# Hearth vs GreenSky: What the Rate Sheet Shows

> Hearth and GreenSky are different machines. GreenSky administers bank loans and charges you a merchant fee per plan: a December 2023 rate sheet shows 5.85 to 33.6 percent, averaging 6.47 percent in 2021. Hearth is software over 18 lenders, charges a flat $1,499 to $4,999 a year and buys down no rates, but the loan money goes to the homeowner, not to you.

- Canonical URL: https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/hearth-vs-greensky
- Author: Om Patel
- Published: 2026-09-23
- Topic: Growth

Every page ranking for "Hearth vs GreenSky" is either written by Hearth or quotes numbers nobody can trace. Hearth's own pages give three different figures for what GreenSky costs you: 3 to 10 percent on one comparison page, "10 to 20 percent plus" on another, and 7 to 15 percent in an older FAQ. An affiliate review says 7 to 15 percent. A roofing software blog says 3 to 12 percent and that GreenSky is backed by Goldman Sachs, which stopped being true in March 2024.

So this comparison starts from primary documents instead: a real GreenSky merchant rate sheet, GreenSky's last annual report to the SEC, the CFPB's consent order, the 2024 ownership announcement and Hearth's own pricing and lender pages. If you want the wider field of lenders first, our breakdown of [contractor financing companies compared](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/contractor-financing-companies-compared) covers twelve of them. This one is the head-to-head.

- **They are different machines.** GreenSky administers bank loans and charges you per transaction. Hearth is software over roughly 18 outside lenders and charges a flat annual subscription.
- **A real GreenSky rate sheet runs 5.85 to 33.60 percent.** The December 2023 sheet an HVAC dealer posted publicly prices 12 months no interest at 7.60 percent and a 2.99 percent APR over 144 months at 33.60 percent.
- **GreenSky's own average was 6.47 percent in 2021**, down from 7.13 percent in 2020, per its annual report.
- **Hearth buys down nothing.** No per-loan fee, but no 0 percent promo either unless you add a separate card product. Customers see market APRs, from 7.99 percent.
- **The money flows differently.** GreenSky pays you within two business days of the customer's authorization. Hearth's lenders pay the homeowner, who then pays you.
- **Ownership changed.** A Sixth Street-led group bought GreenSky from Goldman Sachs on March 15, 2024.
- **Each has a known failure mode.** GreenSky's is the 2021 CFPB order on unauthorized loans. Hearth's is a steady run of contractor complaints about auto-renewals and customers who do not qualify.

## Hearth vs GreenSky: the short answer

**GreenSky is the better tool when you sell big tickets to prime-credit homeowners and want to offer a true 0 percent promotion. Hearth is the better tool when your customers' credit is mixed, you finance often enough to beat the subscription, and you would rather not pay a percentage of every financed job.**

- **Choose GreenSky** for promotional financing on replacement-sized tickets, where a 6 or 12 month no-interest plan closes the deal and a 5.85 to 7.60 percent fee is a price you already build into your quotes.
- **Choose Hearth** for a soft-pull first look across multiple lenders, when you run enough financed volume that a flat fee beats a percentage.
- **Run both** if your book spans both profiles. They are not substitutes: one buys a rate, the other shops for one.

## Head-to-head comparison

| | GreenSky | Hearth |
|---|---|---|
| **What it is** | Program administrator and servicer for bank-funded installment loans | Contractor sales software connecting homeowners to about 18 lenders |
| **Who lends** | Federally insured banks, with Synovus Bank in the program since 2015 | Third-party lenders; Hearth says it does not lend |
| **Your cost** | Merchant fee per transaction, 5.85% to 33.60% on the December 2023 sheet | Annual subscription, $1,499 to $4,999 per Hearth's GreenSky page |
| **0% promos** | Core product: no-interest and deferred-interest plans | Not through the loan marketplace; separate 0% card offer |
| **Customer credit** | 780 weighted average score on 2021 originations | Hearth advertises scores from 550 served |
| **Who receives the loan money** | You, after the customer authorizes each payment | The homeowner, who then pays you |
| **Funding speed** | Within two business days of authorization | Funds to homeowner 2 to 7 days after approval, per Hearth |
| **Progress payments** | Yes, up to a staged funding limit | Your own deposit and draw schedule |
| **Regulatory history** | 2021 CFPB consent order | No CFPB action found; BBB complaints on renewals |
| **Owner** | Sixth Street-led consortium since March 2024 | Private company |

## GreenSky

**Best for:** established shops selling replacement and remodel tickets to prime-credit homeowners who want a real no-interest offer.

**Pricing:** a merchant fee on every transaction, set by the plan code. GreenSky does not publish a schedule; its [merchant FAQ](https://www.greensky.com/merchant-faq/) only says you "pay a small fee each time you run a transaction" and are invoiced monthly for the prior month. The only full sheet we could verify is one [effective December 1, 2023](https://www.oncallair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GreenSky-Rate-Sheet-12.01.2023.pdf), posted by an HVAC company on its own website.

GreenSky is not a lender. It describes itself as a "third party service provider and program administrator" to federally insured banks, and its [SEC filings](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1712923/000171292322000012/gsky-20211231.htm) list loan origination agreements with Synovus, Fifth Third and BMO Harris, among others. You enrol as a merchant, customers apply under your merchant number, and the bank's credit criteria decide. The business was built on promotional credit: the 2021 annual report says the majority of loans carried deferred-interest or reduced-rate terms, with an average loan of about $11,000.

**Pros**
- A genuine 0 percent offer. Six plans on the 2023 sheet are "no interest" with payments, from 6 to 24 months.
- Fast, direct funding. GreenSky says payment arrives within two business days of the customer authorizing it, and the rate sheet says no certificate of completion is required.
- Progress payments up to a staged funding limit, which matters on multi-week jobs.
- Scale: more than 10,000 merchants and nearly 6 million consumers served, per the 2024 ownership announcement.

**Cons**
- The fee climbs fast with term. The same sheet runs from 5.85 percent to 33.60 percent.
- Built for strong credit. The 2021 weighted average credit score on originations was 780, and over 90 percent of the servicing portfolio sat above 700.
- Side fees: the 2023 sheet adds $35 in any month your funded volume is under $3,500, plus the greater of $30 or 5 percent on returned merchant-fee payments.
- Deferred interest is a trap for the homeowner who misses the payoff date. The post-promo APR on those plans is 17.99 to 26.99 percent.

**Our verdict:** the stronger product for promotional financing on big tickets, as long as you choose the plan code deliberately and price it in before you quote.

## Hearth

**Best for:** contractors with mixed-credit customers who want a soft-pull first look and finance often enough to justify a flat subscription.

**Pricing:** an annual subscription with no per-loan fee. The [Hearth pricing page](https://gethearth.com/pricing/) lists three tiers (Hearth Pro, Pro plus Harper AI, and Enterprise) without prices. Hearth's own [GreenSky comparison page](https://gethearth.com/greensky-vs-hearth/) gives $1,499 to $4,999 a year.

Hearth is software, not a lender. Its [loans page](https://gethearth.com/loans/) says it "doesn't provide homeowners with loans directly" and connects them to a network of 18 lender partners. The homeowner fills in one form, sees pre-qualified personal loan offers with no credit impact, then applies with the lender they choose, which may run a hard pull. Pre-qualification covers loans up to $250,000 over 1 to 12 years, and Hearth says rates start at 7.99 percent. Around that sits a sales app: quotes with monthly payments built in, contracts, invoicing, Hearth Pay and the Harper AI receptionist.

**Pros**
- No percentage of the job. The cost is fixed however much you finance.
- Soft-pull pre-qualification, so checking options costs your customer no credit points.
- Several lenders see one application, which helps borrowers GreenSky's prime-credit box would decline.

**Cons**
- No bought-down rate. A customer with good credit may see an APR they reject, and several contractors say exactly that happened.
- The money lands with the homeowner first, so collection risk comes back to you.
- A lot of complaints about renewals. The r/Contractor threads below and the complaint pattern on Hearth's BBB profile both centre on auto-renewal charges.
- Hearth's own numbers are inconsistent. Its pages cite 17 lenders, 18 lenders and "18+", and three different ranges for GreenSky's fees.

**Our verdict:** a reasonable first-look marketplace at real volume, and an expensive subscription if you finance a handful of jobs a year. Put the renewal date in your calendar on day one.

Most shops cannot say which financing plan each job used, what it cost, or when the money landed. We build CRMs that record the plan code, fee and funding date on every job, so your real margin per financed sale is one report away.

## What GreenSky's rate sheet actually says

The sheet below comes from a GreenSky merchant pricing schedule effective December 1, 2023, labelled pricing group "SG 3.06 All-In". It predates the Sixth Street sale, and fees vary by merchant, so treat it as a real example of the structure, not your price.

| Plan (6-month purchase window) | Customer rate | Term | Merchant fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months no interest, with payments | 0% promo, then 15.99% to 24.99% | 84 months | 5.85% |
| 12 months no interest, with payments | 0% promo, then 17.99% to 26.99% | 84 months | 7.60% |
| 18 months no interest, with payments | 0% promo, then 17.99% to 26.99% | 84 months | 8.85% |
| 24 months no interest, with payments | 0% promo, then 17.99% to 26.99% | 84 months | 13.00% |
| 12 months deferred interest, no payments | 17.99% to 26.99% | 84 months | 10.35% |
| 18 months deferred interest, no payments | 17.99% to 26.99% | 84 months | 15.35% |
| Reduced rate 9.99% | 9.99% | 120 months | 10.10% |
| Reduced rate 6.99% | 6.99% | 60 months | 11.60% |
| Reduced rate 5.99% | 5.99% | 144 months | 26.60% |
| Reduced rate 2.99% | 2.99% | 144 months | 33.60% |

**First, you pay for the rate the customer gets.** GreenSky's 2021 annual report spells it out: "Loans with lower interest rates, longer stated maturities and longer promotional periods generally carry relatively higher transaction fee rates." A 2.99 percent loan over 12 years costs you a third of the job because you are pre-paying the interest the bank will not collect.

**Second, the fees do not rise in a straight line.** On this sheet, 15 months no interest costs 11.35 percent while 18 months costs 8.85 percent. Plans are priced one by one, so read the whole sheet before you set a default.

**Third, every competitor range is wrong for someone.** Hearth's "3 to 10 percent" misses most of this sheet. "7 to 15 percent" misses both ends. GreenSky's own blended figure was 6.47 percent in 2021 and 7.13 percent in 2020, which tells you most merchants choose the short promos. That average is the number to hold against a Hearth subscription.

GreenSky's 2021 Form 10-K reports a transaction fee rate of 6.47 percent, down from 7.13 percent in 2020, on $5.9 billion of transaction volume. The company attributed the drop to "the mix of promotional terms of loans originated on our platform."

## The break-even, done honestly

The usual pitch is "a few financed jobs a year and the subscription pays for itself". The arithmetic is simple: divide the subscription by your average fee rate.

| Hearth subscription | At GreenSky's 6.47% average | At the 7.60% 12-month plan |
|---|---|---|
| $1,499 a year | $23,200 financed per year | $19,700 financed per year |
| $4,999 a year | $77,300 financed per year | $65,800 financed per year |

The 2023 GreenSky sheet also adds $35 in any month your funded volume is under $3,500. A low-volume shop that trips it every month pays $420 a year before a single percentage fee, which pulls the entry-level break-even down to about $16,700 of financed work a year at the 6.47 percent average.

Above those volumes a flat fee is cheaper on paper. But that comparison hides the real trade. The GreenSky fee buys your customer a 0 percent offer. The Hearth subscription buys your customer a list of market-rate loans. They are different products, and a cheaper product that closes fewer jobs is not cheaper.

The honest test is close rate. Run both for 60 days on similar jobs and compare net margin per financed sale, not fee per sale. Hearth itself suggests the same parallel trial on its comparison page. If you have never measured what a financing option does to close rate, our guide to [whether you should offer financing](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/should-i-offer-financing-to-my-customers) gives the four numbers to watch.

## Who pays, and when the money moves

**GreenSky pays you.** The customer gets a text or email to approve each transaction, and GreenSky says payment arrives within two business days of that approval. A roofer on r/Roofing described the same thing: "You get paid a few days after via direct deposit after the customer signs a completion document in their portal." The fee is not deducted from the payment. GreenSky invoices you monthly for the previous month's transactions, so set that money aside rather than spending the gross.

**Hearth's lenders pay the homeowner.** Hearth's older FAQ explains the design: the funds go to the homeowner so that you are not liable for the loan, and "working with a homeowner who receives funding through one of Hearth's lending partners is the same as working with a cash-in-hand homeowner." That is good for liability and bad for certainty. The homeowner now holds your money, and nothing forces them to hand it over on your schedule.

Treat a Hearth-financed customer like a cash customer. Take a real [deposit before starting work](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/how-to-collect-a-deposit-before-starting-work), tie the balance to a written [progress payment schedule](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/progress-payment-schedule), and collect before the crew leaves. If you collect by card through Hearth Pay, remember you are now also paying a card processing fee, which is the point our guide to [accepting credit cards as a contractor](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/should-i-accept-credit-cards-as-a-contractor) works through.

## Can you pass the dealer fee to the customer?

Only through your price, and only if the price is the same for everyone. This is where the regulations get specific.

Regulation Z defines the finance charge as costs the consumer pays as a condition of credit, and excludes "any charge of a type payable in a comparable cash transaction". Its list of exclusions, at [12 CFR 1026.4(c)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1026/subpart-A/section-1026.4), includes "seller's points", which is the category a dealer fee paid by the contractor falls into. So the fee never shows in your customer's APR.

That gap is exactly what the CFPB went after in its August 2024 [solar financing report](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/archive/newsroom/cfpb-report-finds-lenders-cramming-markup-fees-and-confusing-terms-into-solar-energy-loans/). It found dealer fees "often increase the loan cost by 30% or more above the cash price", baked into principal "without including them in the stated annual percentage rate", and rarely separated from the cash price. Solar was the target, but the mechanism is identical on any bought-down home improvement loan.

The practical rule for a GreenSky merchant:

1. **One price for cash and financed customers.** Build your expected fee into overhead, the way our guide to [building overhead into your prices](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/how-to-build-overhead-into-my-prices) sets it up, rather than adding it when the customer says "finance".
2. **Pick a default plan and price for it.** A 6 or 12 month promo at 5.85 to 7.60 percent is easy to absorb. A 144-month plan at 33.60 percent is not, and should never be something a salesperson offers to rescue a deal.
3. **Read your merchant agreement** for a price-parity clause. The rate sheet and FAQ do not reproduce the full agreement, and that document governs.

## Ownership and regulatory history

**GreenSky has had three owners in three years.** Goldman Sachs agreed to buy it on September 14, 2021, according to GreenSky's 10-K. On March 15, 2024, [a consortium led by Sixth Street](https://sixthstreet.com/investment_announce/greensky-announces-completion-of-acquisition-by-sixth-street-led-consortium/) with KKR, Bayview Asset Management and CardWorks completed the purchase from Goldman, and GreenSky said it was "deepening its strategic partnership with Synovus Bank". The 2023 rate sheet above still says GreenSky is "a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Bank USA", so if your paperwork says the same, it is out of date.

**The CFPB consent order is the part to understand.** On July 12, 2021 the [CFPB found](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/archive/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-fintech-company-greensky-for-enabling-merchants-to-secure-loans-for-consumers-without-their-authorization/) that GreenSky enabled "contractors and other merchants to take out loans on behalf of thousands of consumers who did not request or authorize them." Between 2014 and 2019 GreenSky received at least 6,000 complaints from consumers who said they never authorized an application, and its own investigations found merchants at fault in at least 1,600. The order required up to $9 million in refunds and cancellations, a $2.5 million penalty, and verification of identity and authorization before loans are activated or paid out. GreenSky's 10-K breaks the redress into up to $3 million in cash and up to $6 million in loan cancellations, and notes it settled without admitting wrongdoing.

The mechanism is why it matters to you. Back then, loan proceeds "bypass consumers and are disbursed directly to merchants following the merchants' application for payment." The contractor's login was the weak point. Today's customer text-to-approve step is the fix, and the FAQ still requires you to check the customer's government photo ID. Do both every time. A contested loan is also a fast route to a [customer chargeback dispute](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/how-to-handle-a-chargeback-from-a-customer) and a lost reference.

**Hearth has no CFPB action that we found.** Its problems are commercial, covered next.

## How we compared them

1. **Cost per financed job at realistic volume.** For a 1 to 30 person shop, fees come straight out of the margin on the jobs you most want to close.
2. **What the customer is offered.** A 0 percent promo and a 12 percent personal loan are different sales conversations, and the offer decides the close.
3. **Who holds the money, and for how long.** Days of float on a $20,000 install decide whether you can pay a supplier on time, which is the core of [contractor cash flow management](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/contractor-cash-flow-management).
4. **Approval fit.** A program built for 780-score borrowers and a marketplace advertising 550 serve different customers.
5. **Compliance and counterparty risk.** Enforcement history, ownership stability and contract terms like renewals are costs you only see later.

Sources: the GreenSky rate sheet effective December 1, 2023; GreenSky's 2021 Form 10-K; GreenSky's merchant FAQ; the CFPB's July 2021 order announcement and August 2024 solar report; the Sixth Street closing announcement; 12 CFR 1026.4; and Hearth's pricing, loans, FAQ and GreenSky comparison pages. All were checked on September 23, 2026.

## What owners actually report

The Reddit evidence is thin and skews negative, as complaint threads do. Here is what operators said, attributed as posted.

- **On GreenSky's fees and plans (r/Roofing):** a roofer offering GreenSky said the customer's biggest objection is "the interest is high", and that he offers plans "between 5-7%". Asked whether the dealer fee is harsh, he replied, "You can pick $0 to you plans." That is consistent with the rate sheet: the cheap plans are the ones where the customer pays the interest.
- **On refusing the long plans (r/HVAC):** an HVAC owner on Service Finance through Lennox said, "We entertained green sky for a bit but I couldn't bring myself to offer a 120 month loan with 10%." He stuck to 12 and 18 month options at "around 6% dealer fees".
- **On processing costs (r/HVAC, 2022):** another owner said GreenSky "process all transactions as a credit card. So add another 2-3%." The 2023 sheet says its fees assume "GreenSky Direct Funding", so ask which applies to your account.
- **On Hearth approvals (r/Contractor):** an owner said "nobody gets approved, not even clients with good credit" and rates were "insanely high" when they were. Another reported a customer with credit in "high 780's" getting very high rates even with the paid zero-interest option. An HVAC contractor selling a $20,000 Trane system said Hearth promised a 0 percent option, but "nobody will qualify and they won't finance the whole job."
- **On Hearth renewals (r/Contractor):** two separate posters describe being charged for a renewal they said they did not want, one putting the subscription at "$1500-$2000".
- **On Hearth Pay holds (r/Contractor):** a remodeler described payments of $6,800 to $20,000 being "flagged, reviewed, or frozen" through Hearth's processing partners, with ACH taking "a week or more" despite being approved for next-day funding.

These are individual accounts, not a survey, but they point at two demo questions: what share of applications fund at the full job amount, and exactly how renewal and cancellation work.

## Deeper answers

### Is Hearth cheaper than GreenSky?

On the fee line, above roughly $17,000 to $77,000 of financed work a year depending on tier and plan, yes. On the business outcome, not necessarily. The GreenSky fee buys a 0 percent offer the marketplace cannot match, so the real question is whether a customer offered 12 months at 0 percent closes more often than one offered a 9 or 12 percent personal loan. On a $25,000 roof, that difference in close rate can outweigh either fee. Test both before committing to a multi-year renewal.

### Why do customers get declined or quoted high rates on Hearth?

Because Hearth passes the application to lenders pricing their own risk, with no buy-down. GreenSky's model works the other way: bank credit criteria aimed at super-prime and prime borrowers, with the merchant subsidising the rate. That is why GreenSky's 2021 originations averaged a 780 credit score. A marketplace can still find someone a loan, but the price reflects their credit, and a 680 borrower seeing 20 percent will often walk. The pre-qualified amount can also come in under the job price. Before you rely on any marketplace, ask for the share of pre-qualified users who fund at the full requested amount, not just the approval rate.

### Can I use both?

Yes, and for mixed books it is often the right setup. Nothing in either program requires exclusivity on the pages we reviewed, and Hearth's comparison page openly suggests running it next to GreenSky for 60 days. A workable split is GreenSky for prime customers who want a short promo on a big ticket, and Hearth as the soft-pull option for everyone else. The cost is admin: two portals, two funding flows and two sets of statements. If financing lives outside your quoting system, it gets offered inconsistently, which is one reason customers [go quiet after a quote](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/why-do-customers-ghost-after-a-quote) that showed only a lump sum.

### What should I track to know which one is working?

Four fields on every financed job: provider, plan code, fee paid in dollars, and days from signature to money in your account. With those, you can report net margin per financed job by provider and plan, and see whether Hearth's approval problems or GreenSky's long-plan fees are costing you more. Most field service tools do not store the plan code, so it ends up in a spreadsheet or nowhere. It belongs on the job record in your [contractor CRM](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/contractor-crm), next to the quote, so that the numbers behind [a quote that wins](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/how-to-write-a-quote-that-wins) include what financing it cost to win.

## Go deeper

- [Getting paid topic hub](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/topic/getting-paid): deposits, progress billing, financing and chasing late payers, all in one place.
- [How to get paid faster](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/how-to-get-paid-faster-as-a-contractor): cutting the days between finished work and money in the bank.
- [When a customer won't pay](https://www.pavadotech.com/blog/what-to-do-when-a-customer-wont-pay): the escalation path if a homeowner holds the loan money and stops answering.
- [Custom CRM for contractors](https://www.pavadotech.com/crm): track plan codes, fees and funding dates on every job.

## How to pick

If your customers mostly have strong credit and a short 0 percent promo closes your big jobs, GreenSky's 5.85 to 7.60 percent short plans are worth paying for, provided you price them in and verify every authorization. If your customers' credit is mixed and you finance enough to beat roughly $23,000 to $77,000 a year in fees, Hearth's flat subscription makes sense, provided you collect deposits and calendar the renewal. Whichever you choose, record the plan and fee on every job, because the provider that looks cheaper is not always the one that makes you more money.

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Hearth and GreenSky?

GreenSky is a program administrator for banks. Its merchant FAQ says it is not a bank but runs installment loan programs funded by federally insured banks, with Synovus Bank part of the program since 2015. You pay a merchant fee on each transaction, set by the plan you pick. Hearth is contractor software that shows your customer pre-qualified offers from about 18 outside lenders. You pay an annual subscription and no per-loan fee, and the lender pays the homeowner, who then pays you.

### Does Hearth charge dealer fees?

No per-loan dealer fee. Hearth charges an annual subscription instead, which its own GreenSky comparison page puts at $1,499 to $4,999 a year. The trade-off is that nobody is buying down your customer's rate, so the offers they see are standard market APRs, which Hearth says start at 7.99 percent for personal loans. A 0 percent credit card offer is sold as a separate option.

### How much is GreenSky's dealer fee?

It depends entirely on the plan code. A GreenSky merchant rate sheet effective December 1, 2023, posted publicly by an HVAC dealer, lists 5.85 percent for 6 months no interest with payments, 7.60 percent for 12 months, 13.00 percent for 24 months and 33.60 percent for a 2.99 percent APR over 144 months. GreenSky's 2021 annual report put its average transaction fee rate at 6.47 percent. Your own sheet may differ, so ask for the full schedule.

### Who owns GreenSky now?

A consortium led by Sixth Street, including KKR, Bayview Asset Management and CardWorks, which completed the purchase from Goldman Sachs on March 15, 2024. Goldman had agreed to buy GreenSky in September 2021. Several comparison pages still describe GreenSky as backed by Goldman Sachs, which has not been true since the 2024 close.

### Is Hearth just like sending a customer to LendingTree?

Mechanically it is close, and a contractor who sat through Hearth's sales demo said exactly that on r/Contractor. The customer fills in one soft-pull form, sees offers from several lenders and borrows in their own name. What Hearth adds is the contractor side: quotes with a monthly payment built in, contracts, invoicing, Hearth Pay and a concierge team. Whether that is worth the subscription depends on how often you would otherwise send people to a loan site yourself.

### Do I get paid the full amount up front, or monthly?

Up front in both cases, but through different pipes. With GreenSky, the customer approves each transaction by text or email and GreenSky says payment arrives within two business days, with progress payments allowed up to a staged funding limit. With Hearth, the lender deposits the loan into the homeowner's account, which Hearth estimates at 2 to 7 days after approval, and the homeowner pays you like a cash customer.

### Can I pass the GreenSky dealer fee on to the customer?

Only by raising the price, and doing that selectively is where contractors get hurt. Under Regulation Z, fees a seller pays a creditor, known as seller's points, are excluded from the finance charge, so a dealer fee never shows in the customer's APR. The CFPB's 2024 solar report singled out dealer fees baked into loan principal as a hidden markup. The defensible approach is one price for cash and financed customers, with the fee built into overhead. Check your merchant agreement too.

### Is GreenSky safe to use after the CFPB consent order?

The order is resolved history, not a ban. In July 2021 the CFPB found GreenSky enabled merchants to take out loans consumers never authorized, and required up to $9 million in refunds and cancellations, a $2.5 million penalty and new identity and authorization checks. The practical lesson for a contractor is that the authorization trail runs through your login. Verify ID every time and never submit an application on a customer's behalf.