Kiva Lending Page: Sort By Repayment Term

[Guest]

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[fredr1c]

Kiva's Roma Jhaveri reports that in the next few days, Kiva will be rolling out some changes to the way we search for and make loans:

One change will be the ability to make "blended payments" -- payments made up of both PayPal monies and Kiva Credit, together.

Another change that some of us here have expressed an interest in is the ability to sort loans on the lending page by repayment term!

Read about these and other upcoming changes to the Kiva.org interface here:

http://kivanews.blogspot.com/2008/05/blended-payments-at-last.html

...and see this related thread in the Suggestion Box section of Kivafriends here:

Sort by Repayment Term

Fred

[Paula-from-NZ]

I'm really thrilled that the repayment term is going to be a sort option.

I'm a little unclear about the blended payments but I'm guessing that will become clear....

[cpbailey]

Paula,

If I have a loan that the borrower pays $20 back and then defaults, then I can add $5 when the $20 is repaid to me.  I would then have a whole loan.  Alternatively, if I get $25 back, I can add a donation without a totally separate transaction.  Just pay the difference!

Colette

[Paula-from-NZ]

Oh that makes sense - I haven't had that happen to me yet so didn't even consider that.  Thanks! 

[Diane R]

Another scenario where "blended payments" will be helpful:

I put $75 worth of loans in my basket this weekend, and had $50 in KivaCredit, but because "blended payments" was not an option, I had to pay for the entire $75 basket using Paypal, even though I had part of that amount in KivaCredit.  With the new system, presumably I'd be able to select to first use up my KivaCredit and then only have it send me to Paypal for the remaining $25.

I am very much looking forward to this new improvement! 

Good move, Kiva team!

--Diane.

[cpbailey]

Paula,

I expect it to happen, and I was already doing this  .  Can you say WEEC?

Colette

[dh]

Another advantage of blended payments:

Although grants currently fund much of Kiva's expansion, Kiva depends on that 10% donation for ongoing operating expenses. As Kiva grows, a greater percentage of loans will be reloans. Previously, there was no way to donate $2.50 when reloaning your single $25 credit. Soon there will be.

[redstarr]

Yippie!!!!   Sorting by length!

[KivanSteven]

I enjoy short term loans like the rest, but Im worried what that might do to some longer term loans, especially long term group loans of a few thousand dollars, or the 12-18 month loans to less popular regions.  Im sure they will still find funding, but they may be hung up in the selection for even longer than we have thus far seen.

Also if a huge short term loaning trend develops, it might put undue pressure on MFIs and entrepreneurs to make their loans more attractive simply by shortening them in ways that are not always beneficial to and most productive for the entrepreneur.

When it comes to new members, the best way to test Kiva out is to find the shortest loan possible in order to minimize re-payment time to see if it all really works--it just seems as if new and old members alike will be more inclined then maybe they should be to seek out the shortest loan terms possible...regardless of write up quality, picture, loan type, etc--all the things we have come to cherish about loaning.  There definitely are an enormous multitude of short term loans, but Id hate to see any of these attributes of the short term loans suffer simply because they can and/or will find funding almost immediately.

Im neutral on the new sort feature--I want to see how it plays out--probably wont be much to realize, but I guess Im looking at the loans individually rather than the success of it all as a whole.  When it comes down to it, they all get funded, and I guess thats what we need to keep in mind as well.  Any changes made to loaning customs are not all that bad until loans teeter on the brink of being rejected.

[fredr1c]

Sort by repayment term is "live"....maybe the other changes are, too.

---
(a few minutes later)

One of the other changes Roma talked about is definitely done -- the increased information about Kiva in the checkout process, when you're invited to make a default donation (10% of the amount in your basket at checkout time, easily changeable).

http://kivanews.blogspot.com/2008/05/blended-payments-at-last.html

I don't have the ability to make a blended payment - no Kiva credit at this time.   It's possible that this change is done as well -- someone who's in a position to make a blended payment can chime in, too. :-)

Fred

[KEDS]

When I read about the "blended payment" feature it made me wonder if we might be close to the long talked about day when we lenders have access to our share of the monies paid back each month, as opposed to having to wait until the end of the loan term before having access to our funds.

If (at some point in the future) my borrower makes a monthly payment and my share of it ($4.37, or some such odd number) ends up in my Kiva credit account, then I can see how having the ability to make a "blended payment" would be beneficial.  Such a feature would be really useful if, all of a sudden, instead of having a nice even $25 put back into Kiva credit, the amounts were put in as a couple of dollars here and a couple of dollars there.

KEDS

[fredr1c]

When I read about the "blended payment" feature it made me wonder if we might be close to the long talked about day when we lenders have access to our share of the monies paid back each month, as opposed to having to wait until the end of the loan term before having access to our funds.

If (at some point in the future) my borrower makes a monthly payment and my share of it ($4.37, or some such odd number) ends up in my Kiva credit account, then I can see how having the ability to make a "blended payment" would be beneficial.  It would be really useful if, all of a sudden, instead of having a nice even $25 put back into Kiva credit, the amounts were put in as a couple of dollars here and a couple of dollars there.

KEDS

Yes.  I'm waiting for that day, too.

It's going to give us all a lot more flexibility, not only for lending but in our overall personal finances. :-)

It'd be nice to have the cash we have invested in our borrowers that much more liquid. 

Here's the blog entry where Matt Flannery talked about this back in March:

http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/kiva-chronicles/archive/2008/03/01/escheat-me

Fred

[charity]

     We can now sort by repayment term!!!!!!!   

[Ingvar]

I enjoy short term loans like the rest, but Im worried what that might do to some longer term loans, especially long term group loans of a few thousand dollars, or the 12-18 month loans to less popular regions.  Im sure they will still find funding, but they may be hung up in the selection for even longer than we have thus far seen.

Also if a huge short term loaning trend develops, it might put undue pressure on MFIs and entrepreneurs to make their loans more attractive simply by shortening them in ways that are not always beneficial to and most productive for the entrepreneur.

I think there are also lenders who prefer long-term loans.

When I first came to Kiva I simply wanted a portion of my money to be useful in alleviating poverty. The feelings of connection and engagement were unexpected, and the massive amount of time I've spent on Kiva and KF was even more unexpected.

I bet there are lenders who have the same motivation I started with, just wanting a portion of their money to be useful, and can't or don't want to spend a lot of time on it. For them, long-term loans are perfect. First, such loans cost them less time, and second, their dollar reaches farther, by going to poorer entrepreneurs who can't afford fast repayment.

Apart from that, I would bet that many lenders do as I do, and simply ignore the repayment term. My rationale for ignoring it is that if a loan happens to be short, this is nice because I get to re-lend sooner; and if it's long, this is nice because it benefits someone poorer so my dollar reaches farther; and so, either way there's something very nice to be happy about.

Ignoring the term has given a somewhat random distribution of repayment dates that I like.

Because of this, my guess is that this sorting feature will have very little impact on which loans get funded, perhaps none at all.

[cpbailey]

I am really liking the sort by term feature.  I have loans for most months coming due thru May, but there are holes which I can try to fill.  It is a bit of guess work as when I make the loan isn't necessarily the month that the loan starts, but it is an approximation.  Some months just get bunched up for whatever reason...June has two repay which I will try to land 'em in my empty spots...

Colette

[KivanSteven]

Im not sure if KF is an accurate representation of the greater Kiva membership, but most people here, though not hesitant to jump on the 12 or even 18 month loan, really find a 3, 4, 6 month loan pretty endearing and tempting.

Occasionaly Ill opt for an 18 month loan but it usually needs to have all the qualities for me.  12 or 14 months I typically have no problem loaning to, but strangely enough, the 1 or 2 month loans feel as unattractive to me as the 24 month loans.  Maybe because I cant fathom what a 1 month loan can possibly do to benefit someone longer term, or maybe 1 or 2 months does not offer enough of a connection time wise for me $25 contribution to be worthwhile.

I dont know that searching for the shortest loan terms possible will be either positive or negative as far as loans taking longer to fund.  Actually I was raising more of a potential concern relating specifically to loans that already can require a good deal of time to fund.  I dont believe the search result will force loans to go unfunded, far from it, but let's see if any loans reach a week or less remaining in time.

One potentially positive result, however, that I noticed moments ago, is that many of the extremely large (people and $ amount) loans from Africa and South America are usually short term, 6 months or less.  I funded a 4 month Paraguyan loan this week that reached 10 days remaining, but the new search feature may have allowed this loan to be funded sooner, in that, unless it sits for nearly 3 weeks, there are until now no popular search options that would bring this particular loan to the forefront. (I dont think many people use the "loan amount" search feature).  Since it was a 4 month loan, the repayment term search option would make this loan better accessible amongst the nearly 500 other active loans, perhaps preventing it and many others similar to it from hanging up in the system until the final 7-10 days of availability.

[Ingvar]

Im not sure if KF is an accurate representation of the greater Kiva membership, but most people here, though not hesitant to jump on the 12 or even 18 month loan, really find a 3, 4, 6 month loan pretty endearing and tempting.

I'm quite sure that we're not at all representative.

My guess above, my guess that long-term loans attract people who have little time for Kiva, is about people who I'm sure have almost no voice here at KF. People who contribute here a lot are people who spend a lot of time on something related to Kiva, namely KF, and people who don't have time for Kiva things won't have time to contribute much here.

I also think that anyone who is strongly influenced by the sense of connection and personal engagement will feel attracted to shorter loans, and I'm sure more such people will be willing to spend time on KF and thus will be over-represented here.

Kiva is not only perfect for people who want to feel a personal connection and engagement in the beneficial effects of their loans. Kiva is also perfect for people who just want a part of their money to be useful to the poor, and who believe that microlending is better than gift charity, even if they have no interest at all in the personal connection or the specific use of their loans. We'll only seldom hear them here at KF, but they'll lend money at Kiva.

[KivanSteven]

That could be Ingvar, Im not sure we can offer any hard evidence of your point or mine, but I will concede to your point; however, I do agree that Kiva enthusiasts are more likely to loan short term, under 12 months, as opposed to long term, over 12 months. 

We do also need to keep in mind that a major draw of Kiva itself is the ability to make that $25 go father than it ever has before with traditional charity outlets.  One attraction to Kiva apart from the personal involvement, is the ability to re-loan...when people truly grasp that reality and concept and the feelings and emotions it conjurs up and instills in them I would tend to think that they would begin seeking out shorter term loans to better satisfy the growing urge that may have initially brought them to Kiva--the ability to re-loan is the draw, and re-loaning as often as possible, (best accomplished through short term loans), is partially what keeps many returning for more.

[Ingvar]

Interesting point, Steve! In a longer perspective, as more and more lenders are affected by this, there will be a tendency toward preferring shorter terms.

I certainly notice this in myself. Although I ignore term while I'm choosing loans, when after the choice I discover that I've happened on a short term, I really like this. Although a long term also gives me a nice sense of satisfaction, knowing that my $25 will have more impact, this is much more abstract and theoretical, it's not the same satisfying feeling.

[Antonia]

, I do agree that Kiva enthusiasts are more likely to loan short term, under 12 months, as opposed to long term, over 12 months. 

I agree that short term loans are more attractive but now and then I give my $25 more time - just made the longest loan ever........ http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=50332&_tpos=5&_tpg=1http://
I like the idea to see this peaceful picture every month when Muhammad (!!!) hopefully repays his share
Antonia 

[KivanSteven]

Thats about as long as they get Antonia   I think as long as the MFIs keep the 18-24 month loans attractive to the lender, they will fund without much extra fuss.

[waywardcats]

That could be Ingvar, Im not sure we can offer any hard evidence of your point or mine, but I will concede to your point; however, I do agree that Kiva enthusiasts are more likely to loan short term, under 12 months, as opposed to long term, over 12 months. 

For myself, being new to lending, at first I also didn't look at loan terms and just went for the connections.  Then I realized that I didn't want to wait that long to re-lend, so I searched for a few shorter term loans. 

Now that I have loaned as much as I can safely have out there, and will need to rely on re-lending for my fix, I at least only have a few months to wait.

However, I am going to strive to keep as balanced a portfolio as possible, including loan terms.  A few long term loans in my portfolio will make for a nice balance, even if I don't get my lending fix as often on that portion of my Kiva fund.

Just my 10 cents...

[KivanSteven]

Thats similar to the pattern I followed.  I dont recall the length of my first 3 loans, but after I used those to test out the Kiva waters a bit, I really got into lending--all thanks due to KF really--everyone was so energetic and engaging here that it was like an epiphany for me to get out there and lend away. 

I started loaning solely based on how much potential there was for a personal connection with an entrepreneur.  Then as time went on and I became even more involved in lending, I started seeking out some shorter terms, usually in the 6-9 month range, due to the fact that I was eager to relend frequently.  After I had several handfulls of shorter duration loans, I realized that I was able to seek out longer term loans if desireable because I would, in a few months, have a decent stream of re-loans to tame the craving for lending.

Now I maintain a steady mix of 6-12 month loans with a few that fall below or above that range.  Kiva cant come out and market their organization by saying its about feeding our personal cravings and obsessions for loaning, but I think they had their fingers crossed once things took off that that was exactly the mentality that would help drive some of their success in the microfinance arena--and Im sure they dont mind one bit the late night loan to go along with the late night snack.

[saabnet]

When I find loans on Kiva.org by repayment term, just under the Sort By box is a nice little RSS feed button (Save this search as a feed:), but when I click on it, I always get this error when trying to add the live feed to my Firefox (version 2 and 3):

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it.

Is anyone else having this same problem with the RSS feeds for finding loans? I don't use an external RSS reader, so I'm not really interested in that. I want it in my browser.

-Scott