Front-loaded interest
A repayment structure where early payments go almost entirely to interest, not principal.
What "front-loaded interest" means
On a front-loaded (amortizing) loan, each scheduled payment covers the interest that accrued first and reduces principal second. At a triple-digit APR, that means your first several payments barely touch the balance — one borrower reported that just $0.86 of a $216 payment went to principal.
It's why paying "as scheduled" on a tribal loan costs so much, and why early payoff (where there's no prepayment penalty) saves far more than the schedule implies.