LenderClose, a fintech startup based in Des Moines, Iowa, is developing new ways for banks to close deals, particularly in the mortgage market. BankBeat talked to its CEO Omar Jordan about the young company’s take on crossing the finish line. [Continue]
Invest Sou Sou is a company leveraging tech to create and maintain “lending circles.” This is something of a new twist on an old concept of community-based lending. BankBeat spoke with the company’s co-founder and CEO, Fonta Gilliam, about her career and what lending circles can accomplish. [Continue]
Chris Rentner, director of digital lending for Velocity Solutions, LLC and founder and former CEO of Akouba, remembers a time when digital lending for banks seemed like a pipe dream. “If I look back at 2015 when the company [Akouba] wasn’t really even being promoted, everyone was telling us that we were crazy,” he said. “Digital lending at banks? No, OnDeck and Kabbage are going to do that.” [Continue]
As fintech opportunities evolve, staying on top of the latest trends, offerings and regulations requires keeping a finger on the pulse of the industry – or perhaps an ear tuned to the right podcast. [Continue]
MK Decision is a tech company on the rise. Founded in 2015, the San Diego-based company offers an online loan application and security platform designed to help community banks compete. BankBeat talked to CEO Har Rai Khalsa about the company’s approach to online lending and its new partnership, launched in February, with Bankers’ Bank, Madison, Wis. [Continue]
The secure movement of delicate customer information has long been a concern for banks, but never more so than in the age of massive data breaches and numerous cyber threats. [Continue]
I received a solicitation in my personal mail recently. It was a letter from Unison, which offered me money based on my homeownership. I get a HELOC solicitation almost every week, but this was different, most notably because it wasn’t offering a credit product. [Continue]
Everyone is talking about fintechs, but I contend banks still have the upper hand when it comes to controlling the most attractive segment of the lending market. Fintechs that are leveraging new avenues of data to identify loan prospects and quickly approve loans are generally reaching loan prospects who wouldn’t qualify for traditional bank financing. [Continue]
Whether criminals are attempting to trick their victim into providing information (personal, account, internal procedures), downloading malware, conducting fraudulent transactions, or allowing physical or cyber access into the bank, social engineering is often the foundation that leads to fraud and other security concerns. [Continue]
Aaron Silva is president of Paladin fs, a research firm that gathers data on core services (and other fintech products) and provides a resource for banks looking to comparison shop. Silva calls Paladin’s data a “blue book” for fintech services. This information, among other things, helps banks determine whether breaking a contract with a core provider is financially feasible, which is an increasingly common scenario, Silva told BankBeat.
Q: What are common issues banks are facing when it comes to core service providers?
Aaron Silva: They are learning the core suppliers are not financially guaranteeing any of their system’s performance. For example, if there is a failure, or something happens that causes the bank harm, they can’t go back to their contract and find a credit or some sort of benefit. They will find they have to beg for it — or sue them. Another issue we see is the bank’s rights around termination of the contract. Today these contracts are written as such that if you leave a certain service for any reason — or even a part of the service — you have to pay the entire balance of your contract, anywhere from 50 to 100 percent of it. [Continue]