Sonic Cash

• Matching Service
• Instant Pre-Approval

Matching Service

According to the information still up on the Sonic Cash website, Sonic Cash matches approved applicants with one of their 60+ lenders for loans that generally range between $300 and $1,000. The loans are usually paid back over 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the lender's policies and the borrower's payday schedule. Interest rates and additional fees will also vary from lender to lender and depend on the amount borrowed and repayment term length. In order to apply, customers must meet the following requirements:

• Employment: verifiable source of income for at least 1 month
• Income: net income of at least $800 per month
• Other Loans: no more than two outstanding loans with other companies
• Account: valid checking account with a positive balance
• Age: minimum of 18 years old

Instant Pre-Approval

Applications can be submitted online (or, previously, over the phone) and initial pre-approval is received instantly. Funds can be distributed as soon as the next business day. The application asks customers for:

• Requested loan amount
• Checking account (yes/no)
• Personal information: name, address, length of time at address, phone number(s), email address(es), birthdate, social security number, driver's license number
• Employment information: employer name and phone number, type of income, military (yes/no), length of employment, job title, payday frequency and the dates of the next two paydays, paycheck amount and how it is received
• Financial information: bank name and phone number, length of time with bank, routing number, account number

• Third Party Lender
• High APRs
• Security Seal Issues

Third Party Lender

Because Sonic Cash was not a direct lender, they did not control the specific terms or fees for each loan. However, they do state on their website that borrowers can expect to be charged anywhere from $10 to $30 interest for every $100 borrowed, which equates to annual interest rates of 261% to 1,304% APR.

High APRs

Interest is calculated on the entire repayment term, regardless of an early loan payoff. While these rates are normal for the payday loan industry, they are drastically higher than interest rates for other types of funding, and customer can expect to pay quite a bit of money just in interest fees. Loans are generally due to be paid in full on the borrower's next payday. However, is appears that online customers are automatically enrolled in a renewal program in which only the minimum payment will be withdrawn until the customer requests that the loan (plus fees) be paid in full. While this may sound like a convenient system, it is a way for the lending company to collect even more than the usual amount of fees and interest charges, and will cost customers much more money than they originally borrowed.

Security Seal Issues

While the Sonic Cash website is still functional and can potentially be used to connect borrowers to lenders, it is not up-to-date in terms of information or security. The website appears provide customers with several resources and informational pages about loans and about the company, including:

• Payday Loan Resources
• Payday vs. Tax Refund Loan
• Non-payment Policy
• Disclosures
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Fraudulent Collections Alert
• About Us

However, each of these pages contains only the same filler text instead of any real information. Additionally, the Norton VeriSign and McAfee Secure seals do not link to security verification pages as they should. This indicates that the seals may be simply pasted there without any of the security actually in place. Because the company is out of business, if there are any questions, concerns, or difficulties that arise, there is no customer service department to help. Emails do not receive any response and while the phone is still connected, callers will be on hold indefinitely.