In this episode of Accrued a Fintech Confidential series presented by LoanPro, Tedd Huff and Colton Pond talk with Ben Boyer of World Acceptance about evolving financial strategies. They discuss how businesses can build lasting customer relationships by focusing on customer needs, expanding product offerings, and leveraging alternative data. Ben highlights the importance of realistic credit-building products, empathetic customer service, and accessible financial tools. The conversation emphasizes trust, transparency, and tailoring services to meet client needs while adapting to economic changes. A must-listen for businesses aiming to stay competitive and customer-focused in the financial sector.
Key Highlights
- The Key to Retaining Customers You Might Be Overlooking
- Why One-Size-Fits-All Credit Scores Could Be Holding You Back
- The Secret to Offering Financial Products Customers Actually Want
- How Expanding Your Offerings Can Keep Customers Coming Back
- What Makes a Great First Financial Product
- Why Data-Driven Decisions Beat Gut Instinct Every Time
- Breaking Down Barriers to Financial Success
- How to Balance Profitability and Customer Care
- What Most Financial Companies Get Wrong About Credit Building
- Why Lifelong Customers Start with Exceptional Service
Takeaways
1️⃣ Set Clear Expectations to Earn Trust
2️⃣ Simplify Financial Tools for Better Engagement
3️⃣ Prioritize Trust Over Immediate Profits
4️⃣ Stay Ahead by Analyzing Market Trends
5️⃣ Be Proactive in Reaching Customers
Links:
World Finance: https://www.loansbyworld.com/about
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldfinance/
Ben Boyer Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-boyer-535a272/
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Supporters
Supporters LoanPro: Enhance lending operations with LoanPro's modern core. Learn more at https://loanpro.io/demo
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About:
Guest
Ben Boyer: Ben Boyer is a finance executive in Product Development at World Finance, previously serving as COO at Simpliphy and VP...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ben Boyer (00:11):
it's kind of like your first job.
You know, everybody hasto have a first job.
Everybody has to have a first financialproduct to develop a credit history.
that's ultimately where people aregoing to be successful in the space
Tedd Huff (00:22):
the idea of the DDA, not being that primary driver of that relationship.
really Make it.
A lifetime customer not Ineed it now type customer.
Ben Boyer (00:35):
we've been around since 1962,
obviously in the past five, 10 years,
more alternative data coming inand more opportunity to understand
your customer base
It's really about finding the peoplethat are falling through the cracks.
products have gotten into a littlebit of regulatory hot water,
is just around over promising andunder delivering with what they can do
companies that are
(00:55):
maybe viewing that asa major profit center.
Are approaching it the wrong way
exceptional customer service andcontinuing to offer them products
that meet them where they are
they were there for mewhen nobody else was
Tedd Huff (01:08):
Here's a quick message from the Accrued Series sponsor.
As default rates continue to riseand margins compressed in lending,
financial organizations are searchingfor solutions to combine that
operational efficiency with innovation.
Look no further as LoanPro allows lendersto enhance their origination, servicing,
collections, and payments using thefoundation of a modern lending core.
(01:32):
Check out loanpro.
io to learn more about how over600 financial organizations.
Have modernized theirtech stack with LoanPro.
Welcome to Accrued, the fintechconfidential series presented by LoanPro.
In this series, we're deconstructing thecomplexities of lending and exploring
compliance, optimization, modernization,and personalization through insightful
(01:56):
conversations with the industry's
best.
I'm Tedd Huff, and with my co hostColton Pond, we'll be guiding you
through the intricate lending world.
Whether you're deep into lendtech or just intrigued by how the
technology is reshaping lending.
You're in the right place.
And now let's dive intoanother episode Of accrued.
(02:18):
Colton, this, we're out hereon the salt flats at the
strategic advisory board event.
I don't think I've ever done apodcast in an environment like this
before, but I'm super stoked to besitting down with Ben Boyer today
to see what's going on in his world.
Colton Pond (02:35):
Yeah, let's let's dig in Ben, so to have you, Ben leads a new
product development at world acceptance,um, and excited to have you here.
Welcome, man.
Excited
Ben Boyer (02:43):
to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Colton Pond (02:45):
Yeah,
Tedd Huff (02:45):
I want to start off by just understanding from your perspective,
you guys have been in the businessof, uh, Providing installment loans.
What are you seeing the market doing andhow is that impacting the way that you're
looking at moving the business forward?
Ben Boyer (03:03):
Yeah.
So I think, you know, we've beenaround since 1962, um, we've been
doing installment loan lending.
So I think we've really kind offocused on what I think are key.
Principles are, which is how canwe help our customers and how can
we provide them with the financialservices that they need for wherever
they are on their financial journey?
And so I think throughout time, you know,obviously since the sixties, there's
(03:25):
been, boom periods and there's beenbust periods and there've been plenty of
companies that have come and gone, butI think we've really just tried to focus
on how can we help serve our customersand how can we give them what they need?
And if we can do that, we'reultimately going to be successful.
Regardless of what theeconomic climate is.
Colton Pond (03:42):
Yeah.
So one of the key themes on thatnote, Ben, and we've chatted a good
amount here at strategic advisoryboard is the shift from organizations
on offering one product to expanding.
And as we mentioned, youlead new product development.
Help us understand as you thinkabout new product opportunities.
How do you prioritize what to goafter and what that looks like?
Ben Boyer (04:03):
I think it's really about putting yourself in the customer's shoes
and asking yourself, what did they need?
You know, it's easy for us to sit inmeeting rooms and try to whiteboard out
all these products that we could come upwith that, that we think would be cool.
But you know, we're not always thecustomers that can serve them, so we
really have to put ourselves in thecustomer's shoes and say, What do our
customers need when they walk into abranch or when they come into a website?
(04:26):
What are they looking at us tobe able to help serve them with?
And how can we expand uponthat to, to really help them
grow their financial future?
Colton Pond (04:35):
Yeah, and what's the job to be done, right?
Like, what jobs and painpoints do they have?
What do they need us to solve?
And what I love about the shift frombeing a lot of organizations, uh, one
product to multi product and increasingshare wallet is exactly what you said.
If you can better serve the needsof the consumer, that's good for
everyone, especially the consumer.
Ben Boyer (04:54):
Right.
Absolutely.
Tedd Huff (04:55):
How are you looking at moving the company forward and, and.
Where is an area yousee as an opportunity,
for the market to serveyour customers better?
Ben Boyer (05:06):
Yeah.
So I think for us, it's about.
You know having products that cater to ourcustomers as they continue to progress up
the financial journey that they're on so
Really looking to how can we startwith a customer who maybe has a
really really thin file Or you knowhave some major derogatories on
their credit report and how can wecontinue to offer them products?
(05:28):
They're going to be appealing to themand are going to be competitive with
what they could get in the marketright there because once we have a
customer who's demonstrated that theyhave the capability to pay and be a
good customer, we don't want to losethem to somebody else who's going to
offer them a product that we can't.
So we want to have, you know,products that will compete and be
good products that they want to have.
I make the cliche joke all thetime, you know, we're probably
(05:49):
never going to have airport loungesand be serving the, you know, the
millionaires and the billionaires ofthe world with super prime offering.
But, you know, we want to be able tohave somebody come in, uh, very early
on in their journey and stay with us,know, for, for as long as they want to.
Tedd Huff (06:05):
Yeah.
Colton, you know, it's interesting as Ihear Ben talk about this is that a lot of
the conversation that we've heard today,with The attendees as well as, the folks
that are sharing their, their knowledgehas been the idea of the DDA, not being
that primary driver of that relationship.
(06:26):
And what I'm hearing from Ben is thatthey're taking that step to continue
to extend that relationship beyond
that installment loan beyondthose pieces and really make it.
A lifetime customer not Ineed it now type customer.
Colton Pond (06:41):
I mean, this is a great point and one that's As I pressure tested it
with people a relatively controversialtopic actually because I personally view
my And so my i'll share a little bit aboutmy financial life My direct deposit goes
into both us bank and sofi But I actuallydon't consider my relationship with either
of them I consider my primary relationshipactually with american express
Tedd Huff (07:04):
same here.
Colton Pond (07:05):
All my transactions go through american express Sorry, like
Airport lounges and things like that.
The world doesn't care But they knowway more about me than us bank or sofi.
They see every single transaction in mylife um and along those lines You Um,
when we think about, uh, you all world andthink about the credit builder has been
(07:26):
a hot topic for fintechs for regulationfor a variety of different ways.
where do you think the future ofcredit builder and building is going?
Ben Boyer (07:37):
where those products have gotten into a little bit of regulatory
hot water, um, or are starting to is justaround over promising and under delivering
with what they can do with regards to,
improving a customer's credit, dependingon how they come in and also how quickly
they can do it and how much they cost.
And I think a lot of companies that are
maybe viewing that asa major profit center.
(08:00):
Are approaching it the wrong way.
we view those products as introductoryproducts to really get to know
the customer and hopefully growthem into other products that are
gonna have higher profit margins.
But, you know, we view thoseproducts as, you know, hopefully
they're not loss leaders.
Hopefully you can break even on them,but we're not looking to generate
massive amounts of revenue off of, youknow, really the entry level products.
(08:22):
That's that's really about,
Colton Pond (08:25):
How do you make sure that you keep the customer
after that first year experience?
Tedd Huff (08:29):
Support provided by Skyflow.
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Ben Boyer (09:31):
It's really about providing them with exceptional customer service
and continuing to offer them products thatmeet them where they are on that cycle.
And I think if you can do that,if you can find a way to have
a really good relationshipwith the customer where they're
not out looking for otherfinancial products, and when
you offer them something,
they say, Hey, I like these guys, I'vegot a good relationship with them.
(09:52):
they were there for mewhen nobody else was.
You know, I'll, I'll,I'll keep everything.
You know, it helps if they have theirlogins and everything already set
up and I don't want to reset those.
It's easier to stay.
Um with who you want to but I thinkthat's really our goal is to to be
the company that you want to stay with
Colton Pond (10:08):
and then pricing becomes less of a factor because I know that
i've had my Personal loan with worldand they've treated me Well when I
had a tough time and I I lost my jobthey were there and helped me through
that Uh opportunity rather thansaying, yeah Call me when you're 90
days delinquent and we'll chat aboutoptions, right which is a far different.
Uh, Approach.
(10:29):
Yep
Tedd Huff (10:30):
And Colton, with you talking about being there, and you said meet
them where they're at, what are someof the approaches that you take to make
sure you're there, and you're meetingthem where they're at, even if they
don't know that they're there already?
Ben Boyer (10:45):
Yeah, I think it's about, you know, understanding the customer,
having interactions with the customer,and to your point, educating the
customer, um, about, you know, Youknow what things they might be,
able to get it at this pointin their financial journey and
what it looks like to get there.
really, when I think about what thefuture of the, fintech landscape looks
(11:05):
like and product offerings, you know,we were talking and somebody mentioned,
you know, this is a frustration that Iknow I had for a really long time is, you
know, there's not really a good budgetingapp that says if I have 100 in my bank
account and I get paid X amount everytwo weeks, and I have these expenses
like Am I going to run out of money?
If so, when, how much money do I need?
(11:25):
You know, if I add in thisadditional thing, what's that
going to do to the budget?
So I think people that can deliverthat type of education and common
sense conversation to the customer tosay, Hey, this is what it looks like.
This is what you need to do.
Here's how you can get there.
And yes, you, you can do this.
You can be control in control of yourfinancial future and you can succeed.
(11:47):
the people who can tie those conversationsinto the right products for those
customers are the ones that areultimately going to succeed and win.
Colton Pond (11:54):
Yeah.
Lastly, on that note, uh, key aspectthere is understanding the customer
through the data that you haveand offering personalized products
to meet them where they're at.
And that's a lot as we've met Benthat I've seen through Uh, you've
been able to do and go on the journeyof, Hey, where are my customers
and how else can I help them?
Right.
Um, and how can I help them on thejourney to what they want to achieve?
(12:15):
'cause ultimately every consumerdoesn't wanna be in debt.
and in the end, lenders need to.
Help customers fulfill their goals,which is to get out of debt, right?
Tedd Huff (12:24):
one last question Okay, because it's been as you and I were walking over
You know, I I was kind of at i've askinga couple questions to better understand
where you guys were at and I think thethe piece that that was brought up is
Is the credit worthiness piece of it?
And I want to know from yourperspective How do you see?
(12:47):
The way we evaluate.
That worthiness, especiallyfor the upcoming products
that you all are working on,
how has that changed and or changingin the next couple of years.
Ben Boyer (12:59):
it's changed a lot, you know, obviously in the past five,
10 years, um, with, you know, morealternative data coming in and more
opportunity to understand it, know moreabout your customer base, um, through,
you know, platforms like finicity andplaid and, and those types of things.
And I think that's thedirection that it's ultimately.
Going to continue to go in and, and themore information you can get about your
(13:23):
customer's behavior and spending habitsand patterns for things, and the more
complete picture you can form aboutyour customer without having to be.
Entirely reliant on abackwards looking credit score.
Um, that's always going to be atrailing indicator, which obviously
those are fantastic products andthey've served the market for really,
really long time, but everybody hasaccess to the same credit scores and
(13:46):
everybody knows what everybody else istargeting from an underwriting model.
So it's really about finding the peoplethat are falling through the cracks.
Of the large organizations that theyjust don't care about figuring out
how to, find the right customersout of those populations and
serve them with quality products.
Colton Pond (14:03):
One of the aspects, a final thought on one of the conversations I had
today, if you think about FICO score, itis one score for the broader population,
and it's actually done a pretty damn goodjob at being relatively representative.
When you say, this is a score foreveryone, everyone it works, right?
Right.
Uh, but where I see differentiation,what you're talking about is how do you
(14:25):
take segments of the overall populationand even your customer base and find
alternative data that helps betterinform creditworthiness, ability and
willingness to repay and what, uh,portfolio performance would look like.
Ben Boyer (14:42):
Yeah.
And how do you find low risk products thatcreditworthiness is even less of a factor?
How do you give thecustomer base that has.
No credit history whatsoever.
The opportunity to prove themselves.
You know, it's kind oflike your first job.
You know, everybody hasto have a first job.
Everybody has to have a first financialproduct to develop a credit history.
And how do you come out with productsthat can meet those customers while
(15:05):
also not generating a tremendousamount of risk for your company?
I think that's ultimately where peopleare going to be successful in the space.
And we're hoping to be successfulin the spaces is don't over
promise and under deliver.
And, you know, be honest and upfrontwith your customers and help them.
I mean, that's, that's whatwe're all in the business to do.
And there's been a lot of conversationabout that here at this meeting is,
you know, we're all in this businessto help our customers and serve them.
(15:29):
if you lose sight of that, youcan get yourself in trouble.
And so my hope is that we can just makesure that we never lose sight of that.
Colton Pond (15:34):
I agree.
Thanks for the time, Ben.
Really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Tedd Huff (15:38):
Well folks, that does it for another episode of Accrued.
If you've made it thisfar, go ahead, like, share,
subscribe, all that fun stuff.
And don't forget to signup at fintechconfidential.
com to be alerted your favoriteepisode coming up next.
And as always, keep moving forward.
it's kind of like your first job.
You know, everybody hasto have a first job.
Everybody has to have a first financialproduct to develop a credit history.
that's ultimately where people aregoing to be successful in the space
Tedd Huff (00:22):
the idea of the DDA, not being that primary driver of that relationship.
really Make it.
A lifetime customer not Ineed it now type customer.
Ben Boyer (00:35):
we've been around since 1962,
obviously in the past five, 10 years,
more alternative data coming inand more opportunity to understand
your customer base
It's really about finding the peoplethat are falling through the cracks.
products have gotten into a littlebit of regulatory hot water,
is just around over promising andunder delivering with what they can do
companies that are
(00:55):
maybe viewing that asa major profit center.
Are approaching it the wrong way
exceptional customer service andcontinuing to offer them products
that meet them where they are
they were there for mewhen nobody else was
Tedd Huff (01:08):
Here's a quick message from the Accrued Series sponsor.
As default rates continue to riseand margins compressed in lending,
financial organizations are searchingfor solutions to combine that
operational efficiency with innovation.
Look no further as LoanPro allows lendersto enhance their origination, servicing,
collections, and payments using thefoundation of a modern lending core.
(01:32):
Check out loanpro.
io to learn more about how over600 financial organizations.
Have modernized theirtech stack with LoanPro.
Welcome to Accrued, the fintechconfidential series presented by LoanPro.
In this series, we're deconstructing thecomplexities of lending and exploring
compliance, optimization, modernization,and personalization through insightful
(01:56):
conversations with the industry's
best.
I'm Tedd Huff, and with my co hostColton Pond, we'll be guiding you
through the intricate lending world.
Whether you're deep into lendtech or just intrigued by how the
technology is reshaping lending.
You're in the right place.
And now let's dive intoanother episode Of accrued.
(02:18):
Colton, this, we're out hereon the salt flats at the
strategic advisory board event.
I don't think I've ever done apodcast in an environment like this
before, but I'm super stoked to besitting down with Ben Boyer today
to see what's going on in his world.
Colton Pond (02:35):
Yeah, let's let's dig in Ben, so to have you, Ben leads a new
product development at world acceptance,um, and excited to have you here.
Welcome, man.
Excited
Ben Boyer (02:43):
to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Colton Pond (02:45):
Yeah,
Tedd Huff (02:45):
I want to start off by just understanding from your perspective,
you guys have been in the businessof, uh, Providing installment loans.
What are you seeing the market doing andhow is that impacting the way that you're
looking at moving the business forward?
Ben Boyer (03:03):
Yeah.
So I think, you know, we've beenaround since 1962, um, we've been
doing installment loan lending.
So I think we've really kind offocused on what I think are key.
Principles are, which is how canwe help our customers and how can
we provide them with the financialservices that they need for wherever
they are on their financial journey?
And so I think throughout time, you know,obviously since the sixties, there's
(03:25):
been, boom periods and there's beenbust periods and there've been plenty of
companies that have come and gone, butI think we've really just tried to focus
on how can we help serve our customersand how can we give them what they need?
And if we can do that, we'reultimately going to be successful.
Regardless of what theeconomic climate is.
Colton Pond (03:42):
Yeah.
So one of the key themes on thatnote, Ben, and we've chatted a good
amount here at strategic advisoryboard is the shift from organizations
on offering one product to expanding.
And as we mentioned, youlead new product development.
Help us understand as you thinkabout new product opportunities.
How do you prioritize what to goafter and what that looks like?
Ben Boyer (04:03):
I think it's really about putting yourself in the customer's shoes
and asking yourself, what did they need?
You know, it's easy for us to sit inmeeting rooms and try to whiteboard out
all these products that we could come upwith that, that we think would be cool.
But you know, we're not always thecustomers that can serve them, so we
really have to put ourselves in thecustomer's shoes and say, What do our
customers need when they walk into abranch or when they come into a website?
(04:26):
What are they looking at us tobe able to help serve them with?
And how can we expand uponthat to, to really help them
grow their financial future?
Colton Pond (04:35):
Yeah, and what's the job to be done, right?
Like, what jobs and painpoints do they have?
What do they need us to solve?
And what I love about the shift frombeing a lot of organizations, uh, one
product to multi product and increasingshare wallet is exactly what you said.
If you can better serve the needsof the consumer, that's good for
everyone, especially the consumer.
Ben Boyer (04:54):
Right.
Absolutely.
Tedd Huff (04:55):
How are you looking at moving the company forward and, and.
Where is an area yousee as an opportunity,
for the market to serveyour customers better?
Ben Boyer (05:06):
Yeah.
So I think for us, it's about.
You know having products that cater to ourcustomers as they continue to progress up
the financial journey that they're on so
Really looking to how can we startwith a customer who maybe has a
really really thin file Or you knowhave some major derogatories on
their credit report and how can wecontinue to offer them products?
(05:28):
They're going to be appealing to themand are going to be competitive with
what they could get in the marketright there because once we have a
customer who's demonstrated that theyhave the capability to pay and be a
good customer, we don't want to losethem to somebody else who's going to
offer them a product that we can't.
So we want to have, you know,products that will compete and be
good products that they want to have.
I make the cliche joke all thetime, you know, we're probably
(05:49):
never going to have airport loungesand be serving the, you know, the
millionaires and the billionaires ofthe world with super prime offering.
But, you know, we want to be able tohave somebody come in, uh, very early
on in their journey and stay with us,know, for, for as long as they want to.
Tedd Huff (06:05):
Yeah.
Colton, you know, it's interesting as Ihear Ben talk about this is that a lot of
the conversation that we've heard today,with The attendees as well as, the folks
that are sharing their, their knowledgehas been the idea of the DDA, not being
that primary driver of that relationship.
(06:26):
And what I'm hearing from Ben is thatthey're taking that step to continue
to extend that relationship beyond
that installment loan beyondthose pieces and really make it.
A lifetime customer not Ineed it now type customer.
Colton Pond (06:41):
I mean, this is a great point and one that's As I pressure tested it
with people a relatively controversialtopic actually because I personally view
my And so my i'll share a little bit aboutmy financial life My direct deposit goes
into both us bank and sofi But I actuallydon't consider my relationship with either
of them I consider my primary relationshipactually with american express
Tedd Huff (07:04):
same here.
Colton Pond (07:05):
All my transactions go through american express Sorry, like
Airport lounges and things like that.
The world doesn't care But they knowway more about me than us bank or sofi.
They see every single transaction in mylife um and along those lines You Um,
when we think about, uh, you all world andthink about the credit builder has been
(07:26):
a hot topic for fintechs for regulationfor a variety of different ways.
where do you think the future ofcredit builder and building is going?
Ben Boyer (07:37):
where those products have gotten into a little bit of regulatory
hot water, um, or are starting to is justaround over promising and under delivering
with what they can do with regards to,
improving a customer's credit, dependingon how they come in and also how quickly
they can do it and how much they cost.
And I think a lot of companies that are
maybe viewing that asa major profit center.
(08:00):
Are approaching it the wrong way.
we view those products as introductoryproducts to really get to know
the customer and hopefully growthem into other products that are
gonna have higher profit margins.
But, you know, we view thoseproducts as, you know, hopefully
they're not loss leaders.
Hopefully you can break even on them,but we're not looking to generate
massive amounts of revenue off of, youknow, really the entry level products.
(08:22):
That's that's really about,
Colton Pond (08:25):
How do you make sure that you keep the customer
after that first year experience?
Tedd Huff (08:29):
Support provided by Skyflow.
What if you could buildfast, but not break privacy?
What if you could ensure dataprivacy, governance, and compliance
with just a few API calls?
What if you could worry less aboutPCI requirements while actually
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How much more time would yourteam have to truly innovate?
How much faster could youbuild and ship new features?
(08:49):
How much more powerful could your app be?
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Skyflow's radically simpledesign lets you use color.
secure and tokenized personal informationlike card data and payment details.
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anonymization and advanced governance,your days of choosing between data
(09:11):
security and data usability are over.
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or need to go further toinclude CCPA, GDPR, SOC 2, and
beyond, SkyFlow has you covered.
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Ben Boyer (09:31):
It's really about providing them with exceptional customer service
and continuing to offer them products thatmeet them where they are on that cycle.
And I think if you can do that,if you can find a way to have
a really good relationshipwith the customer where they're
not out looking for otherfinancial products, and when
you offer them something,
they say, Hey, I like these guys, I'vegot a good relationship with them.
(09:52):
they were there for mewhen nobody else was.
You know, I'll, I'll,I'll keep everything.
You know, it helps if they have theirlogins and everything already set
up and I don't want to reset those.
It's easier to stay.
Um with who you want to but I thinkthat's really our goal is to to be
the company that you want to stay with
Colton Pond (10:08):
and then pricing becomes less of a factor because I know that
i've had my Personal loan with worldand they've treated me Well when I
had a tough time and I I lost my jobthey were there and helped me through
that Uh opportunity rather thansaying, yeah Call me when you're 90
days delinquent and we'll chat aboutoptions, right which is a far different.
Uh, Approach.
(10:29):
Yep
Tedd Huff (10:30):
And Colton, with you talking about being there, and you said meet
them where they're at, what are someof the approaches that you take to make
sure you're there, and you're meetingthem where they're at, even if they
don't know that they're there already?
Ben Boyer (10:45):
Yeah, I think it's about, you know, understanding the customer,
having interactions with the customer,and to your point, educating the
customer, um, about, you know, Youknow what things they might be,
able to get it at this pointin their financial journey and
what it looks like to get there.
really, when I think about what thefuture of the, fintech landscape looks
(11:05):
like and product offerings, you know,we were talking and somebody mentioned,
you know, this is a frustration that Iknow I had for a really long time is, you
know, there's not really a good budgetingapp that says if I have 100 in my bank
account and I get paid X amount everytwo weeks, and I have these expenses
like Am I going to run out of money?
If so, when, how much money do I need?
(11:25):
You know, if I add in thisadditional thing, what's that
going to do to the budget?
So I think people that can deliverthat type of education and common
sense conversation to the customer tosay, Hey, this is what it looks like.
This is what you need to do.
Here's how you can get there.
And yes, you, you can do this.
You can be control in control of yourfinancial future and you can succeed.
(11:47):
the people who can tie those conversationsinto the right products for those
customers are the ones that areultimately going to succeed and win.
Colton Pond (11:54):
Yeah.
Lastly, on that note, uh, key aspectthere is understanding the customer
through the data that you haveand offering personalized products
to meet them where they're at.
And that's a lot as we've met Benthat I've seen through Uh, you've
been able to do and go on the journeyof, Hey, where are my customers
and how else can I help them?
Right.
Um, and how can I help them on thejourney to what they want to achieve?
(12:15):
'cause ultimately every consumerdoesn't wanna be in debt.
and in the end, lenders need to.
Help customers fulfill their goals,which is to get out of debt, right?
Tedd Huff (12:24):
one last question Okay, because it's been as you and I were walking over
You know, I I was kind of at i've askinga couple questions to better understand
where you guys were at and I think thethe piece that that was brought up is
Is the credit worthiness piece of it?
And I want to know from yourperspective How do you see?
(12:47):
The way we evaluate.
That worthiness, especiallyfor the upcoming products
that you all are working on,
how has that changed and or changingin the next couple of years.
Ben Boyer (12:59):
it's changed a lot, you know, obviously in the past five,
10 years, um, with, you know, morealternative data coming in and more
opportunity to understand it, know moreabout your customer base, um, through,
you know, platforms like finicity andplaid and, and those types of things.
And I think that's thedirection that it's ultimately.
Going to continue to go in and, and themore information you can get about your
(13:23):
customer's behavior and spending habitsand patterns for things, and the more
complete picture you can form aboutyour customer without having to be.
Entirely reliant on abackwards looking credit score.
Um, that's always going to be atrailing indicator, which obviously
those are fantastic products andthey've served the market for really,
really long time, but everybody hasaccess to the same credit scores and
(13:46):
everybody knows what everybody else istargeting from an underwriting model.
So it's really about finding the peoplethat are falling through the cracks.
Of the large organizations that theyjust don't care about figuring out
how to, find the right customersout of those populations and
serve them with quality products.
Colton Pond (14:03):
One of the aspects, a final thought on one of the conversations I had
today, if you think about FICO score, itis one score for the broader population,
and it's actually done a pretty damn goodjob at being relatively representative.
When you say, this is a score foreveryone, everyone it works, right?
Right.
Uh, but where I see differentiation,what you're talking about is how do you
(14:25):
take segments of the overall populationand even your customer base and find
alternative data that helps betterinform creditworthiness, ability and
willingness to repay and what, uh,portfolio performance would look like.
Ben Boyer (14:42):
Yeah.
And how do you find low risk products thatcreditworthiness is even less of a factor?
How do you give thecustomer base that has.
No credit history whatsoever.
The opportunity to prove themselves.
You know, it's kind oflike your first job.
You know, everybody hasto have a first job.
Everybody has to have a first financialproduct to develop a credit history.
And how do you come out with productsthat can meet those customers while
(15:05):
also not generating a tremendousamount of risk for your company?
I think that's ultimately where peopleare going to be successful in the space.
And we're hoping to be successfulin the spaces is don't over
promise and under deliver.
And, you know, be honest and upfrontwith your customers and help them.
I mean, that's, that's whatwe're all in the business to do.
And there's been a lot of conversationabout that here at this meeting is,
you know, we're all in this businessto help our customers and serve them.
(15:29):
if you lose sight of that, youcan get yourself in trouble.
And so my hope is that we can just makesure that we never lose sight of that.
Colton Pond (15:34):
I agree.
Thanks for the time, Ben.
Really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Tedd Huff (15:38):
Well folks, that does it for another episode of Accrued.
If you've made it thisfar, go ahead, like, share,
subscribe, all that fun stuff.
And don't forget to signup at fintechconfidential.
com to be alerted your favoriteepisode coming up next.
And as always, keep moving forward.
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