Who is First Look Approval?
First Look Approval is a consumer finance company that offers a real time decision engine to both brick & mortar and e-commerce merchants, giving them the ability to offer their customers instantaneous financing options. Several lending programs are integrated into First Look Approval’s loan platform, giving merchants and borrowers alike more options when it comes to customer financing. First Look Approval is dedicated to using and developing the latest technology and is continually working to make the process for completing customer applications as easy and painless as possible.
How easy is it for my customers to apply?
Applying for a loan with First Look Approval is fast and easy! You can apply using a computer, tablet, or even a smart phone. All you and your customer need to apply is an Internet connection! Applications can either be submitted by a member of your staff through the online merchant portal, or customers can apply from home with a variety of borrower application links. Our program also features instant credit approvals, meaning you and your customer will know our credit decision within just seconds. From start to finish, our process to complete loans is fast and easy for both you and your customers.
Can you approve more loans than my current financing company?
We work with a variety of lenders (major banks, peer to peer lenders and consumer credit companies) to help approve as many customers as possible. If our finance program is implemented as a first look program, you will experience significantly more approvals than a traditional Big Bank option. Our goal is to provide you with an approval for every situation possible so your customer can move forward with their purchase.
I’ve never offered financing before, are you able to help me?
Not only does First Look Approval provide you with a financing solution that works for your business, but we also work with our clients on proven techniques to both offer and advertise affordable monthly payments. To speak with one of our financing experts and learn more about how we can assist you, please call us at 888-958-7477.
What are the details of your program?
To learn about the details of our program, please visit our “Features” page.
What kind of industries do you work with?
We work with a variety of industries and can approve all businesses for our basic program. To view the industries we currently work with, visit our "Program By Industry" page. If you don't see your specific industry in our list, please contact us today and we may look into building a new program specifically for you. We’re always interested in helping our clients find a program that can work for their business.
What kind of support do you provide?
Aside from ongoing support with daily loan applications, our friendly staff can assist you with office training, marketing materials and ideas, and can even teach you how to effectively offer financing to your customers. If you’ve never offered financing before, we would love to share our expertise! You won't find the kind of hand holding support we offer our clients with a similar Big Bank finance program!
What do I need to get started?
Getting started is easy! All you need to do is contact us by either entering one of our web forms or calling us directly at 888-958-7477. If someone has referred you to us, please indicate who that someone is when you contact us. After you’ve spoken to someone from our team, you can expect to be enrolled into the program within 5 business days.
How do I get paid?
Depending on the credit offer that your customer received and opted for, settlement time will vary according to the issuing banks’ practices. For the basic program, customers are paid directly and are ACH’d the money within 5 business days. If you activate the enhanced program, funding will go directly to you via ACH within 5 business days for all lending programs. While funding times for each lender can vary, we find that funding typically happens within 48-72 hours.
How can I manage loans and see my transactions?
As soon as you are up and running, using your login and password, you will be able to access our back office portal and see your transactions in real time. This portal provides our merchants with state-of-the-art statistical analysis tools.
What is the maximum loan amount? Is there a minimum purchase required?
If your customer qualifies and opts for a 36 or 60 months installment loan program, the maximum amount that can be instantaneously approved is $35,000. If your customer qualifies and opts for a revolving credit program, they may qualify for a credit line up to $10,000. If your customer qualifies for a standard revolving credit line from one of our participating banks, there is no minimum purchase required. Should you opt in to offer one of the promotional 0% deferred interest financing programs; the minimum purchase is $400. Should your customer qualify and chose a level payment installment loan for 36 or 60 months, the minimum purchase amount is $1,000..
What if my customer doesn’t pay their bills?
If your customer delays payment or defaults for financial reasons, the business is not held responsible as long as procedures are followed when processing the transaction. All of our programs are non-recourse and are offered with no risk to the business.
Does the customer have to have good credit?
Most of First Look Approval’s financing programs have a general FICO requirement of 600 and above. We additionally have sub-prime programs that can go as low as 550 FICO. To learn more about the basic requirements for an approval, please contact us at 888-958-7477.
What kind of approval rates can I expect?
We get this question all the time. Truth of the matter is that it differs with each client and how each client uses our program. If you use us as your last look, sending each customer through 2-3 sources before submitting into First Look Approval, you can expect lower approval rates than someone using us first in every scenario. Think about it. If you have 10 customers in a given month who want financing, and you run all those customers through GE, you may get 5 approvals. If you then take the 5 customers turned down and give those customers to First Look Approval, we may get 2 of those customers approved (for example). In this scenario, GE had a 50% approval rate (5/10 is 50%) and First Look Approval had a 40% approval rate (2/5 is 40%). If you were to use First Look Approval as your primary source and not use GE for this example, First Look Approval would have approved 7 out of the 10 applications for a 70% approval rate. When it comes to approval rates, it’s important to have the right expectations. If you use us last for all customer applications, you will have a much lower approval rate than if you use us first on all applications.
Is First Look Approval compatible with other payment systems?
First Look Approval works alongside all payment systems: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, and more. First Look Approval is also available seamlessly through Cardinal Commerce on their Centinel Platform. Please check with us for compatibility if you are currently working with a shopping cart.
Does First Look Approval require any technical integration?
Once you have signed up for a First Look Approval merchant account and your application has been approved, in order to meet your technical requirements, First Look Approval’s technical team will provide you with multiple options of connectivity. To have access to the loan platform where you can submit customer applications manually, there is no technical integration required. You will only need Internet connectivity to submit applications through the application platform. If you wish to integrate First Look Approval into your online website, this is where we may need a technical integration. Please note that First Look Approval is also available through Cardinal Commerce. If you are already connected to their Centinel platform, there is no additional technical integration needed.
How easy is it to add First Look Approval to my website?
Adding First Look Approval to your website can literally be done within minutes. Should you choose the light integration option (the basic integration), First Look Approval will send you its marketing icons, buttons and banners. Simply select the icons you like and add them to your website pages. For a more comprehensive and interactive solution, you will be required to implement our API (the enhanced integration). This integration is recommended for webshops with an in-house development team. You will need to add one POST call to submit the loan request, and implement two postback handlers to receive updates about loan requests and customer address data.
Can I add First Look Approval to multiple websites?
Once you become a First Look Approval merchant, you will be able to add a multitude of sites under your membership at no additional charge. Simply email us your request.
What are the Terms and Conditions needed to become a First Look Approval merchant?
To apply for a First Look Approval Merchant account now, you will need to agree to the terms of our Merchant Agreement. There may be additional agreements or requirements necessary from our bank partners which will need to be agreed to, depending on the offers you would like to present to your customers, including some documentation concerning your company’s financials.