6 KPIs Every Subprime Lender MUST Track or Risk Catastrophe!
“The street-smart playbook for payday loan profits without getting your butt handed to you.”
If you’re still lending money the same way you did five years ago, you’re already bleeding and you don’t even know it yet.
While regulators, algorithms, and fintech cowboys are rewriting the rules of payday lending, most operators are sleepwalking toward extinction.
This isn’t just another blog post.
It’s a tactical, field-tested survival guide for anyone still bold enough to lend to strangers and smart enough to want to profit without getting their butt handed to them.
Miss this, and don’t say you weren’t warned.
Before you fund another loan, you need to ask yourself one brutal question: Are you flying blind?
Because in payday lending, it’s not just about how much money you put on the street, it’s about how fast, how often, and how predictably it comes back.
That’s where KPIs come in.
Not the fluffy metrics your LMS vendor brags about, but the non-negotiables that separate high-margin operators from cash-burning amateurs.
These are the payday loan KPIs you must track daily or risk bleeding profit, compliance, and market share by the hour.
Just a few Subprime Lending KPIs YOU Must Track for Success!
💸 1. Fundings: Your Daily Pulse Check
If you’re not counting how much cash you’re deploying every day, you’re not running a payday loan business, you’re guessing.
Daily fundings tell you how well your team is closing, how hot your lead funnel is, and how fast your capital is turning.
What to track:
Number of loans funded × Average loan amount.Example:
62 loans funded × $350 = $21,700 deployedWhy it matters:
Fundings are the first domino. Screw this up, and none of the other KPIs matter.
🔁 2. Roll Rate: The Iceberg Beneath Your Portfolio
This is where your loan book whispers, “We’ve got a problem.”
Roll rates show how many loans are sliding into deeper delinquency buckets; today’s late payers are tomorrow’s charge-offs.
What to track:
Loans going from 1–30 days late to 31–60 days late.Example:
40 out of 160 delinquent loans rolled forward = 25% roll rateWhy it matters:
Roll rates predict your future losses. And the future’s already here.
❌ 3. Default Curve: The Truth About Your Vintage
Every month of origin tells a different story.
Default curves track what percent of loans from a specific month have gone belly-up over time.
This is your underwriting’s report card.
What to track:
Cumulative defaults per month-of-origination (aka vintage).Example:
April vintage: 320 loans → 48 defaulted = 15% cumulative defaultWhy it matters:
Bad vintages = bad underwriting, bad marketing, or both. Spot the pattern before it kills your cash flow.
💰 4. Recovery Percentage: Your Second Chance at Profit
Just because a loan defaulted doesn’t mean it’s dead.
Recovery rate tells you how much money you claw back from the abyss through collections, settlements, and legal work.
What to track:
Dollars recovered ÷ Defaulted principal.Example:
$9,000 recovered from $60,000 defaulted = 15% recoveryWhy it matters:
Every percent recovered adds real dollars to your bottom line. Ignore this at your own expense.
🔥 5. Charge-Off Rate: The Final Autopsy
When it’s gone, it’s gone.
Charge-offs are loans you’ve officially written off.
High charge-off rates scream operational dysfunction, poor underwriting, weak collections, or bad lead sources.
What to track:
Charged-off loans ÷ Total loans originated.Example:
25 charge-offs from 500 loans = 5% charge-off rateWhy it matters:
Keep this low, or you’re just giving away money with a bow on it.
🚨 6. First Payment Default Rate (FPD): The Canary in Your Coal Mine
This is the red flag that waves before your loan even has a chance.
FPD tells you how many borrowers ghost you right after funding; no payment, no intention, no shame.
What to track:
Number of FPD loans ÷ Total loans funded.Example:
12 FPDs out of 300 = 4% FPD rateWhy it matters:
If they default before paying once, it’s not lending—it’s charity.
Get our complete list of KPIs that matter!
If you’re serious about lending money to strangers without getting your butt handed to you, these KPIs aren’t optional, they’re your lifeline.
Track them.
Obsess over them.
Build your entire operation around them.
The payday loan business isn’t for the timid, the lazy, or the clueless.
But if you want to master the game, I’ve already built the playbook.
Grab your copy of my 500+ page payday loan “bible”—the most comprehensive, brutally honest guide ever written on how to loan money to strangers profitably.
And while you’re at it, download the FREE KPI Cheat Sheet that top operators use to grow faster, collect smarter, and dominate their markets.
👉 Click here to get the Payday Loan Bible + KPI Cheat Sheet now.
(Your competitors already did.)
🔍 Frequently Asked Questions About Lending KPIs & Loan Performance Metrics
Q: What am I actually getting with this payday loan KPI guide and cheat sheet?
A: You’re getting a proven, no-fluff KPI system used by top-performing payday lenders and subprime loan operators.
This cheat sheet shows you exactly how to track your loan performance metrics, calculate real-world portfolio health, and avoid costly mistakes.
Q: Why do I need to track payday loan KPIs? Can’t I just rely on reports or gut instinct?
A: Relying on gut feeling is the fast track to charge-offs and compliance headaches. Loan KPIs are your business’s early warning system.
They prevent losses, improve portfolio performance, and give you a strategic edge in the short-term lending industry.
Q: I’m new to short-term lending. Which KPIs should I track first?
A: Start with the “Core 6”: Daily Fundings, First Payment Default Rate, Roll Rate, Charge-Off Rate, Recovery Rate, and Default Curve.
These are your front-line metrics for protecting capital in a payday loan business.
Q: Are these KPIs relevant to both online payday lenders and storefront operators?
A: 100%. Whether you run a storefront payday loan operation or an online lending platform, the same KPIs apply.
These metrics enable you to measure borrower behavior, loan cycle risk, and revenue per customer, regardless of the channel.
Q: How often should payday loan KPIs be measured and reviewed?
A: Daily for fundings, defaults, and delinquency rates.
Weekly or monthly for vintage performance, customer retention, and marketing ROI.
The KPI Cheat Sheet includes exact timing recommendations for each metric.
Q: I’m a one-person payday lender. Can I still use these KPIs effectively?
A: Absolutely.
Many independent lenders use a simple KPI spreadsheet or cloud dashboard to track these metrics.
What matters is consistency. The cheat sheet makes it easy to start, whether you’re working with or without a team.
Q: What’s the 500+ Page Payday Loan “Bible” and how does it help me?
A: It’s the most comprehensive guide ever created for subprime lenders.
Inside, you’ll find strategies for underwriting, collections, compliance, lead generation, state laws, and loan management software.
The KPIs are just the beginning.
Q: What makes this KPI cheat sheet better than a regular loan software dashboard?
A: Loan management software shows data.
The cheat sheet shows you what to do with it.
It’s designed to help payday loan businesses identify problems early, adjust strategy, and drive profitability.
Q: Will using these KPIs guarantee that I succeed in payday lending?
A: No guarantees.
However, the best payday lenders utilize these performance metrics daily.
They know that what gets measured gets managed.
This cheat sheet gives you the same edge if you act on it.
Q: What should I do after I download the Payday Loan KPI Cheat Sheet?
A: Pick your 6 most critical KPIs, set up a simple tracker, and monitor them every day.
Use the cheat sheet during team huddles, review funding trends, roll rates, and collection performance, and fix what’s broken before it breaks you.
