Key Terms

Here is a list of key terms that we use at Spinwheel that may not be immediately obvious.

Term	Definition
Capabilities	The actions and functionality available for a specific liability. Capabilities can vary based on the creditor, account, and other factors. Spinwheel returns a Capabilities matrix with each liability in the /v1/users response, allowing you to determine which actions are supported before presenting them to a user.
Consumer Credit Lifecycle	The stages a consumer moves through when applying for, receiving, managing, and repaying credit. At Spinwheel, the consumer credit lifecycle includes the following stages: segment, verify, prequalification, application, approval, disbursement, manage, and pay.
Credit Data	Information about a consumer’s credit accounts and liabilities, including details such as account type, balance, credit limit, interest rate, and account status.
Credit Card Brand Assets	The branding information and visual assets associated with a credit card, including the card’s program name and card artwork.
Debt Profile	Spinwheel’s Debt Profile is a snapshot of every liability a consumer holds — sourced from a credit report — and the foundation on which Spinwheel builds everything else.
DIM	A DIM (Drop-in Module) is a pre-built user interface component that can be embedded into your application with a simple code snippet.
Disbursement	The process of releasing approved loan funds to the borrower or to a third party on the borrower’s behalf. Disbursement typically occurs after a loan has been approved and the required loan agreements have been completed.
Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI)	A measure of a borrower’s monthly debt obligations relative to their gross monthly income. DTI is commonly expressed as a percentage and is used by lenders to evaluate a borrower’s ability to take on additional debt.
Employee Payer	A payer created to associate an employee with their designated employer for payment tracking. When an employee payer is referenced in a paymentRequest using its payerId, the associated employerPayerId is used as the source of funds.
Employer Payer	A payer representing an employer’s verified bank account. Spinwheel verifies the account using micro-deposits, after which the account can be used as a funding source for payments toward an end user’s student loan.
FBO Account	An account used to hold funds on behalf of another party. In Spinwheel’s payment flows, an FBO (for benefit of) account can receive funds from a partner bank account before those funds are directed toward a user’s liabilities.
Impacts	Loan impact calculations are calculations that determine the potential impact of a loan on a borrower's finances. These calculations can help a borrower understand the cost of a loan and how it will affect their budget over time.
Knowledge-based Authentication (KBA)	A verification method that asks a user questions based on information associated with their identity or financial history. KBA can be used to confirm a user’s identity before allowing access to sensitive financial information or functionality.
Liability	A debt or financial obligation associated with a user, such as a credit card, auto loan, student loan, mortgage, or personal loan.
Liability Subtype	A more specific classification within a liability type that describes the nature of a user’s debt. For example, an Auto Loan liability may have a subtype of AutoLoan or AutoLease.
Liability Type	The top-level category assigned to a user’s debt. As of now, these liability types are separated into the following categories: Credit Cards, Auto Loans, Student Loans, Home Loans, Personal Loans, and Miscellaneous Liabilities.
Origination	The process of creating a new loan or credit account, typically including application, underwriting, approval, and funding.
One-Time Passcode (OTP)	A temporary code used to verify a user’s identity or confirm an action. An OTP is typically sent to a user through a supported communication channel and can only be used for a limited time or a single verification attempt.
Payer	A bank account or funding source configured to send payments toward a user’s liability. Spinwheel supports different payer types depending on who owns or controls the funding account, including user, employer, employee, and partner payers.
Payment Request	A request to initiate a payment toward a liability using a configured payer and supported payment method.
Partner Payer	A payer representing a verified partner bank account. Once the partner’s account has been verified using micro-deposits, it can fund a central FBO account, which can then be used to direct funds toward supported liabilities.
Prequalification	An initial assessment of whether a borrower may qualify for a loan and the amount they may be eligible to borrow, based on preliminary financial and credit information.
Refresh Subscription	Allows Spinwheel to periodically refresh a user’s connected Debt Profile to keep information current without the need for an organization to manage repeat calls.
Refinance	The process of replacing an existing loan or debt with a new loan, typically to change the interest rate, repayment term, payment amount, or other loan terms.
Settlement Speed	The time it takes for funds to settle when using a supported payment operation. Spinwheel supports different settlement speeds depending on the transaction type and available payment operations, including Same Day, Next Day, and Standard.
Servicer	The company responsible for managing a loan on behalf of the lender or loan owner. A servicer may process payments, maintain account records, provide statements, and handle other ongoing loan-management activities.
Tradeline	A record of a credit account that appears on a consumer’s credit report. A tradeline can include information such as the account type, balance, credit limit, payment history, and account status.
User Payer	A payer representing a user’s verified bank account. A user or authorized partner can add the account through the supported connection flow, after which it can be used as a funding source for ACH payments to the user’s student loan servicer.
Webhooks	A mechanism that allows Spinwheel to send real-time event notifications to your application. When a supported event occurs, Spinwheel sends data to a URL endpoint that you provide, allowing your application to respond without repeatedly polling the API for updates.