First Bank and Trust East Texas

What First Bank and Trust East Texas does

First Texas & Trust, operating under the brand First Texas Cash Advance via fbtet.com, is an online loan referral and matching service rather than a direct lender. The company functions as an intermediary that collects borrower applications through its website and routes them to a network of licensed Texas payday lenders, with one source indicating 300+ lenders in the network. Its core product surface spans payday loans ($100–$1,000, terms of 5–30 days), personal loans, home loans, business loans, and bad-credit loans, supplemented by referral services for US credit cards (Capital One products), mortgages, and trust investment services. The platform operates entirely online with no disclosed physical branches, leverages city-specific SEO landing pages across 19+ Texas cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Tyler, and others), and supports 24/7 application processing with same-day funding claims and approval rates up to 94% reported by network lenders.

The underlying technology is described as an algorithm-based matching engine that processes applications in 5–15 minutes and selects lenders based on compatibility between borrower profile and lender requirements. The business model is affiliate/referral-based: the company earns referral fees or commissions from third-party lenders and does not lend directly, price loans, or carry credit risk. Pricing is set individually by network lenders, with some lender products reportedly charging up to 1–2% per day on small-dollar loans. The target customer segments are underbanked Texas residents (students, pensioners, unemployed individuals, those with poor credit history) and small business owners seeking short-term capital, all acquired primarily through organic search and content marketing around financial literacy topics.

A significant data conflict exists between the provided firmographics — which describe a community bank headquartered in Diboll, Texas, founded in 1953 with 251–500 employees — and the detailed source material describing a lean online referral service with three named staff and operations tied to a payday-loan vertical. The website, product descriptions, staff profiles, and operating model all align with the latter; the community bank profile appears to be misattributed data and is not reflected in the actual operational evidence.

Name

First Bank and Trust East Texas

Legal name

First Texas & Trust

Website

https://fbtet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

First Texas & Trust is an online loan referral and matching service that connects Texas residents seeking payday, personal, home, and business loans with a network of 300+ licensed lenders across 19+ Texas cities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Loan Referral Services

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Lending & Credit (POS, Working Capital, Credit Lines) (FSAGALAD)

Keywords

• Loan referral service
• Payday loan matching
• Lender network
• Short-term lending
• Loan aggregation

Headquarters

HQ city

Diboll

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Referral/Lead Generation Fees: The company acts as a bridge between borrowers and lenders, earning referral fees or commissions when borrowers are matched with lenders from their network. They do not lend money directly but generate revenue by connecting borrowers with suitable lenders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

First Bank and Trust East Texas (also operating as First Texas & Trust / First Texas Cash Advance) is an online loan referral and matching service that connects borrowers in Texas with an extensive network of licensed third-party lenders. The company is not a direct lender; it uses automated algorithms to process applications and match applicants with suitable lenders offering payday loans ($100-$1,000), personal loans, home loans, business loans, and bad credit loans with same-day funding.

Product overview

First Texas & Trust operates as a loan referral/matching service connecting borrowers with an extensive network of licensed lenders across Texas. The company does not issue loans directly but functions as a bridge platform using automated algorithms to match applicants with suitable lenders. The core product portfolio includes payday loans ($100-$1,000), personal loans, home loans, business loans, and bad credit loans, supplemented by Business Online Mobile Banking, personal debit card services, credit card referrals, mortgage referrals, and trust investment services. Loan products typically feature terms of 5-30 days, high approval rates, no credit checks, and same-day funding options. The service operates across multiple Texas cities including Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Tyler, Beaumont, Brownsville, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payday Loans
• Personal Loans
• Home Loans
• Business Loans
• Bad Credit Loans
• Business Online Mobile Banking
• Personal Debit Card Services
• US Credit Cards
• Mortgages in the USA
• Trust Investment Services
• First Texas Cash Advance

Quantifiable outcome

• Loan approval rates up to 94% for eligible applicants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Licensed Texas Payday Lenders NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFirst Texas & Trust has built relationships with an extensive network of licensed payday lenders across Texas. The company acts as a referral service, matching borrowers with suitable lenders from this network. Lenders in the network offer loans ranging from $100-$1,000 with terms of 5-30 days. All network lenders are licensed to operate in Texas.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LendingTree: LendingTree operates a multi-lender loan comparison and referral marketplace across personal, mortgage, and small-business credit. It is the most direct analogue to First Texas & Trust's borrower-to-lender matching model, scaled nationally.
• Credible: Credible is a multi-lender online marketplace that matches borrowers with personal, student, mortgage, and refinance offers. Its marketplace model and lead-generation economics are closely comparable to First Texas & Trust.
• CashNetUSA: CashNetUSA is an online payday and installment lender serving subprime borrowers across multiple U.S. states. It directly competes in the same small-dollar, short-term credit product category that First Texas & Trust routes through its lender network.
• OppLoans: OppLoans is an online installment lender offering small-dollar loans to underbanked consumers. It targets the same subprime borrower segment and operates in a similar short-term, high-approval product format.

Broad incumbents

• MoneyLion: MoneyLion is a consumer fintech platform offering credit, banking, and investment products, including small-dollar credit and Instacash advances. It overlaps with First Texas & Trust on the underbanked credit-matching use case but operates a much broader product portfolio.
• Credit Karma: Credit Karma operates a large consumer-finance comparison platform that routes users to credit card, personal loan, and mortgage offers. Its marketplace and lead-gen model parallels First Texas & Trust's referral engine, though it does not focus on payday products.

Emerging players

• Earnin: Earnin is a paycheck advance app targeting workers who need small-dollar, short-term liquidity. It competes for the same underbanked Texas borrower looking to avoid a traditional payday loan, with a different delivery mechanism.
• Brigit: Brigit offers cash advances and financial tools to underbanked consumers via a mobile app. It is an emerging alternative in the same small-dollar, near-instant credit category that First Texas & Trust's network addresses.
• Possible Finance: Possible Finance is an online small-dollar installment lender focused on building credit for subprime borrowers. It intersects with First Texas & Trust on bad-credit personal loan use cases.
• Even: Even is a paycheck-linked cash advance and budgeting app. It targets the same on-demand, small-dollar liquidity need that drives traffic to First Texas & Trust's payday loan referrals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fbtet
• Facebookfacebook.com/fbtet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-bank-and-trust-east-texas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Bank and Trust East Texas