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After loan funding and debt payoff, your relationship with the borrower doesn’t end. Method’s subscription system lets you monitor the borrower’s accounts for changes that matter: missed payments on remaining debts, balance increases that signal financial stress, credit score improvements that qualify them for better terms, and payoff events that open cross-sell opportunities. This guide continues the James Rodriguez scenario. After consolidating his two credit cards through the Debt Consolidation flow, James still has active accounts that you want to monitor: the Toyota auto loan, FedLoan student loans, and Rocket Mortgage.

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Portfolio Monitoring

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Subscribing to Account Updates

Account Update Subscriptions deliver near-real-time balance and payment data as the financial institution reports changes. This is how you detect missed payments, early payoffs, and balance fluctuations without manually polling for updates. Subscribe to updates for the Toyota auto loan: 
curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_TmGPLxkz7Nrh6/subscriptions \
  -X POST \
  -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "enroll": "update"
  }'

{
  "id": "sub_Rk7mPnXw4LjTq",
  "name": "update",
  "status": "active",
  "payload": null,
  "latest_request_id": null,
  "created_at": "2025-09-16T09:00:12.447Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-09-16T09:00:12.447Z"
}
Subscribe to updates for the FedLoan student loan: 
curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_RkFqVbD8HjQxP/subscriptions \
  -X POST \
  -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "enroll": "update"
  }'

{
  "id": "sub_Wx3nQmTk8PfRv",
  "name": "update",
  "status": "active",
  "payload": null,
  "latest_request_id": null,
  "created_at": "2025-09-16T09:00:45.892Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-09-16T09:00:45.892Z"
}
Subscribe to updates for the Rocket Mortgage: 
curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_KpLnWzFt9Mjd3/subscriptions \
  -X POST \
  -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "enroll": "update"
  }'

{
  "id": "sub_Jn5pLmYw2KhVx",
  "name": "update",
  "status": "active",
  "payload": null,
  "latest_request_id": null,
  "created_at": "2025-09-16T09:01:18.334Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-09-16T09:01:18.334Z"
}
Once enrolled, Method delivers webhooks whenever new update data is available. Each webhook contains the update path so you can retrieve the full details: 
{
  "id": "whk_Rm4nPqTx8LjWv",
  "type": "update.update",
  "path": "/accounts/acc_TmGPLxkz7Nrh6/updates/upt_Hx9mRnKw3PfTq"
}
You can also subscribe to update.snapshot for monthly snapshot data from credit bureaus, which provides a broader but less frequent view. Use update for real-time monitoring and update.snapshot for periodic reconciliation.

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Subscribing to Credit Score Changes

Credit score monitoring tracks changes in the borrower’s credit profile over time. This is valuable for both risk management (detecting deterioration) and opportunity identification (detecting improvement). Enroll James in credit score monitoring: 
curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities/ent_qKNBB68bfHGNA/subscriptions \
  -X POST \
  -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "enroll": "credit_score"
  }'

{
  "id": "sub_Tm8qNnLx5RjWk",
  "name": "credit_score",
  "status": "active",
  "payload": null,
  "latest_request_id": null,
  "created_at": "2025-09-16T09:05:33.218Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-09-16T09:05:33.218Z"
}
When a credit score change is detected, Method fires a webhook. You can then retrieve the updated score: Request the current credit score on-demand: 
curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities/ent_qKNBB68bfHGNA/credit_scores \
  -X POST \
  -H "Method-Version: 2025-12-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc"

{
  "id": "crs_Vn3mRkTx7PfLw",
  "entity_id": "ent_qKNBB68bfHGNA",
  "status": "pending",
  "scores": null,
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2025-09-16T09:06:01.447Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-09-16T09:06:01.447Z"
}
The credit score request is asynchronous. Once completed, the scores field is populated with the borrower’s score, model, and contributing factors.

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Detecting Distress Signals with Attributes

Beyond raw account data, Attributes can surface early warning signals. Periodically request attributes to monitor the borrower’s credit health trajectory: 
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"
    ]
  }'

{
  "id": "attr_Qk9nPmRw3LjTx",
  "entity_id": "ent_qKNBB68bfHGNA",
  "status": "completed",
  "attributes": {
    "credit_health_credit_card_usage": {
      "value": 12,
      "rating": "excellent"
    },
    "credit_health_payment_history": {
      "value": 98,
      "rating": "excellent"
    },
    "credit_health_entity_delinquent": {
      "value": false,
      "rating": "no_rating"
    }
  },
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2025-10-15T09:15:44.218Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-10-15T09:15:44.218Z"
}
After the balance transfer paid off both credit cards, James’s credit card usage dropped from 38% to 12% (excellent), and his payment history improved to 98%. These are positive signals for your portfolio. Key distress signals to watch for:
SignalAttributeWhat it means
Rising utilizationcredit_health_credit_card_usage > 75%Borrower may be accumulating new debt on paid-off cards
Declining payment historycredit_health_payment_history < 90%Missed payments on remaining obligations
Active delinquencycredit_health_entity_delinquent = trueBorrower is behind on one or more accounts

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Retargeting & Reconsideration

The same monitoring infrastructure that detects risk also identifies opportunity. Subscription data can trigger automated workflows for second-look approvals, refinance offers, and cross-sell campaigns.

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Second-Look Approvals from Update Subscriptions

When a previously declined applicant’s account data changes favorably, Update Subscriptions surface the change automatically. Common triggers:
  • Balance paydown: An applicant who was over-leveraged pays down significant debt, improving their DTI ratio
  • Account closure: An applicant closes a high-interest account, reducing their total obligations
  • Payment consistency: Several months of on-time payments on existing debts demonstrate improved reliability
Because you’re already subscribed to updates on the applicant’s accounts, these changes arrive as webhooks without any additional API calls.

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Credit Score Improvement for Better Terms

Credit score subscriptions identify when previously declined or high-rate borrowers improve enough to qualify for better terms:
  • A borrower who was approved at 12.99% APR sees their credit score rise 40 points — you can proactively offer a rate reduction or refinance
  • A declined applicant’s score crosses your minimum threshold — trigger an automated reconsideration workflow
By comparing successive Account Updates over time, you can derive signals that aren’t available in any single data point:
  • Repayment velocity: How quickly is the borrower paying down your loan versus the scheduled amortization? Faster-than-expected repayment may indicate they’re a candidate for a larger credit line.
  • Debt accumulation: If the borrower’s total liabilities are growing (new accounts, increasing balances on other cards), this may warrant a portfolio review.
  • Payoff events: When an auto loan or mortgage is paid off, the borrower’s monthly cash flow improves — an ideal time for a cross-sell offer.

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Putting It All Together

Monitoring goalMethod productTrigger
Detect missed paymentsAccount Update Subscriptionnext_payment_due_date passes without corresponding last_payment_date update
Track balance changesAccount Update Subscriptionbalance field changes between update cycles
Monitor credit scoreEntity Credit Score SubscriptionScore change detected by bureau
Assess credit health trendsAttributes (on-demand)Periodic pull or triggered by update webhook
Identify refinance candidatesCredit Score Subscription + Account UpdatesScore improvement + balance reduction
Flag borrower distressAttributes + Account UpdatesUtilization spike, delinquency flag, or missed payments

Subscriptions Guide

Deep dive into subscription types, webhook payloads, and management.

Credit Scores

Understand credit score retrieval, models, and subscription behavior.

Attributes

Full list of available credit health attributes and their ratings.

Lending Overview

Return to the lending use case overview.