Terms of Service

1. Your agreement to these terms

By creating an account, applying for a loan, or using any Ahead product, you agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you don't agree with these Terms, please don't use Ahead. These Terms are a binding legal agreement between you and Ahead Lending, Inc.

Your loan agreement, if you take one, is a separate contract that references these Terms and includes specific loan terms (amount, rate, payment schedule).

2. Who can use Ahead

To use Ahead, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your state)
• Be a legal U.S. resident with a valid Social Security number
• Have a valid U.S. bank account in your name
• Provide accurate information about yourself
• Not be prohibited from using Ahead by law or a previous violation of these Terms

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee that we will approve a loan for you. All loans are subject to underwriting review, and we may decline any application in our discretion, subject to applicable law.

3. Your account

You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure. This includes:

• Using a strong, unique password
• Enabling two-factor authentication (which we require)
• Not sharing your login with anyone
• Notifying us immediately if you believe your account has been compromised

Except in cases of fraud or unauthorized access that you report to us in a timely manner, you are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. We will help you recover from any unauthorized access, see our Security page for details.

4. Loans and other products

Ahead currently offers personal installment loans from $200 to $5,000 with APRs from 5.99% to 35.99% and terms from 3 to 12 months. All loan terms, rates, and fees are disclosed to you in your loan agreement before you sign.

Your specific rate depends on your creditworthiness, loan amount, and term. We use fixed rates, your rate will not change during the life of your loan.

All Ahead loans are:

• Fixed-rate, your APR never changes
• Fixed-payment, your monthly payment never changes
• Fee-free for origination, prepayment, and late payments
• Unsecured, no collateral required

5. Payments

Your payments are due monthly on the same date each month, as specified in your loan agreement. Payments must be made via ACH transfer from a U.S. bank account.

You can make extra payments any time, in any amount, without penalty. Extra payments are applied to principal, which reduces your total interest and shortens your loan.

6. Late and missed payments

We do not charge late fees. However, if a payment fails or you miss a payment:

• Interest continues to accrue on your unpaid balance until it's paid
• We will contact you to arrange a solution
• Your bank may charge you an insufficient funds fee (this is between you and your bank)
• Missed payments will be reported to credit bureaus after 30 days past due

If you're experiencing financial hardship, please contact us before missing a payment. Our hardship program offers payment pauses, extensions, and other accommodations, using it will not hurt your credit.

7. Autopay authorization

If you enroll in autopay, you authorize Ahead to debit the specified amount from your linked bank account on your due date each month. You may modify or cancel autopay at any time by logging into your account or contacting support, provided you do so at least 3 business days before your next payment date.

If autopay fails due to insufficient funds, we will retry once after 3 business days. If it fails again, we'll pause autopay and contact you to make manual arrangements.

8. Credit reporting

We report your account activity to Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax on a monthly basis, including:

• Your loan balance
• Whether you are current or past due
• Your payment history

On-time payments will generally have a positive effect on your credit score. Missed payments will generally have a negative effect. If you believe we have reported inaccurate information, please contact us or file a dispute directly with the bureau in question.

9. Communications

By providing your contact information, you consent to receive communications from us, including:

• Loan-related notices and disclosures (required by law)
• Payment reminders and confirmations
• Customer service responses
• Account security alerts

You can opt out of marketing communications any time. You cannot opt out of legally required communications while you have an active loan.

10. Electronic signatures and records

By using Ahead, you agree that any documents you sign electronically will be as legally binding as physical signatures. This includes your loan agreement, disclosures, and any other document we present to you for signature.

You have the right to receive paper copies of any document. Email [email protected] to request paper copies at any time, at no charge.

11. Prohibited use

You agree not to:

• Provide false or misleading information on your application
• Use Ahead loans for illegal purposes
• Attempt to bypass our fraud detection or security systems
• Access accounts or data that don't belong to you
• Reverse engineer, scrape, or copy our website or services
• Use Ahead if you have been sanctioned by the U.S. government

12. Disputes and arbitration

Unlike most lenders, we do not require binding arbitration. You retain your right to sue us in court, join a class action, or file a complaint with your state regulator or the CFPB at any time.

If you have a dispute, please first email [email protected]. We respond in writing within 3 business days and try to resolve most complaints within 2 weeks.

13. Limitations of liability

Ahead's services are provided "as is." While we make every reasonable effort to ensure our website, app, and services work correctly, we don't warrant that they'll be uninterrupted or error-free.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our liability for any single event is limited to the amount of interest you've paid us in the 12 months prior to the event. Nothing in this section limits our liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or violations of consumer protection law.

14. Termination and closing your account

You can close your Ahead account at any time by paying off any outstanding balance and requesting closure through your account settings. Once closed, you can request full data deletion.

We may suspend or close your account if you:

• Violate these Terms
• Provide false information
• Attempt fraud
• Are required to be closed by law or regulation

If we close your account, any outstanding loan balance remains payable under the original loan terms.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified to you by email at least 30 days before they take effect, and posted on this page. Continued use of Ahead after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

If you don't agree with changes, you can stop using Ahead. However, changes cannot alter the terms of a loan agreement you've already signed, that loan agreement's terms remain in force until it's paid off.

16. How to contact us

For general questions about these Terms: