| Doc. Number | Article Title | Effective Date | Version |
| FHC-XX | Lending USA Fresh Start Loan (FSL) | October 22, 2025 | 1.1 |
This article addresses how the Lending USA (LUSA) Fresh Start Loan (FSL) program works for Forth clients and is divided into the following sections:
Preliminary Steps
To begin, the Forth Customer must enroll in a Debt Settlement Relief Program (DSRP) of their choice and then debit into the DSRP program as defined by their payment schedule.
Establishing Field Mappings
For those with access to Integrations settings, log in to the CRM, click the Admin tab near the top right side of the page, and then select “Integrations” from the Navigation Bar (see below).
Now, click on “LUSA FSL” (shown below), located under the “Currently Enabled” section, to configure credentials for LUSA FSL.
Credentials
On the Credentials Page, complete the following fields:
- Client ID: Your unique ID provided by Lending USA.
- Client Secret: Your secret key provided by Lending USA.
- FORTH API Key: Your API key for the FORTH system.
- Merchant ID (MID): Your merchant ID to be used in API requests.
- Live URL: Leave this field empty to use the Lending USA staging/testing environment (https://luwa.staging.lendingusa.com). Enter the official production URL provided by Lending USA when you are ready to go live.
At the bottom of the Credentals page, check the Event Subscription indicator. It should show as "Active." This ensures that you will automatically receive loan status updates from Lending USA. If it is not active, the credentials may need to be re-saved to trigger the subscription process.
Mapping
A Mapping section is available from the Credentials drop-down menu (see below) to set up mappings that tie to an appropriate CRM field.
When you select Mappings you may either edit an existing set (by clicking on a listing under “Set Name”) or create a new set (see the button on the top right of the image below). For our example, we will click the “Create a New Set” button.
From this page, assign a name to this particular mapping by clicking on the small pencil image next to the word “New” at the top left of the page.
Next, assign a mapping to the “Requested Amount” shown by first clicking on the word “Select” and then selecting “Loan Amount” from the dropdown menu that will appear (see the red arrow shown in the image above).
NOTE: “Loan Amount” is a custom field and will not appear in any other account unless users create such a field. Users will then need to add it to the intake form for it to appear on the contact.
If you edit, the page will appear like the one below.
The "Loan Amount" custom field is a required field as it is used to pre-populate the LUSA FSL page. Be sure that a dollar amount is added to this particular custom field.
Determining Customer Eligibility
During the enrollment process, you can check if a customer is eligible for a LendingUSA Forward Settlement Loan (FSL). This loan is an alternative to our standard debt settlement program.
If the customer is not interested in the loan option, they can proceed with the normal Forth debt settlement program.
How to Submit a Loan Eligibility Request for One Customer
If the Customer is interested in the LUSA FSL option, Follow these steps to submit a customer's information for the LendingUSA FSL loan option.
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Log in to the CRM and navigate to the Contacts tab.
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Find the customer's record. You can search for an existing customer using their User ID in the search field at the top left of the page, or you can create a new contact profile.
NOTE: To continue, be sure that the customer is enrolled in a Debt Settlement Resolution Program (DRSP). Otherwise the option to submit to LendingUSA FSL will not be available. -
Once you're on the customer's client dashboard page, click the Loans nested tab (i.e., subtab) in the menu ribbon (see image below) to begin the eligibility request.
The Loans nested tab will open a page like the one shown below.
Click the Qualify LendingUSA FSL Applicant button associated with "LendingUSA (-)". A "Submit A Contact" popup will then appear, pre-filled with the client's information pulled directly from their FORTH CRM record. This includes:
- Name, Address, and Contact Information
- Date of Birth
- Current Escrow Balance
- Requested Loan Amount (pulled from the field you mapped in the setup)
IMPORTANT: DO NOT click any button associated with “LendingUSA-Direct-to-Consumer.” That is another program entirely.
Confirm that all the information listed is accurate, and click the "Submit" button (see highlighted button above). The system will then send your information to Lending USA.
How to Submit a Loan Eligibility Request for a List of Contacts
FORTH now runs a daily automated job to pre-qualify contacts in bulk. FORTH can review a specified contact list, checking the pre-qualification status for each contact and updating their record accordingly. This can help eliminates the need for manual, case-by-case checks and streamlines the process of identifying qualified loan candidates. For more information on this feature, contact support@forthcrm.com.
Qualified or Not Qualified
If the Customer qualifies, their History Nested tab (subtab) and Loans Nested Tab are automatically updated to show that the Customer has been created as a prospect in the LUSA system. This lets you proceed to the next step (see image below).
History Nested Tab:
Loans Nested Tab:
At this stage, go to the "Loans" nested tab and click the Submit LendingUSA FSL Application button (see highlighted button in the image above). That's it! Lending USA will send the application directly to the end consumer, and the FORTH system will automatically "listen for" and record any status changes that occur.
These are recorded via the History nested tab and the Loans nested tab.
History nested tab
Loans nested tab
Qualification Unsuccessful
If the contact fails LUSA's pre-qualification, you will receive a notice with details on the reason, like the example shown below, under your History nested tab.
AND (using the example above), your Loans subtab will show the following status:
Resubmittal or Delete Options
If you have a canceled or rejected application to the LUSA FSL, there is an option available to either resubmit the existing application or to delete this application entirely.
First, if you decide to make any corrections/adjustments to your client's record, you can click the "Resubmit LendingUSA FSL Application" button, to proceed after making your adjustments.
Second, to delete the loan submission entirely, click the "Delete Loan Submission" button (see image above). You will receive the following warning popup to confirm your intent to delete.
NOTE: This action requires the Delete Loan Submissions permission to be enabled for the user's role.
Offers
Once Lending USA has received the application from Forth, they will send the loan application to the consumer at the email address listed on the contact dashboard. That application will be accessible via hyperlink.
Once your consumer completes all information and submits the application, they will receive confirmation that LUSA will review the application. The contact's History nested tab will be automatically updated within the Contact's record in the CRM contact with this information (see image below).
From this point forward, the Forth system will receive status updates from LUSA and display them in the Client Dashboard (see the "Pre-Approved" example on the History Nested Tab (first image below) and the Loans Nested Tab example (second image below).
In addition to "Pre-Approved" here is a list of other possible statuses per the LUSA API:
App Initiated
App Received
Duplicate
Declined
Withdrawn
Expired
Underwriting Review
Approved
Contract Sent
Contract Signed
Need More Info
Funded
Canceled
Pre-Qualified
Qualified
Prospect
Disqualified
Funding Process
The next step is the funding process. Forth will receive a report via email, that will include the files to be funded and their respected amounts. Each report will be structured to include the following :
- Number of Funded Loans
- How Often and the Number of People receiving this report
- Borrower Name
- Client ID
- Amount Financed
- Funded Date
- Loan Number
- Reference ID
- merchant_displayname, and
- fsl_custodianname
NOTE: The fields listed above are provided by Lending USA and are subject to change.
Contact List Search for LUSA FSL Status
The List Builder feature (available via the Contacts Module/Tab) includes a filter for "Lending USA FSL Status," allowing you to easily create contact lists based on the current status of a consumer's loan application with LUSA. You can also add the loan status as a displayable field on your contact lists. This makes it easier to track and manage contacts as they move through the LUSA FSL loan process.
Article Version History:
| Version | Effective Date | Description |
| Basic | 05/23/2022 | Initial Release |
| 0.1 | 01/20/2023 | Added header and version control footer; Replaced references to DPP with Forth for rebranding. |
| 0.2 | 06/05/2023 | Confirmed the content is accurate with subject matter expert. |
| 0.3 | 06/22/2023 | Updated four screenshots to reflect the current user interface. |
| 0.4 | 07/05/2023 | Removed extraneous information |
| 0.5 | 06/10/2024 | Minor formatting tweaks; |
| 0.6 | 06/16/2025 | Refreshed initial screenshot to better reflect the current user interface; no subject matter changes were made. |
| 0.7 | 08/07/2025 | Added Mappings section to highlight the significance of the "Loan Amount" custom field. |
| 0.8 | 08/26/2025 | Added "Funding Process" section at the end of the article. |
| 0.9 | 09/25/2025 | Updated article to reflect nuances to LUSA FSL 3.0 updates. |
| 1.0 | 10/15/2025 | Final updates to reflect 3.0 updates and updates table of content. |
| 1.1 | 10/22/2025 | Added section describing the ability to search for LUSA FSL Status in Contact Lists; refreshed one screenshot to reflect interface update; split up the Determining Eligibility section to include reviewing a contact list for eligible customers. |