Backfill - should this term be used on Kiva loan pages?

[Guest]

.

[tdcheetah]

I think this is a great suggestion.  Makes the most sense to use replenish in reference to the MFI/FP and not the loan.

Not that anyone's counting votes *looks around*, but I also love "replenish" as a replacement term.  It really makes it sound like lenders are filling the MFI back up with something positive.  Plenty, plentiful, plenitude, horn of plenty... all good stuff.

"Backfill", while an accurate coinage and description, unfort has too much the echo of its close cousin: "landfill". 


Lee

[tdcheetah]

Dan, as Gerard told me this week, he has agreed that it would be best to add some hovertext or pop-up link from the word "backfill", which would explain what was meant by the term.  I suggested other alternatives, but they were all too long to fit in the space available, so the link idea was the best ready alternative for now.  I hope he will go ahead and get this implemented before Christmas, which I understood to be his goal.

--Diane.

Oh, if it's just a matter of the space available...

If that extraneous and clumsy "be used for" wording can just get dropped from the phrase, then it seems like there would be room for a verb of more than 8 letters. 

3 ideas, none any longer than the original.

Your funds will be used to backfill this loan.
Your funds will refill this loan for the MFI.
Your funds will replenish the MFI loan.
Your funds will refinance this loan.

See, folks, I can write short stuff on occasion. 


Lee

[AccountAbility]

In replying, I took the liberty of suggesting that you all could probably come up with lots of suggestions to improve "backfill".

Gerard - If you are serious about better alternatives, let Kiva Friends know and they will be happy to gush possibilities!

Dan

Well, folks you have lived up to expectations! 

To be clear about the terms I first suggested, let me put them into a full sentence.

"The Field Partner will often "advance" the funds for this loan.  When Kiva Lenders fully fund this loan, they will "reimburse" this advance."

(I am very sympathetic to Kiva's need to be careful about using financial terms.)

I do agree with Jill that the desire to be total transparent in the details makes for a lot of "noise" in the visual impression.  I think Kiva needs to seriously take quite a bit of these small details and put them under a clearly marked link.

An example of this is the repayment schedule, which has three levels of detail for those who desire it.  First there is the "more info" link to the right of the Repayment Term field.  Second, that link brings you to the "Repayment Schedule".  Third, there is the link on the right, "Show Advanced" which outlines the details.

Date of disbursal, Date Posted on Kiva, Date Funded may all be important pieces of information but they are not particularly critical for giving a sense of the loan, the borrower and his/her situation.

They probably could do the same with the "risk" issues-- currency risk, default risk and the star ratings.

I hope Kiva does not act in knee jerk fashion to some questionable publicity, but carefully moves in the right direction of keeping the lender experience clean, while "backfilling" some of the details in readily viewable links.

Dan

[waywardcats]

3 ideas, none any longer than the original.

Your funds will be used to backfill this loan.
Your funds will refill this loan for the MFI.
Your funds will replenish the MFI loan.
Your funds will refinance this loan.

I would like to add this suggestion which also fits into the original number of characters.

Your funds will be used to backfill this loan.
Your funds will reimburse the Field Partner.
Repayments on this loan will go to you.

-Kerry-

[Diane R]

I really like that simple, elegant suggestion.

--Diane.

[granite]

I don't mind the backfill terminology.  I would say that Kiva is using common English rather than banking terminology which helps make the site a bit more approachable by those turned off by banking words.  Backfill does paint a nice image in at least my mind.  I think waywards suggestion of reimburse works as well.  Overall my suggestion is to keep the language as plain as possible on the "entry level" pages and perhaps give more technical descriptions in the help pages and footnotes.

[Alaska Pack]

In the midst of the backfill controversy, the word or the meaning, there is a MFI that uses very little, fill that is.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=4&status=fundRaising&sortBy=New+to+Old

Currently only 1 of the 4 has been funded in advance.   Their interest rate to the entrepreneurs is 8% which is one of the lowest on Kiva.  Although it is a 1 star MFI, my experience with SEM has been good.  No defaults, no delinquencies, now watch I have jinxed myself.  There is 75% funding to women and 75% journal coverage.  It makes me wonder why the 1 star rating, other then what is written under the Kiva notes section.  (Maybe one of the wise KF souls can enlighten me.)  It seems though, that it can take a month for the entrepreneur to get the money. 

SEM, from their website seems to do a lot more then finance the entrepreneurs.

http://www.sem-fund.org/

And for those of you wondering about those eco-villages:

http://gensenegal.org/

Bernice 

[waywardcats]

Great feedback above!  Truly - fantastic stuff, and hugely appreciated.

Let's start a separate thread for the wording of the backfill phrasing... or maybe resurrect the old one floating around?  It'd be great to focus this thread on the redesign effort!

John

Here is the original "backfill" discussion for new ideas.

-Kerry-

[alan]

I would like to add this suggestion which also fits into the original number of characters.

Your funds will be used to backfill this loan.
Your funds will reimburse the Field Partner.
Repayments on this loan will go to you.

-Kerry-

 

[AccountAbility]

With so much energy going into the "look" of the website right now, I would like to see more energy put into trying to address the question of how to communicate best to both the newby casual lender as well as to those who seek to understand the details behind the basic concepts. Backfill is awkward, but of lesser concern than getting the point across.  It's too easy for the phrase to lead potential lenders to say, "hey, the borrower already has his money, I guess they don't need mine."

Dan