How should state availability be stored for lender products?

State eligibility should be attached to the product and effective date, not only the lender company.

Merchant operating state, formation state, and owner residence can be different. Apply only the geography the criterion defines.

Licensing and product structure can create different maps, so do not infer one product’s states from another.

What if a public website says “nationwide” but a current guideline lists exclusions?

Flag the conflict, retain both sources, and require review. The more specific current product source may be stronger but should not be chosen silently.

Users need a plain explanation of which merchant location fact was evaluated.

The deal form should capture operating and formation states separately instead of one generic state.

And multi-location businesses may require manual review if the lender has not published a clear rule.

Claimed lenders can confirm product-level availability and update effective dates.

Model geography by product and defined location type, preserve conflicts, and avoid company-wide assumptions.