Announcing Seamless Loan Principal Payments Using Your Connected Bank Account

You can now pay down your loan principal balance directly via your connected bank account inside your Lantern dashboard. This was one of our most highly requested features and today we’re excited to share that it’s live!

This is a big user experience upgrade because it means means you no longer have to get in touch with your bank to send principal payments. You no longer need to copy and paste Lantern’s account/routing numbers, deal with wire fees, or any other legacy bank hassles. It means you can finally do everything without leaving the Lantern dashboard!

When we launched bank account payments via Plaid last year, it covered interest payments. Principal repayments still required wire transfers or ACH through your bank. That gap bothered us, and we’re excited to finally remedy it.

We will have a few more exciting updates in the coming weeks that we will be rolling out, so stay tuned!

How To Set It Up

If you've already connected a bank account for interest payments, this will feel familiar.

Step 1: Log into your Lantern dashboard and navigate to the payments page for your active loan.

Step 2: Click "Pay Principal" (you'll see this new option alongside "Pay Interest").

Step 3: Link or select the bank account you'd like to use.

Step 4: Enter the amount you want to pay and confirm.

Funds should clear within 1-2 business days. Your loan balance updates automatically once the payment settles.

Highlights Of This New Feature

• Zero fees. There's no charge from Lantern to make a principal payment this way. Compare that to the $25-$50 wire fees most banks charge.

• Multiple bank accounts. You can connect more than one bank account to your Lantern profile. Use whichever one works best for a given payment.

• Fast settlement. Funds typically clear within 1-2 business days.

• Works alongside existing payment methods. You can still pay via USDC. This just adds principal payments to the bank account option.

Why This Matters

Most of our borrowers use interest-only payments, and that's by design.

It keeps your monthly costs low and your cash flow strong. But there are moments when paying down principal makes strategic sense: maybe you want to make small payments to pay down your loan over time, or maybe you want to lower your LTV before a volatile stretch, or maybe you're simply closing a position.

Until now, making that decision meant dealing with the hassle of a wire transfer through your bank. We think that when you decide to pay down your loan, the process should take 30 seconds, not 30 minutes, at your bank.

That's what this update delivers.

Ready to Try It?

Log into your Lantern dashboard, navigate to your active loan, and you'll see the new principal payment option.

As always, our team is here if you have questions. Text us at (415) 365-0100 or email [email protected].

To better features,

The Lantern Team