Kiva Help

Payment Schedule

1. How do repayments work?
2. Expected Repayments
3. Actual Repayments
4. Comments

1. How do repayments work?:
   Kiva's repayment system is designed to accurately reflect the way that our Field Partners collect funds from the entrepreneurs that you've supported with loans.
   
   
   
   When one of Kiva's Field Partners uploads an entrepreneur's loan request to Kiva, they set the anticipated repayment dates for the loan and the date that the loan is set to be disbursed to the entrepreneur. This repayment schedule can be monthly, once at the end of the loan term, or whatever most accurately reflects the way that the entrepreneur will be making repayments.
   
   
   
   Our Field Partners have until the end of the month that each anticipated repayment is due to let Kiva know whether or not they actually collected the repayment. Once we have all of this information, we use it to generate a bill to charge our Field Partners for all of the repayments they collected that month.
   
   
   
   To speed things up and to minimize the number of wire transfers being sent overseas, Kiva works on a net billing system. This means that, for any given month, we subtract the amount of repayments that a Field Partner owes to Kiva lenders from the amount that a Field Partner fundraises for entrepreneurs on Kiva.
   
   
   
   If the balance is positive, that means that the Field Partner has raised more than they need to repay, and we use those funds to credit your lender account with the repayments due to you.
   
   
   
   If the balance is negative, then the Field Partner has to send us a payment for the balance. As soon as we receive that payment, we use those funds to credit your lender account with the repayments due to you.
   
   
   
   Once the repayment is made into your Kiva account, you can re-lend the funds, donate them to Kiva's operating expenses, purchase a gift certificate or withdraw them into a PayPal account.
   
   
   
   Currency Conversion
   
   While Kiva loans are often made to entrepreneurs in local currency denominations, all transfers of money between Kiva and the Field Partner are conducted in US Dollars.
   
   
   For loans in which currency exchange loss is possible (information which you can find under the "About the Loan" section on the Entrepreneur's profile page), there is a chance that the lender will take a loss on the repayment if the US Dollar appreciates by more than 10% against the local currency. When such a loss occurs, the amount lost is listed in the Advanced view of the schedule, along with a link to learn more about the details of the loss.
   
   
   For more on Currency Exchange Loss, visit Kiva's Help Center.
   
2. Expected Repayments:
   This is the principal repayment schedule uploaded by the Field Partner at the point that the loan is posted. It outlines when the Field Partner expects to collect principal repayments from the entrepreneur.
   
   
   Note that this doesn't include interest, which may be charged by the Field Partner to the entrepreneur.
   
3. Actual Repayments:
   These are the actual repayments made by the Entrepreneur to the Field Partner and from the Field Partner to Kiva. Once we receive the repayments from the Field Partner, we deposit them into your Kiva account.
   
4. Comments:
   This field will show you the status of any repayment. It can be:
   
   
   

   
   
   • Repayment Received: Kiva received the repayment and returned the funds to Kiva lenders.
   
   
   • Delinquent: The due date for the repayment has passed and the funds have not been returned to Kiva lenders. This can be due either to the Entrepreneur or Field Partner falling behind on repayment. Click "Show Advanced" on the repayment schedule to see an explanation of why the repayment is late.
   
   
   • Entrepreneur behind in repayment: The Field Partner has reported not collecting the funds from the Entrepreneur.
   
   
   • Field partner behind in repayment: The Field Partner has reported fully collecting funds from the Entrepreneur but hasn't sent them to Kiva.
   
   
   • $X lost to currency fluctuation: The U.S. Dollar has appreciated severely relative to the local currency, causing the entrepreneur's repayment to be worth less than expected. While the Field Partner covered the cost in local currency of the first 10% of appreciation, the remainder was passed on as a loss to lenders.