How we get paid, in plain English
You pay Ask Sterling nothing, ever. Our funding partner pays OPTIMAX AI LTD, the company that runs Ask Sterling, a fee for each introduction that meets their criteria. That fee does not depend on whether you take finance or how much you take.
Who pays whom
| Who | Pays | To | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| You | Nothing | Ask Sterling | Guides, calculators, the introduction |
| Our funding partner | A fee per qualifying introduction | OPTIMAX AI LTD | Your enquiry, sent with your consent |
| Your company (only if it goes ahead) | Whatever it agrees with the funder | The funder | The finance itself |
We don't publish the fee amount. It is a commercial term between us and the partner, and it doesn't change anything you pay.
What the fee does not depend on
- Whether you take finance. We are paid for the introduction, not the deal. If you speak to the partner and walk away, nothing changes for us.
- How much you borrow. We don't earn more if you take £500k instead of £50k.
- The price you pay. We don't take commission from your finance, and nothing is added to your cost on our account.
That matters because it removes the usual reason to push you towards a bigger or pricier deal. Our job is to make sure you understand what you're being offered. The calculators exist so you can check it yourself.
What we never do
- Charge you a fee, a deposit, an "admin" charge or anything else. If someone claiming to be us asks you for money, it isn't us: see funding scams.
- Take a percentage of your finance.
- Sell your details to anyone else, or pass them to more than the one partner named on the form.
- Set the price, the terms or the decision. The funder does all three.
Why we take a fee at all
Writing, checking and maintaining guides costs money, and so does running the site. A fee from the partner pays for it, so the guides and calculators stay free to everyone, including people who never send an enquiry.
Do the tools depend on the partner?
No. The calculators run on our own engine in your browser, with the method shown on each tool page. They give the same answer whether or not you ever contact our partner, and they will tell you when an offer looks expensive, whoever it comes from. Sterling's rule-of-thumb bands (for example, over 100% APR is "very expensive") apply to every offer the same way.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, email mike@optimax-ai.com and we will answer it straight.