Birch Lending Active
Native Village of Minto · lending since 2021
Birch Lending is Minto Money's sister brand — same tiny Alaska village, same Dr. Phil's-son financing link — and Massachusetts took the rare step of naming it, by name, as a predatory lender.
Birch Lending at a glance
- Owning tribe
- Native Village of Minto
- Lending since
- 2021
- Loan amounts
- $200–$3,000
- APR range (reported)
- 500–700%+checked Jul 2026
- Product
- installment
- Website
- birchlending.com
What a Birch Lending loan really costs
Birch Lending offers $200–$3,000 (up to $3,000 for first-time customers) over 10–18 months. Its FAQ vaguely cites '7.99–35.99%,' but that is not what borrowers pay — reported effective APRs run 500–700%+.
The complaints are stark: a $300 loan repaid to nearly $1,000 while still showing a $207 balance; a $600 loan repaying about $3,000; a $1,050 loan at 642% generating $4,500+ in interest. The repayment schedule is typically not shown until after you sign.
- Larger loans available — up to $3,000, even for first-time borrowers.
- No prepayment penalty.
- Publishes a clear excluded-states list (13 states plus the District of Columbia).
- APRs run 500–700%+; a FAQ figure of "7.99–35.99%" bears no relation to reality.
- BBB "F" after failing to respond to ~114 complaints.
- Payment schedule hidden until after signing; balance barely moves.
- Named alongside Minto Money by two state regulators as unlicensed/predatory.
Skip Birch Lending if…
- You live in a state it does not lend to: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia and 9 more.
- You want to see the APR before you apply — it publishes none; the rate appears only in the agreement.
Where Birch Lending lends
Birch's Availability & Rates page lists these excluded states (plus the District of Columbia) and warns the list changes frequently. Note it excludes Alaska — its own owning village's home state.
By its own terms, Birch Lending does not lend to residents of:
Does Birch Lending report to credit bureaus?
Birch says it 'may report your payment history to one or more credit bureaus' but names none, and there is no evidence it reports to the big three — so assume on-time payments will not build credit.
The 7.99% figure, and the site it sits on
Birch Lending's FAQ has carried a 7.99–35.99% APR figure. Its actual loans run into the hundreds of percent. Any tribal lender showing you a sub-36% number is showing you a number with no relationship to what you will be charged — we traced the same pattern to typosquat domains impersonating Buffalo Lake Lending.
What Birch will not show you is its real rate. Its "Availability & Rates" page defines APR as the annual rate charged for borrowing money, expressed as a single percentage number — and then states no percentage number at all.
That page is not Birch's alone.
The identical template runs on Minto Money, its fellow Native Village of Minto brand, and on River Valley Loans, RiseUp Lending, Three Sticks Lending and Willow Lake Lending: six brands across three tribes, all with the same $20 late fee after 5 days, the same $30 returned-payment fee, and the same silence where the price should be.
Who actually owns and runs Birch Lending
Birch Lending is wholly owned by Benhti Economic Development Corporation (BEDCO), chartered under the Native Village of Minto, Alaska — a village of roughly 250 people — and it is the sister brand of Minto Money. A 2025 ProPublica investigation tied the broader Minto operation to Jay McGraw, Dr.
Phil's son, via the fintech consultant CreditServe. Licensing is handled by a Nebraska lawyer, Shane Thin Elk, who as the tribe's 'commissioner' issued only two lending licenses — one to Minto Money and one to Birch.
Regulators named it by name
Birch is tied to the Minto Money rent-a-tribe class action. More unusually, two regulators singled it out directly: Washington's DFI (December 2024) and the Massachusetts Division of Banks (April 2025) both publicly named Minto Money and Birch Lending as unlicensed and predatory. A state naming a specific lender by name is rare and worth taking seriously.
What Birch Lending costs in dollars
Birch Lending's highest reported APR is 700% APR. Below is what that rate does to the amounts it actually lends, repaid over 12 monthly payments.
| You borrow | Monthly | Total repaid | Interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $117 | $1,406 | $1,206 |
| $1,600 | $937 | $11,245 | $9,645 |
| $3,000 | $1,757 | $21,085 | $18,085 |
At 700%, a $200 balance accrues about $117 in interest every month. Any payment below that figure leaves you owing more than you started with, however long you pay.
Standard amortization at the published ceiling rate; fees are not included, and your actual rate and term may differ. Run your own numbers in the payoff calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is Birch Lending related to Minto Money?
Yes — they are sister brands, both wholly owned through the Native Village of Minto, Alaska (a ~250-person village), and both tied to the same CreditServe/Jay McGraw financing structure exposed by ProPublica in 2025.
What is the real APR on a Birch Lending loan?
Reported effective APRs run 500–700%+. Ignore the "7.99–35.99%" figure on its FAQ — borrower records and finder.com put the real rate far higher. Read the APR box in your signed agreement.
Is Birch Lending legal in my state?
Birch excludes 13 states plus the District of Columbia (including its own home state, Alaska). Washington and Massachusetts regulators have named it as unlicensed and predatory. Check our state legality map and confirm before borrowing.
Is Birch Lending a tribal loan?
Yes. Birch Lending is a tribal lending brand owned by the Native Village of Minto in AK. That means it lends under tribal law and claims sovereign immunity from your state's interest-rate cap, rather than holding a state lending license. It is also why its APR reaches 500–700%+ — far above the roughly 36% cap most states set for small loans. Whether the loan is enforceable where you live depends on your state.
What does a Birch Lending loan cost?
Birch Lending lends $200–$3,000 at 500–700%+ APR (reported — Birch Lending does not publish its rate). Near the top of that range, the total repaid on a loan run to term is several times the amount borrowed — check the total of payments in your agreement, not the monthly figure.
Is a Birch Lending loan legal in my state?
It depends entirely on your state. High-cost tribal loans are effectively banned in nine states, where a loan above the rate cap can be void and not legally collectible, and restricted in many more. Birch Lending claims tribal sovereign immunity from those caps — an argument courts have accepted in some cases and rejected in others. Check your state before you borrow, and especially before you pay a collector.
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