ALBANY, N.Y.–The New York CU Association said it has entered into a partnership with SimplyCredit, a San Francisco-based fintech, with a goal of helping its affiliated CUs combat online disruption and accelerate lending growth.
Through the partnership, SimplyCredit will enable consumers to refinance high-APR credit card balances with participating New York credit unions using a seamless mobile and web interface, the NYCUA said.
CUToday.info had earlier reported on one New York CU’s experience partnering with SimplyCredit here.
“Credit card debt amounts to about $1 trillion and most of it is expected to revolve,” said NYCUA President and CEO William J. Mellin. “SimplyCredit encourages New Yorkers to turn to credit unions to pay-down their debts, while also helping the state’s credit unions as they look to grow loans and memberships.”
According to the NYCUA, SimplyCredit’s online tools enable members to not only apply for personal lines, but to also enroll credit cards and schedule balance transfers and line payments. As a result, many members are saving $2,000 or more in interest payments a year, the association said. “Combined with this service are sophisticated analytics and marketing support that have achieved application rates of nearly 6% on marketing campaigns.”
According to Karthik Sethuraman, CEO of SimplyCredit, a small number of online lenders with a collective history of less than 30 years are now originating more consumer loans than all credit unions combined. “Fintech disruption started with card consolidations, but the disruption is expanding into other lending categories,” said Sethuraman in a statement. "We're leveling the playing field for credit unions by providing the same tools, prescreen analytics and marketing support that have made online lenders so successful in such a short time."
“We are big fans of SimplyCredit, and our members love the convenience of the program,” said Thomas J. Powers Jr., president and CEO of Hudson River Financial FCU, who had been featured in the earlier CUToday.info story. “We encourage our members to use any reward-driven cards they choose. However, if a member has to leave a balance on those cards, SimplyCredit is a great one-stop, one-payment solution that helps them avoid the high-interest charges that come with many rewards cards.”