 to 4 days or instant for a fee.	Not stated	Automatically monitor your spending plus access cash advances up to $100 at a time.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 9.4 Excellent OppLoans Installment Loans	Finder score 9.4 Excellent	$500 to $5,000	As soon as the same business day	+18 years old, Receive paychecks through direct deposit, $1,500 minimum monthly income, Live in eligible state	Not available in: CO, CT, GA, IA, MD, MA, NY, SD, VT, WV. Comes with the option to change your due date so you won’t fall behind on repayments.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 9.1 Excellent CreditNinja Installment loan	Finder score 9.1 Excellent	$300 to $5,000	1 to 2 business days	Checking account at least 60 days old, regular income through direct deposit, resident of eligible state, age of majority in your state	Not available in: AK, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IA, KY, ME, MD, MA, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, VT, VA, WA, WV. Fast online funding up to $5K, but you won't know about rates and terms until after you apply.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading

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How we picked these

What is the Finder Score?

The Finder Score crunches 3+ types of short-term loans across 65+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10.

To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best short-term loans for all credit types, you can see how each short-term loan stacks up against other short-term loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type.

Read the full breakdown

Spotloan reviews and complaints

Spotloan reviews on the BBB are mostly negative, and customers complain of high rates, inability to qualify for a new loan after successfully repaying one or more previous loans and account or billing problems. But a few customers praise the ability to adjust payment amounts and due dates, and some say it’s a decent option when you need an emergency loan.

It has higher ratings on Trustpilot, where clients applaud the fast and easy loan process, quick funding and lower rates for returning customers. But most still criticize the high rates, and a few say they’ve had difficulty making extra payments. Others express disappointment that they were denied a loan.