Auto-lending on Kiva: Frequently asked questions How it works Customization Communication

November 19, 2019

By: Elisha Hodgson

Do you have a question that isn't answered here? Check out our Help Center here.

How it works

Why is Kiva making this change?

Everyone comes to Kiva to make a positive difference in the world, but sometimes life gets in the way. Right now, there is more than $30,000,000 in repaid loans sitting in Kiva accounts—most of which has been waiting to be re-lent for over a year. And we get it! We want to help make sure your funds continue to make the difference you intended when they were first lent. That’s why we are enhancing Kiva account settings to help put your funds to use, even if you don’t have time to re-lend.

While this is a helpful setting for some lenders, we understand that it’s not ideal for everyone. You can turn it off at any time or customize your auto-lending timing and loan categories.

How do I edit my auto-lending settings?

You’ll always have control over your auto-lending settings. If you want to update your settings at any time, you can do so here.

What constitutes inactive credit? / What do I have to do to keep my account active?

Any Kiva credit in an amount sufficient to make a loan will be considered inactive if you haven’t made a loan with it yourself for 90 days. Your balance may be auto-lent once your funds are inactive for 90 days.

No matter what your account balance is, all it takes to re-activate your credit is to make 1 loan manually. That will reset the inactivity clock and give you another 90 days to lend any additional funds in your account yourself before they may be auto-lent.

If you don’t want auto-lending enabled for your account, you can update your settings at kiva.org/settings/autolending

I'm seeing delays in my funds being auto-lent. What's going on?

The timing of auto-lending, as determined by your settings, indicates when your balance becomes eligible for auto-lending. However, your funds might not be lent immediately upon eligibility. Kiva strategically directs auto-lending funds to make the most impact possible for both borrowers and lenders. In some cases, auto-lending is used to top up loans that are running out of time to reach their goal. It is also used to smooth out funding for borrowers between natural spikes in manual lending. For this reason, you may see periodic delays in auto-lending.

Will my credit be lent out just once if it becomes inactive, or ongoingly?

Every time your balance reaches the threshold amount to make a loan, you will have another 90 days to lend that credit manually before auto-lending takes effect. Your credit might not be auto-lent immediately upon reaching the 90 day threshold, depending on the supply of fundraising loans on Kiva’s website at the time.

Does this work differently than the existing auto-lending tool?

The existing auto-lending tool immediately puts your funds to work when your balance reaches your preferred minimum loan share size. This new feature uses the same auto-lending technology, but gives you a 90-day window to select loans manually before your balance may be auto-lent. You can customize the timing and loan filters for auto-lending in your Kiva account settings here.

What if I'm already signed up for auto-lending or Monthly Good?

Account settings have not changed for users who have already customized their auto-lending settings or are currently signed up for Monthly Good.

Is there a minimum credit balance for auto-lending to take effect?

Currently, auto-lending will be triggered by an inactive balance of $25 or more. If this changes in the future, we’ll communicate the change ahead of time.

Customization

Can I set preferences for the loans made?

Yes - you can tell us what categories of loans to support via auto-lending in your account settings page here.

Will auto-lending preferences be expanded to include more parameters?

Auto-lending has been improved! You can now select preferences for groups vs individuals, field partner delinquency and default rate, and loan attributes. You can also choose how quickly you want auto-lending to take effect after you accrue a balance that is eligible to lend.

The above options are in addition to the original criteria available for auto-lending preferences such as loan term, risk rating, country, gender, etc. Check them out here.

Can I change the amount of time before auto-lending kicks in?

Yes, you can always change the timing of your auto-lending settings in your account settings page here.

What loans will my funds support if I don’t customize my settings?

If you do not set preferences for loan criteria in your auto-lending settings, your funds may be auto-lent to any loan fundraising on Kiva’s website.

Communication

Will I be notified of the loans made?

We’ll send you a confirmation email of any loans made with your Kiva credit, so you’ll be able to see which borrowers your funds supported. You can also visit your account any time to check on the progress of your loans. If you are a Monthly Good subscriber, nothing will change and you will continue to receive one email per month highlighting a loan that was made on your behalf.

How far in advance will you warn me before my funds are auto-lent?

You’ll get a notification email when you’ve had funds available to be lent sitting in your account for 45 days. Over the next 45 days, we’ll send you several more reminder emails before your funds are auto-lent. In each of these emails you will have the option to disable auto-lending or set preferences for what types of loans to fund. For any auto-loans made, we’ll send you a confirmation email with details about who you’ve supported.