LendUp Editorial Policy

LendUp publishes content about financial products that directly affect people's money, credit, and wellbeing. We take that responsibility seriously.

This page explains how we create content, who reviews it, what standards we hold ourselves to, and what to do if you find something wrong. We publish this policy because we believe borrowers deserve to know how the information they rely on is produced.

Our content is written by professionals with direct experience in consumer finance, personal lending, credit, and financial regulation. Writers are selected based on their subject-matter knowledge, not their ability to produce volume.

We do not use AI-generated text as final published content. AI tools may be used during research and drafting, but every piece of content is written, structured, and edited by a human with relevant expertise before it reaches our review process.

Every page on the site is attributed to LendUp's editorial team and reviewed by a named financial professional. We do not publish anonymous content on financial topics.

Every piece of financial content on LendUp goes through a multi-step review before publication:

1. Research and drafting

Content is researched using primary sources: federal and state regulatory databases, official lender disclosures, CFPB publications, FTC guidance, and state attorney general resources. We do not rely on other comparison sites or aggregators as primary sources. When we cite statistics or regulatory details, we verify them against the original source.

2. Accuracy review

Before publication, every page is reviewed by one of our financial content reviewers. The reviewer checks:

• Factual accuracy of all claims about loan products, costs, fees, and terms
• Correctness of state-specific regulatory information
• Whether risk warnings and disclosures are adequate and honest
• Whether the content fairly represents alternatives to borrowing, including options that don't generate revenue for LendUp
• Whether APR examples, fee ranges, and cost illustrations are realistic and current

3. Editorial review

After the accuracy review, content is checked for clarity, readability, and tone. Financial concepts should be explained in plain language. Jargon is defined when it cannot be avoided. The goal is that a borrower with no financial background can read the page and understand their options, costs, and risks.

4. Publication and dating

When a page passes review, it is published with two visible dates: the original publication date and the most recent review date. Both are visible to readers at the bottom of every page.

Financial information changes - interest rates shift, states pass new regulations, lenders change their products. Content that was accurate six months ago may not be accurate today. We address this in three ways:

Scheduled reviews

Every page on the site is re-reviewed on a regular cycle. State-specific pages are reviewed when we become aware of regulatory changes. Loan product guides are reviewed quarterly at minimum. The "last reviewed" date at the bottom of each page reflects when this most recently happened.

Triggered reviews

Outside the regular cycle, we review content immediately when:

• A state passes new lending legislation or regulation
• The CFPB or FTC issues new guidance relevant to our content
• A lender in our network changes their product terms
• A reader reports a potential inaccuracy

Transparency about age

If a page has not been reviewed recently, the date makes that visible. We would rather show an honest old date than hide it. If you find a page with an outdated review date, let us know at [email protected] and we will prioritize a re-review.

LendUp earns revenue when borrowers are matched with lenders. This creates an obvious potential conflict: we have a financial incentive to encourage borrowing and to present our lender network favorably. We address this directly:

Lenders do not control our content

No lender in our network reviews, approves, edits, or influences our editorial content. Lenders do not see our guides, comparisons, or educational pages before publication. They have no input into what we say about loan costs, risks, or alternatives.

We recommend against borrowing when appropriate

Many of our pages include sections on alternatives to borrowing - including options like negotiating with creditors, nonprofit credit counseling, employer advances, community assistance programs, and simply waiting. We publish this content knowing it may reduce our revenue. We believe a borrower who decides not to take a loan after reading our content has been well served.

Our reviewer has final say

If there is ever a conflict between editorial accuracy and commercial interest, our financial content reviewer has the final decision. Content will not be published or altered to favor a lender, increase conversion, or suppress risk information.

Compensation disclosure

We disclose how we make money on a dedicated page, in our Terms of Use, and in the trust strip at the bottom of every page. We believe you should know our incentives before trusting our advice.

Every page we publish should meet these standards. If it doesn't, that's a problem we want to fix.

Accuracy

Claims about loan products, costs, eligibility, and regulations must be factually correct and sourced from official or primary data. When information is approximate or varies (as it often does with lending), we say so explicitly rather than presenting estimates as facts.

Completeness

We do not cherry-pick the favorable parts of a loan product. If a product has significant costs, risks, or limitations, we disclose them - even if that disclosure makes the product less appealing. Every loan comparison includes both advantages and disadvantages.

Honesty about uncertainty

We say "typically," "may," and "varies by lender" when that is the truth. We do not present ranges as guarantees or estimates as promises. If we don't know something, we say so rather than guessing.

Plain language

Financial content should be understandable by someone without a finance background. We define terms when we use them, avoid unnecessary jargon, and write in short, clear sentences. If a concept requires technical language, we explain it immediately.

Borrower-first framing

Our content is written from the borrower's perspective, not the lender's. We ask "what does the borrower need to know?" not "what makes this product look good?" This means leading with costs and risks before benefits, explaining the borrower's rights before the lender's requirements, and presenting alternatives before the application process.

• We do not provide personal financial advice. Our content is educational and general. We cannot assess your individual situation or tell you whether a specific loan is right for you. For personalized guidance, consult a qualified financial advisor or nonprofit credit counselor.
• We do not guarantee the accuracy of lender information. We verify what we can, but lenders change their products, rates, and terms. The loan agreement a lender provides to you is the authoritative source - not our summary of their product.
• We do not accept paid content or sponsored articles. No lender or advertiser can pay to have content published on LendUp. All editorial content is produced by our team and reviewed by our financial reviewer.
• We do not accept compensation for editorial placement. The order in which loan products or lenders appear in our guides and comparisons is determined by editorial judgment and relevance to the reader, not by how much a lender pays us.

We make mistakes. When we do, we want to know about it and fix it quickly.

How to report an issue

If you find information on this site that you believe is inaccurate, outdated, misleading, or incomplete, email us at [email protected] with:

• The URL of the page
• The specific statement you believe is incorrect
• What you believe the correct information is (with a source, if you have one)

What happens next

Our content reviewer will investigate the issue. If the report is correct, we will update the page and revise the "last reviewed" date. For factual corrections, we will note the correction at the bottom of the page so readers know the content was changed.

Response time

We aim to acknowledge reports within 2 business days and resolve confirmed inaccuracies within 5 business days. Regulatory changes that affect multiple pages may take longer.

Our content draws on a range of official and primary sources. These include:

• Federal regulators: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Reserve
• State regulators: state departments of banking and financial institutions, attorney general offices, state-specific lending statutes
• Industry data: published lender disclosures, rate surveys from established financial research organizations
• Nonprofit resources: National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)
• Legal sources: state and federal lending statutes, regulatory guidance documents, enforcement actions

We do not cite other comparison or affiliate sites as primary sources. When we reference data from secondary sources, we verify it against the original where possible.