HOW ARE PAYMENTS ALLOCATED?
As you make payments on your loans, it’s important to understand how those payments are allocated across loans, especially if you make payments that are more or less than your current amount due. If you’d like to request one-time or recurring special payment instructions, please contact us.
If you pay more than your current amount due:
- Extra payment amounts (any amount higher than the current amount due) will be applied to your loan(s) with the highest interest rate. Note: If your lender allows your due date to advance more than 59 days, then extra payments will be allocated to keep all due dates closely aligned. For more information on your due date advancement options, please contact us.
- Once the loan with the highest interest rate is paid in full, any extra payment amount will be applied to the next-highest interest rate loan.
- If two or more loans have the same highest interest rate, extra payments will be applied to the loan with the lowest outstanding principal balance.
Example of payment allocation when you pay more than your current amount due:
- Current amount due: $200
- Payment amount received: $1,000
- $1,000 – $200 = $800 extra payment amount
| Loan | Interest Rates | Outstanding Principal Balance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.5% | $4,500 |
| 2 | 5% | $3,000 |
| 3 | 8.25% | $300 |
| 4 | 6.5% | $2,475 |
- As shown in the table above, loan 3 has the highest interest rate, so $300 out of the extra payment amount will be applied to loan 3, which will pay it in full.
- Loans 1 and 4 have the next highest interest rate: 6.5%. The remaining extra payment amount of $500 will be applied to loan 4 because it has the lowest outstanding principal balance of the two loans.
If you pay less than your current amount due:
Up-to-Date Account
- If your account is up to date, partial payments (any amount lower than the current amount due) will be applied to your loan with the lowest current amount due.
- If two or more loans have the same current amount due, any remaining partial payment will be applied to the loan with the highest interest rate.
Example of payment allocation when you pay less than your current amount due if your account is up to date:
- Current amount due: $325
- Partial payment amount received: $100
| Loan | Interest Rates | Current Amount Due |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5% | $115 |
| 2 | 6.5% | $85 |
| 3 | 8.25% | $40 |
| 4 | 5% | $85 |
- The table above shows that loan 3 has the lowest current amount due, so $40 out of the $100 partial payment will be applied to loan 3.
- Loans 2 and 4 both have the next highest current amount due: $85. The remaining partial payment amount of $60 will be applied to loan 2 because it has the highest interest rate of the two loans.
- A payment amount of $225 remains due following this partial payment.
Delinquent Account
- If your account is delinquent, partial payments will be applied first to the most delinquent loan to bring it toward the same level of delinquency as your other loan(s).
- Any remaining partial payment will be applied to the loan with the lowest regular monthly payment amount.
- If two or more loans have the same regular monthly payment amount, any remaining partial payment will be applied to the loan with the highest interest rate.
Example of payment allocation when you pay less than your current amount due if your account is delinquent:
- Current amount due: $410
- Partial payment amount received: $225
| Loan | Interest Rates | Regular Monthly Payment Amount | Days Past Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5% | $100 | 60 |
| 2 | 6.5% | $85 | 30 |
| 3 | 8.25% | $40 | 30 |
| 4 | 5% | $85 | 30 |
- As shown in the table above, loan 1 is the most delinquent loan at 60 days past due, so we will apply $100 of the partial payment amount to loan 1 to bring it to the same level of delinquency as the other loans.
- Next, loan 3 has the lowest regular monthly payment amount, so $40 of the remaining partial payment amount will be applied to loan 3.
- Lastly, since loans 2 and 4 both have the next lowest regular monthly payment amount, the remaining partial payment amount of $85 will be applied to loan 2 because it has the highest interest rate of the two loans.
- A payment amount of $185 remains due following this partial payment.
Submitting a Special Payment Request
*If you provide special payment instructions with your payment, we will follow your instructions when possible.
- Online: Start by logging in to your FirstmarkServices.com account and clicking Pay Now. Then choose the Pay by Loan option. At this point, you can enter the payment amounts to apply to each of your loans. Then simply confirm your payment to submit it.
- Phone, Email, or Mail: You may also request one-time or recurring special payment instructions via phone, email, or mail (using the correspondence address noted below and including your Firstmark Services account number – please include the full account number followed by the two numbers after the dash).
Firstmark Services
P.O. Box 82522
Lincoln, NE 68501-2522