> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.methodfi.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Direct Pay > Disburse loan proceeds straight to creditors at funding, and turn direct payoff into a top-of-funnel pricing lever. ## Direct Pay *Consolidate or transfer at funding.* Send the money straight to the creditor. Borrowers can't redirect, fraud goes down, loan performance goes up, and your consolidation product actually does what it says. Method handles the full payment lifecycle: submission, processing, delivery to the creditor, confirmation. ### How it works After Connect discovers the borrower's debts, your underwriting selects which to pay off, fresh balances confirm the disbursement amount, and Payments route directly to each creditor from your corporate funding account. Amounts are in **cents** (`320000` = \$3,200.00). `GET /accounts/{acc_id}`. Only accounts with `payment` in their `products` array can receive a Method-routed payment. Accounts where `payment` appears only in `restricted_products` (e.g., FedLoan, Rocket Mortgage) provide data via `balance` and `update`, but disbursement to those servicers needs to happen through other rails. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "type": "liability", "liability": { "type": "credit_card", "name": "Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card" }, "products": ["balance", "update", "payment"], "restricted_products": ["sensitive"] } ``` `POST /accounts/{acc_id}/updates`. Balances can shift daily between application and funding. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg/updates \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` `POST /payments`. The source is your corporate funding account; the destination is the borrower's liability account. The `description` field is limited to **10 characters**: use labels like `Payoff`, `Paydown`, `Consolidat`, `EDP Payoff`. Method fires webhooks as the payment moves through `pending → processing → sent → posted`. After posting, an Update on the destination account verifies the balance decreased as expected. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/payments \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "amount": 320000, "source": "acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9", "destination": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "description": "Payoff" }' ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "pmt_Qm4RnKx8Wb", "source": "acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9", "destination": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "amount": 320000, "description": "Payoff", "status": "pending", "estimated_completion_date": "2025-09-22", "source_settlement_date": "2025-09-16", "destination_settlement_date": "2025-09-22", "destination_payment_method": "electronic" } ``` ## Direct Pay rate discount *Offer a better rate before the borrower commits, backed by a payoff you control.* When a borrower chooses to have their consolidation loan sent straight to their creditors, the loan is materially safer, and that risk reduction funds a lower APR you can surface at the very top of the funnel. Method turns direct payoff into a pricing lever at the top of the funnel. The pattern has three parts, and Method powers each one: * During the no-impact **rate check**, Method discovers the borrower's real, payable debt, so you know there is genuine debt to retire and what rate they're actually paying on it. * That lets you confidently **offer an enhanced rate** to borrowers who opt to have funds disbursed directly to their creditors, rather than taken as cash. * At funding, **Direct Pay executes the payoff**, so the discount you promised upfront is backed by an action you control, not by the borrower's intent to pay their balances down themselves. This is already a visible market pattern. One large personal-loan originator presents two products on its rate-check screen (a debt-consolidation loan and a general-purpose cash loan) and advertises an APR discount of up to 5% on the consolidation product, available specifically when the borrower lets the lender pay their existing creditors directly. The same screen reassures the borrower that checking their rate will not affect their credit score. Method powers both halves of that experience: the soft-pull rate check, and the verified payoff that earns the discount. ### Why direct payoff earns a better rate A traditional consolidation loan disburses cash to the borrower and trusts them to retire their balances. Many don't, or they pay down some and re-spend the rest, leaving the lender with a borrower who now carries both the new loan and the old revolving debt. Routing proceeds straight to each creditor removes that leakage: the targeted debt is actually retired, the borrower can't redirect the funds, and downstream delinquency falls. Consolidated payoffs sent directly to the creditor reduce delinquency by up to \~50% versus cash-to-borrower disbursement. That loss reduction is what you price into the upfront discount. There's a structural reason this can't be priced off bureau data alone. Traditional bureau files cannot confirm a borrower's live revolving balance, the rate they're actually paying today, or that loan proceeds reached the creditor. A discount priced on a weeks-old snapshot carries uncertainty on all three. Method removes it by reading current balances and APRs directly from each institution and by settling the payoff itself. All examples use `Method-Version: 2026-03-30`. Monetary values are in **cents** (`1840000` = \$18,400.00); APRs and utilization are percentages. ### How it works Run a no-impact rate check that discovers the borrower's real, payable debt, size and price the direct-payoff discount against it, confirm each creditor account can receive a payment, then execute the payoff at funding. `POST /entities`. Start with the borrower record. In this environment you only need `first_name`, `last_name`, and `phone`. Passing `dob` and `ssn_4` when available improves match rates during discovery. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "type": "individual", "individual": { "first_name": "Maya", "last_name": "Chen", "phone": "+13105550147" } }' ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "ent_BzirqpLEm3BW7", "type": "individual", "status": "incomplete" } ``` `POST /entities/{ent_id}/connect`. This is the "won't impact your credit score" promise: Connect performs a soft credit pull (no score impact) and discovers every liability on the borrower's file, returning an account ID for each. List the accounts (`GET /accounts?holder_id={ent_id}&type=liability&status=active`) to see the borrower's live revolving and installment debt, the raw material for the consolidation offer. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities/ent_BzirqpLEm3BW7/connect \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "cxn_4ewMmBbjYDMR4", "entity_id": "ent_BzirqpLEm3BW7", "status": "completed", "accounts": ["acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "acc_TmGPLxkz7Nrh6", "acc_YXDrjADGjC76U"], "error": null } ``` `POST /entities/{ent_id}/attributes`. Pull the entity attribute set to quantify the consolidation opportunity. The blended APR and revolving balance tell you how much the borrower stands to save. That, combined with the risk reduction direct payoff delivers, is what you price the enhanced offer against. This borrower carries \$18,400 in revolving balances at a 23.4% blended APR. A standard consolidation offer at, say, 14% already cuts their monthly interest sharply. Layering the direct-payoff discount on top (an additional reduction of up to 5% APR) both deepens their savings and lowers your expected loss, because the payoff will actually happen. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities/ent_BzirqpLEm3BW7/attributes \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "attr_Qk9nPmRw3LjTx", "entity_id": "ent_BzirqpLEm3BW7", "status": "completed", "attributes": { "revolving_credit_card_balance_total": { "value": 1840000, "error": null }, "weighted_average_apr_credit_card": { "value": 23.4, "error": null }, "credit_card_utilization": { "value": 63.0, "error": null }, "usage_pattern": { "value": "revolver", "error": null }, "payment_to_minimum_ratio_avg_credit_cards": { "value": 1.6, "error": null } } } ``` *Key attributes:* `weighted_average_apr_credit_card`, `revolving_credit_card_balance_total`, `credit_card_utilization`, `usage_pattern`, `payment_to_minimum_ratio_avg_credit_cards`. `GET /accounts/{acc_id}`. Before you promise to pay a balance directly, confirm the creditor account can receive a Method-routed payment. Only accounts with `payment` in their `products` array are payable. Some servicers expose data via `balance` and `update` but must be paid through other rails. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "type": "liability", "liability": { "type": "credit_card", "name": "Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card" }, "products": ["balance", "update", "payment"], "restricted_products": ["sensitive"] } ``` `POST /payments`. When the borrower accepts the direct-payoff option and the loan funds, route proceeds straight to each creditor. The source is your corporate funding account; the destination is the borrower's creditor account. Pull a fresh `POST /accounts/{acc_id}/updates` first so you disburse the exact current balance. The `description` field is limited to **10 characters**: use labels like `Payoff`, `Paydown`, `Consolidat`. Repeat the call once per creditor being retired. Method fires webhooks as each payment moves through `pending → processing → sent → posted`. An Update on the destination afterward confirms the balance dropped as expected. ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/payments \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "amount": 1840000, "source": "acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9", "destination": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "description": "Payoff" }' ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "pmt_Qm4RnKx8Wb", "source": "acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9", "destination": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "amount": 1840000, "description": "Payoff", "status": "pending", "estimated_completion_date": "2026-06-12", "source_settlement_date": "2026-06-06", "destination_settlement_date": "2026-06-12" } ``` ### Structuring the offer A few principles that keep the discount defensible and the experience clean: * **Tier the discount to the verified opportunity.** The enhanced rate is funded by real loss reduction, so size it against the debt that will actually be retired, not a flat promotional number. * **Make the discount conditional on direct payoff.** Present the standard rate and the enhanced rate side by side; the borrower unlocks the better APR by choosing to have you pay their creditors. This mirrors the market example: a consolidation product carries the discount, a general cash loan does not. * **Support the "extra cash" case.** Borrowers who want to consolidate and take additional cash still qualify: route the payoff portion through Direct Pay and disburse the remainder as cash. The discount applies to the consolidated portion, since that's the part whose risk you've removed. * **Back the promise at funding.** The upfront rate is credible precisely because Direct Pay settles the payoff for you. Wire the payoff call to fire automatically on funding so the discount and the disbursement stay in lockstep.