Advertiser disclosure
How we are paid when you take a partner loan, what that money does and does not influence, and why we are telling you before you fill anything in rather than in a footnote afterwards.
We are not a lender
This is the single most important line on the page, so it comes first. Kovo Financial, Inc. does not lend money. We do not underwrite, we do not approve, we do not set rates and we do not fund anything.
When you use the loan side of this site you are asking us to introduce you to third-party lenders. They decide whether to make you an offer, on what terms, and at what rate. Your loan agreement, if you take one, is with that lender — not with us.
The Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly identified the failure to make this distinction clear as the central problem in online lead generation. We would rather over-state it than leave you guessing about who you are dealing with.
How we are paid
When you take a loan through an introduction we made, the lender pays us a fee. That fee comes from the lender, not from you — there is no charge to use this site and no markup added to your rate because you arrived through us.
We are also paid on the same basis for other partner products, including cards and refinancing, through our rewards programme, where a share of that fee is passed back to you.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who pays us | The lender or partner, after a completed transaction |
| Do you pay more because of it | No. Rates and terms are the lender’s, and are not adjusted for referrals |
| Is there a fee to use this site | No |
| Do we get paid if you are declined | No. Fees are earned only on completed transactions |
What that money influences — and what it does not
A disclosure that only says “we may receive compensation” is not much use. Here is the specific effect.
It does influence
- Which lenders are in the network. We only introduce you to partners we have a commercial relationship with. There are lenders in the market we do not work with, and you may find a better rate from one of them.
- The order results appear in. Where more than one offer is returned, compensation is one of the factors affecting presentation order alongside rate, amount and likelihood of approval.
It does not influence
- Whether you are approved. That is the lender’s decision, made on their criteria.
- The rate you are offered. Set by the lender, not adjusted because of the referral.
- Our editorial content. No partner pays for placement in a comparison, a review or a guide. Our editorial policy covers this, and our comparison pages name competitors that beat us.
- What we say about our own product. Our first-party review lists five reasons not to use the Credit Builder.
This is not the whole market
We introduce you to the lenders in our network. That is not every lender available to you, and an offer through us is not evidence that no better offer exists elsewhere.
Before accepting anything, compare the APR, total repayable and fees against at least one lender you find independently. A credit union or your own bank is a sensible comparison point, and checking costs you nothing.
The Credit Builder is different
Everything above concerns partner loans. The Kovo Credit Builder is our own product — we are the counterparty, no third party is involved, no referral fee arises, and nothing is disbursed to you.
Where this site quotes 0% APR and no fees, that refers to the Credit Builder only. Partner loans carry the lender’s own rate. See rates and fees.
Questions about how we are paid
Ask us at [email protected] and we will answer specifically rather than pointing you back at this page.
See also our lending partners and credit authorization.