> ## 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. # Application Pre-fill & Qualification > Pre-fill loan applications with verified liability data, pull real-time account details, and assess risk with credit health attributes. Once you've completed the [Getting Started](/guides/use-cases/lending/getting-started) flow — creating an Entity, verifying James Rodriguez's identity, and discovering his 6 liability accounts — the next step is to use that data for application pre-fill, real-time underwriting, and enforced debt paydown. ## Checking Product Availability Before pulling real-time data or planning payment disbursements, check each account's `products` array. This tells you what's available for each account based on Method's coverage of that merchant. From the Getting Started guide, James's 6 accounts have different product availability: | Account | Products | Implication | | ------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------- | | Chase Freedom Flex | balance, update, payment | Full coverage — real-time data and payments | | Discover it | balance, update, payment | Full coverage | | Toyota Motor Credit | balance, update, payment | Full coverage | | FedLoan | balance, update | Data only — no payment routing via Method | | Upstart | balance, update, payment | Full coverage | | Rocket Mortgage | balance, update | Data only — no payment routing via Method | For application pre-fill and qualification, you primarily need `update` (to pull real-time balances, rates, and payment amounts for DTI calculations). All six of James's accounts support `update`, so you can build a complete financial picture. For enforced debt paydown (covered later on this page), you need `payment`. Four of the six accounts support it. If your underwriting requires paying off a specific account, verify `payment` is available before making that a loan condition. ## Application Pre-Fill ### Reducing Friction with Verified Data The Entity creation and SMS verification steps from the Getting Started guide already capture the applicant's name, phone, email, date of birth, and address. This data, combined with the liabilities discovered through Connect, means James doesn't need to manually list his debts on your application form. Instead of asking "List all outstanding debts with balances and monthly payments," your application can present James with his verified liability picture and ask him to confirm it. This eliminates manual entry errors, reduces application abandonment, and gives your underwriting team data they can trust. ### Pulling Real-Time Account Data Connect gives you account identifiers and basic liability metadata (creditor name, account type, mask). To get current balances, interest rates, payment due dates, and credit limits, request an [Update](/guides/updates/overview) for each account. **Request an update for the Chase Freedom Flex credit card:** ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg/updates \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` Once the update completes (delivered via [webhook](/reference/webhooks/overview)), you receive the full account details: ```json theme={null} { "id": "upt_FKr8mV4hQzTpN", "status": "completed", "account_id": "acc_WqNhMRNVZjbKg", "source": "direct", "type": "credit_card", "credit_card": { "available_credit": 480000, "balance": 320000, "closed_at": null, "credit_limit": 800000, "interest_rate_percentage_max": 24.99, "interest_rate_percentage_min": 24.99, "interest_rate_type": "variable", "last_payment_amount": 15000, "last_payment_date": "2025-08-28", "next_payment_due_date": "2025-10-01", "next_payment_minimum_amount": 8900, "opened_at": "2021-06-15", "sub_type": "flexible_spending", "usage_pattern": "revolver" }, "data_as_of": "2025-09-15T14:30:44.218Z", "error": null, "created_at": "2025-09-15T14:30:44.218Z", "updated_at": "2025-09-15T14:30:44.502Z" } ``` **Request an update for the Toyota Motor Credit auto loan:** ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_TmGPLxkz7Nrh6/updates \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "upt_Bx7nPwR3kJmEL", "status": "completed", "account_id": "acc_TmGPLxkz7Nrh6", "source": "direct", "type": "auto_loan", "auto_loan": { "balance": 1845000, "closed_at": null, "expected_payoff_date": "2028-11-15", "interest_rate_percentage": 5.49, "interest_rate_source": "financial_institution", "interest_rate_type": "fixed", "last_payment_amount": 38500, "last_payment_date": "2025-09-01", "next_payment_due_date": "2025-10-01", "next_payment_minimum_amount": 38500, "opened_at": "2022-11-15", "original_loan_amount": 2800000, "sub_type": "loan", "term_length": 72 }, "data_as_of": "2025-09-15T14:31:02.874Z", "error": null, "created_at": "2025-09-15T14:31:02.874Z", "updated_at": "2025-09-15T14:31:03.118Z" } ``` All monetary values are in **cents**. The Chase card balance of `320000` is \$3,200.00, and the auto loan balance of `1845000` is \$18,450.00. The credit limit of `800000` is \$8,000.00. With real-time data from Updates, you can pre-populate your application with verified figures: | Account | Balance | Rate | Monthly Payment | Type | | ------------------- | -------- | ----------- | --------------- | ----------- | | Chase Freedom Flex | \$3,200 | 24.99% APR | \$89 min | Credit Card | | Toyota Motor Credit | \$18,450 | 5.49% fixed | \$385 | Auto Loan | Repeat this process for the remaining accounts to build the complete picture for DTI calculations. ### Assessing Risk with Attributes [Attributes](/guides/additional-products/attributes) provide structured credit health metrics without requiring you to parse raw credit report data. For lending qualification, request the attributes most relevant to credit risk: ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities/ent_qKNBB68bfHGNA/attributes \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "attributes": [ "credit_health_credit_card_usage", "credit_health_payment_history", "credit_health_entity_delinquent" ] }' ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "attr_Tn4kJfR8mWxPv", "entity_id": "ent_qKNBB68bfHGNA", "status": "completed", "attributes": { "credit_health_credit_card_usage": { "value": 38, "rating": "fair" }, "credit_health_payment_history": { "value": 97, "rating": "good" }, "credit_health_entity_delinquent": { "value": false, "rating": "no_rating" } }, "error": null, "created_at": "2025-09-15T14:32:18.743Z", "updated_at": "2025-09-15T14:32:18.743Z" } ``` These attributes feed directly into your underwriting logic: * **Credit card usage at 38%** (`fair`): James is using \$5,000 of roughly \$13,000 in total credit limits. This is above the ideal 30% threshold but not alarming. * **Payment history at 97%** (`good`): Strong on-time payment record. The 3% gap may reflect a single late payment in the past. * **No active delinquencies** (`false`): James is current on all obligations. Beyond the three shown above, you can request `credit_health_derogatory_marks`, `credit_health_hard_inquiries`, `credit_health_total_accounts`, `credit_health_credit_age`, and `credit_health_open_accounts`. For a full list, see the [Attributes API Reference](/reference/entities/attributes/overview). ## Enforced Debt Paydown (EDP) Many lenders require applicants to pay down or pay off specific debts as a condition of loan approval. This is common in consolidation loans, HELOCs, and cash-out refinances where the lender wants to ensure existing high-interest debt is eliminated. With Method, you can enforce this programmatically: once the loan is funded, initiate payments directly from your corporate funding account to the applicant's existing creditors — before any funds reach the borrower. ### Identifying Payable Liabilities Not all discovered liabilities support payments through Method. Before initiating an enforced paydown, confirm that the target account has `payment` in its `products` array — this indicates Method has payment coverage for that merchant. Accounts without payment coverage will need to be handled outside of Method's payment rails. From the Connect results, James has four accounts eligible for paydown through Method (those with `payment` in their products). For this example, your underwriting team requires James to pay off his Upstart personal loan (\$12,000) as a condition of your consolidation loan. Since the Upstart account includes `payment` in its products, Method can route the funds directly. ### Verifying Current Balance First, confirm the current balance with a real-time update: ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_YXDrjADGjC76U/updates \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "upt_QmW9nLxKfPvR3", "status": "completed", "account_id": "acc_YXDrjADGjC76U", "source": "direct", "type": "personal_loan", "personal_loan": { "available_credit": null, "balance": 1200000, "closed_at": null, "interest_rate_percentage": 12.49, "interest_rate_source": "financial_institution", "interest_rate_type": "fixed", "last_payment_amount": 28500, "last_payment_date": "2025-09-05", "next_payment_due_date": "2025-10-05", "next_payment_minimum_amount": 28500, "opened_at": "2024-01-15", "original_loan_amount": 1500000, "sub_type": "unsecured", "term_length": 36 }, "data_as_of": "2025-09-15T14:35:22.617Z", "error": null, "created_at": "2025-09-15T14:35:22.617Z", "updated_at": "2025-09-15T14:35:22.891Z" } ``` ### Initiating the Enforced Paydown Once the loan is funded and the balance is confirmed, create a payment from your corporate funding account directly to the Upstart personal loan: ```bash theme={null} curl https://production.methodfi.com/payments \ -X POST \ -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "amount": 1200000, "source": "acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9", "destination": "acc_YXDrjADGjC76U", "description": "EDP Payoff" }' ``` ```json theme={null} { "id": "pmt_7RnGkTm4Xb", "source": "acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9", "destination": "acc_YXDrjADGjC76U", "amount": 1200000, "description": "EDP Payoff", "status": "pending", "estimated_completion_date": "2025-09-22", "source_trace_id": null, "source_settlement_date": "2025-09-16", "source_status": "pending", "destination_trace_id": null, "destination_settlement_date": "2025-09-22", "destination_payment_method": "electronic", "destination_status": "pending", "reversal_id": null, "error": null, "metadata": null, "created_at": "2025-09-15T14:38:55.204Z", "updated_at": "2025-09-15T14:38:55.204Z" } ``` The \$12,000 payment flows directly from your corporate funding account (`acc_hmap9mbgfLcf9`) to Upstart (`acc_YXDrjADGjC76U`). The borrower never touches these funds, which eliminates the risk of misuse and guarantees the debt is retired. Only initiate enforced paydowns to accounts with `payment` in their `products` array. Attempting to create a payment to an account without payment coverage will return an error. Always verify product availability programmatically before committing to paydown conditions in your loan terms. Payment descriptions are limited to **10 characters**. Use short, descriptive labels like `"EDP Payoff"`, `"Paydown"`, or `"Consolidat"`. ## What's Next Request payoff quotes and transfer balances directly to creditors. Monitor borrower liability, utilization, and delinquency signals continuously after origination.