EnerBank USA was one of the most widely used home improvement lenders in the country before Regions Bank acquired it and rebranded it as Regions Home Improvement Financing. If you have been in the trades for more than a few years, you probably know it as EnerBank. The name changed, but the products and the model largely carried over.
Hearth and EnerBank (now Regions Home Improvement Financing) take completely different approaches to contractor financing. Hearth is a multi-lender marketplace that charges a flat annual fee with no per-job costs. EnerBank is a direct bank lender with a per-job dealer fee structure. The big differentiator that makes EnerBank worth considering is its Zero Interest Loan product. Here is how the two platforms compare and when each one makes more sense.
Two Different Business Models
Hearth connects homeowners to 18 or more lending partners through a single application. You pay a flat annual subscription (around $1,499 to $1,799 per year as of 2026) and every funded job through Hearth after that costs you zero in dealer fees. The subscription includes contractor business tools: estimates, contracts, and payment collection.
EnerBank (Regions Home Improvement Financing) is a single direct lender backed by Regions Bank, one of the top 10 banks in the United States. EnerBank has approved over one million home improvement loans. It does not charge an annual subscription. Instead, it charges a dealer fee on each funded loan, ranging from 0% on certain products up to around 16.4% on the most aggressive promotional offers. The actual fee depends on which loan product the homeowner uses.
The Zero Interest Loan: EnerBank’s Key Differentiator
EnerBank’s Zero Interest Loan (ZIL) is genuinely different from most 0% promotional offers in the market. Most deferred-interest or same-as-cash products look like 0% APR but hit the homeowner with all the back-interest if they do not pay the balance in full by the promotional deadline. EnerBank’s ZIL is a true 0% APR loan. No deferred interest. No back-interest trap. The homeowner pays a fixed monthly payment and the balance goes to zero over the loan term with no surprise charges.
For storm restoration work and large emergency repair jobs where homeowners are stressed about unexpected costs, the true 0% offer can close deals that standard financing options would not. It eliminates the fine-print fear that makes many homeowners hesitant to finance.
The trade-off: EnerBank’s dealer fee on the ZIL product is at the higher end of its range. You are absorbing the cost of offering a genuinely interest-free loan. Whether that is worth it depends on how much the 0% offer helps you close.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hearth | EnerBank (Regions Home Improvement Financing) |
|---|---|---|
| Fee model | Flat annual subscription | Per-job dealer fee (0% to ~16.4%) |
| Annual cost to contractor | ~$1,499 to $1,799/yr | $0 (fees only on funded jobs) |
| True 0% APR product | Available through some lenders | Yes, Zero Interest Loan (no deferred interest) |
| FICO minimum | 550 | Varies by product (typically 600+) |
| Reported approval rate | 70% to 85% | ~80% reported |
| Lender network | 18+ lending partners | Single direct lender (Regions Bank) |
| Loan maximum | $250,000 | Varies by product |
| Contractor referral bonus | Referral incentives available | $300 gift card per referred contractor |
| Bank backing | Multiple bank partners | Regions Bank (top-10 US bank) |
| Bundled contractor tools | Yes (estimates, contracts, payments) | No |
Storm Restoration and the ZIL Use Case
Storm restoration contractors have a specific sales dynamic: homeowners are dealing with unexpected damage, uncertain insurance outcomes, and stress. In that environment, a true 0% APR loan with no fine print catches attention. The homeowner does not have to worry about what happens if the insurance check is delayed or if they cannot pay the full balance before a promotional period ends.
EnerBank’s ZIL was built with this kind of situation in mind. If you do wind, hail, or water damage restoration work, the ZIL product is worth evaluating as a specific tool for that segment of your business. You will pay a higher dealer fee for it, but if it closes deals that would otherwise stall, the math can work in your favor.
High-Volume General Remodeling and Hearth
For general remodeling contractors who finance a consistent volume of $30,000 or more per year across kitchen, bath, and whole-home projects, Hearth’s flat subscription model typically wins on cost. At $1,799 per year with zero per-job fees, every funded loan above the break-even threshold is pure cost savings compared to any dealer fee model.
The 550 FICO floor also matters here. More homeowners qualify, which means higher approval rates across your full customer base. EnerBank’s approval rate is strong at around 80%, but Hearth’s multi-lender network can catch approvals that a single lender would decline.
Can You Run Both?
Yes, and some contractors do. Using EnerBank specifically for ZIL storm restoration jobs while running Hearth as the primary platform for standard remodeling financing is a workable setup. The two platforms do not compete for the same use case in that scenario. The question is whether managing two systems and two dealer relationships is worth the operational overhead for your team.
Bottom Line
EnerBank (Regions Home Improvement Financing) has one product that stands out from almost every other contractor financing option in the market: a true 0% APR loan with no deferred interest trap. If your business includes storm restoration work or any sales context where a genuine no-interest offer is a meaningful closer, EnerBank deserves a serious look. For high-volume general remodeling work where you want to minimize per-job costs and maximize approval rates across a wide FICO range, Hearth’s flat subscription model and 18-lender network tend to win on both cost and coverage.
Ready to See If Hearth Makes Sense for Your Business?
Hearth gives contractors access to 18 plus lenders at a flat annual rate with no per-job dealer fees. If you finance more than $36,000 in projects per year, the math almost always works in your favor.