Partnership Announcements Archives - Page 5 of 8

Craig Vosburg, Mastercard North America President, joins Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous on The First Trade to break down the details of its $825 million dollar purchase of the financial data company Finicity.

Watch the full interview on Yahoo! Finance’s website.

American Banker’s Penny Crosman discusses how data aggregation and open banking platforms are becoming viewed as the next steps in transforming the financial services and payment processing industry.

Read the full article on American Banker’s website ($).

Mastercard’s acquisition of Finicity for $825 million is the second big money Utah acquisition of 2020. The Deseret News’ Art Raymond writes about the fit between Finicity and Mastercard, as well as where Finicity fits in Silicon Slopes and the Utah tech scene.

Read the full article on the Deseret News’ website.

As the co-founders of Finicity we are thrilled to share that Finicity will become a part of Mastercard!

When we started Finicity over a decade ago, we set out to help individuals and families better manage their finances by providing a technology-driven budgeting platform and the data needed to make smarter financial decisions. Finicity was truly one of Fintech’s pioneers.

We have since grown to become a trusted data access and insights platform for financial services innovation. We empower consumers to access, control and permission their financial data for use within other fintech and financial services products. Our clients are some of the most forward-thinking organizations in the world, as they transform the way consumers and businesses experience money—everything from budgeting, saving and borrowing to transacting, investing and lending.

And while this is a major mile marker for Finicity, it is only one on our continuing journey of consumer empowerment. We believe what we do will change the world for the better. We see tremendous opportunity to improve financial literacy, expand financial inclusion, reinvent money movement, transform digital underwriting, pioneer digital trust, revolutionize credit scoring and generally accelerate financial technology.

The next phase of this growth will happen as part of Mastercard. For more than 50 years, Mastercard has fostered a culture of innovation and has embraced technology advancements.

Mastercard invested early in open banking and launched a set of solutions in Europe last year. Today, these leading services are live in a dozen countries. With the addition of Finicity, Mastercard expects to not only advance its open banking strategy but enhance how it supports today’s digital economy. This strategic approach demonstrates how Mastercard is an excellent fit.

We are confident Mastercard is the right partner at the right time to enhance the trajectory of Finicity in accomplishing our mission. Combining our efforts with Mastercard’s resources, partnerships and expertise, will allow us to expedite our progress and expand our reach.

Over the years, Finicity has connected millions of consumer accounts, helping them permission the use of their data to their benefit. Across personal financial management, lending, credit scoring, credit decisioning, payment initiation and more, Finicity has fueled the promise of fintech, which is to enhance a consumer’s or organization’s ability to accomplish their financial goals.

To our clients and partners, we are very aware that where Finicity is today wouldn’t have happened without your support and collaboration. There hasn’t been anything more fulfilling in business than working with each of you to launch something new that meaningfully changes consumer experiences.

A special thank you to Financial Technology Partners (FT Partners) and Cooley LLP for their advice and support through this process.

We look forward to our partnership with Mastercard and believe it will lead to greater possibilities for our clients and partners, both those we work with today and those we’ll work with in the future.

We’re excited to embark on this next leg of our journey with Mastercard and furthering our goal of changing the world.

Steve Smith and Nick Thomas

Link to press release

Strengthens existing open banking capabilities with Finicity’s proven technology and talent

Enhances collaboration and co-creation efforts with fintechs and financial institutions

Furthers commitment to consumer-centric data protection and practices

PURCHASE, N.Y. – June 23, 2020 – Mastercard (NYSE: MA) today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Finicity, a leading North American provider of real-time access to financial data and insights. The purchase price is US$825 million, and Finicity’s existing shareholders have the potential for an earn-out of up to an additional $160 million, if performance targets are met.

The addition of Finicity’s complementary technology and teams strengthens the existing Mastercard open banking platform to enable and safeguard a greater choice of financial services, reinforcing the company’s long-standing partnerships with and commitment to financial institutions and fintechs across the globe.

Open banking gives people and businesses more control over their financial data. This includes determining how and where third parties – such as fintechs or other banks – can access that information to provide new services like money management programs or initiate payments on their behalf.

Mastercard has increasingly invested in this space over several years, including the 2019 launch of a set of comprehensive open banking solutions in Europe. The combination of these efforts with the Finicity technology powering platforms such as Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage and Experian Boost has the potential to shape the next generation of open banking services.

“Open banking is a growing global trend and a strategically important space for us. With the addition of Finicity, we expect to not only advance our open banking strategy, but enhance how we support and accelerate today’s digital economy across several markets,” said Michael Miebach, president of Mastercard. “Finicity has a proven business, built on partnerships with thousands of banks and fintechs, similar to us. Finicity also shares our commitment to consumer-centric data practices, ensuring consumers have a say in how and where their information should be used. It’s through the use of next generation open banking APIs and clear consumer approvals that this financial information can deliver streamlined loan and mortgage processes, rapid account-based payment initiation and personal financial management solutions.”

“Since our founding, Nick Thomas and I have focused on developing industry-leading technology and building an organization that empowers consumers and organizations to better understand, manage and use their financial data to improve their financial lives,” said Steve Smith, chief executive officer and co-founder of Finicity. “Enabling people to access and control their data, while ensuring best practices to protect that data, will continue to drive tremendous innovation that increases financial literacy, inclusion and health. This partnership with Mastercard helps us accelerate this mission globally.”

Strategic Rationale

Advances Mastercard as a Strong Open Banking Partner for Fintechs, Financial Institutions. Finicity’s technology and dedicated employees will enhance Mastercard’s existing open banking solutions by enabling them to expand in North America and other key geographies. Today, Mastercard open banking services in Europe feature connections to more than 1,800 financial institutions. With a direct connection to the North American banking, lending and wealth management ecosystem, Mastercard will extend Finicity’s reach to be a one-stop partner for any consumer, bank, merchant, fintech or government’s data, payment and open banking needs.

Strengthens Capabilities and Offerings to Consumers and Businesses. Following the completion of the transaction, Mastercard’s existing technology and expertise combined with Finicity’s new analytics platforms, will help streamline the credit decisioning process for consumers and small businesses. Additionally, the integration of Finicity’s account owner verification tools to Mastercard’s New Payment Platform capabilities will deliver an improved ACH and real-time payments experience to consumers, merchants and businesses.

Enhances Commitment to Responsible Data Practices. Finicity shares Mastercard’s commitment to safe and secure data practices centered around the individual. Finicity’s co-founders have played a critical role in the advancing the discussion of best practices across multiple industries. Finicity has a strong commitment to deliver best-in-class data management practices by partnering with banks and their customers to ensure secure connectivity is established.

“Bank of America is a strong believer in giving people control over their financial information and the ability to share it securely,” said Mark Monaco, head of Enterprise Payments at Bank of America. “We’ve worked with both Finicity and Mastercard, as well as industry groups such as Financial Data Exchange, to accelerate the adoption of the highest standards of privacy and security for data sharing, and to eliminate the retention and storage of individuals’ financial details by third parties. We look forward to continuing our work with Finicity and Mastercard to further improve the customer experience.”

“Finicity has been a strong partner of Rocket Mortgage during the mortgage industry’s tech revolution. Fast, easy access to consumer-permissioned data is critical to lenders who are making well-informed mortgage real time decisions. We are happy for the Finicity team in joining Mastercard and look forward to a continued partnership,” said Scott Elkins, senior vice president of Investments at Rocket Mortgage.

“Brex’s innovative offering uses Finicity’s connectivity, giving us access to the best quality business-permissioned data to power our platform,” said Henrique Dubugras, chief executive officer, Brex. “The combination of Finicity’s capabilities with Mastercard’s products and services will enable us to create innovative solutions to enhance our Brex offerings.”

“We are pleased to see the combination of Finicity and Mastercard,” said Craig Boundy, chief executive officer of Experian North America. “We look forward to collaborating with them in our ongoing mission to help consumers.”

As with past acquisitions, Mastercard does not expect this acquisition to be incrementally dilutive to its business for greater than 24 months. This dilution is driven by investments in the business, including its international expansion, as well as the impact of purchase accounting and integration related costs.

The transaction, which is anticipated to close by year’s end, is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

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About Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

About Finicity

Finicity’s mission is to help individuals, families and organizations make smarter financial decisions through safe and secure access to fast, high-quality data. The company, which launched its first financial product in 2000, has since grown to provide financial data APIs, credit decisioning tools and financial wellness solutions. Finicity partners with influential financial institutions and disruptive fintech providers alike to give consumers a leg up in a complicated financial world. It has played a key role in innovative solutions like Experian’s Boost™ and it helps Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans access consumer-permissioned data for mortgage decisions. Finicity was awarded API World’s Finance API of the Year and has been an American Banker Best Places to Work in Fintech the past three years. Finicity is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT and has approximately 500 employees worldwide. To learn more or test drive its API, visit www.finicity.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “believe,” “expect,” “could,” “may,” “would,” “will,” “trend” and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to Mastercard’s future prospects, developments and business strategies, as well as Mastercard’s acquisition and operation of Finicity. We caution you to not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date they are made. Except for the company’s ongoing obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in financial condition, changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events.

Many factors and uncertainties relating to the proposed transaction, our operations and our business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control, influence whether any forward-looking statements can or will be achieved. Any one of these factors could cause our actual results or the impact of the acquisition to differ materially from those expressed or implied in writing in any forward-looking statements made by Mastercard or on its behalf. Such factors related to the completion and impact of the acquisition include, but are not limited to, whether all necessary conditions will be met, and whether the transaction will close on agreed terms and in a timely manner.

For additional information on other factors related to Mastercard’s overall business that could cause Mastercard’s actual results to differ materially from expected results, please see the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and any subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K.

Mastercard Investor Relations Contact

Gina Accordino, 914-249-4565

investor.relations@mastercard.com

Mastercard Communications Contact
Seth Eisen, 914-249-3153

Seth.Eisen@mastercard.com

Finicity Communications Contact

Andy Capener, 801-984-4231

andy.capener@finicity.com

Finicity provides asset verification solution to reduce process from weeks to minutes

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah and PARSIPPANY, New Jersey – October 10, 2019 – American Financial Resources, Inc. (AFR) announced today it is working together with Finicity—a leading provider of real-time financial data access and insights, to provide its business partners and their borrowers with a faster, simpler and more secure way to verify assets and income while originating loans.

American Financial Resources serves thousands of mortgage professionals nationwide with their residential financing needs through industry leading technology, a diverse program catalog, educational resources, dedicated industry experts, and dependable, best-in-class client service.

“We’re thrilled to partner with providers that simplify and accelerate the loan process for our business partners and the mortgage applicant.,” said Bill Packer, Executive VP and COO of AFR. “Finicity is at the forefront of the industry and its technology plays an important part in turning a time-intensive process into a simple, customer-friendly and therefore more satisfying experience for borrowers and their loan officers.”

Through Finicity’s verification platform, borrower assets can be confirmed within minutes, without the need to find, copy and scan piles of paper documents for verification. This can reduce the mortgage origination time by more than a week while eliminating the hassle of paper documents and manual processes.

“Today’s consumers expect simple, rapid experiences on their computers and phones, and the mortgage process should be no different,” said Steve Smith, CEO of Finicity. “AFR is embracing their role as a mortgage industry innovator, focused on meeting the expectations of the next gen consumer.”

Finicity is an authorized, integrated provider of asset verification reports for Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty and Freddie Mac’s Asset and Income Modeler (AIM) programs. Finicity recently announced a breakthrough in digital verification of income and employment. The solution uses its patent-pending TXVerify™ technology to extract a borrower’s pay statement data from the paystub and then cross-verifies that key data with their income transactions from their financial institutions for a real-time picture of an applicant’s income and employment status.

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About American Financial Resources:

American Financial Resources, Inc. (AFR) is the leading FHA 203(k) lender for sponsored originations in the country and an innovator in the construction and renovation lending area, as well as being ranked among the nation’s leading mortgage lenders. AFR utilizes the latest technology and delivers educational resources to mortgage brokers, loan originators and their customers. American Financial Resources, Inc. is an Equal Housing Lender: Lender NMLS 2826 at nmlsconsumeraccess.org. For more information, visit http://www.afrcorp.com/.

About Finicity:

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo once said, “Innovation is the calling card of the future.” Finicity operates with a similar eye to the future, each new data solution taking us closer to the future that we imagine. Our vision includes truly empowered consumers with full control over their personal data and common data sharing standards that facilitate creative problem solving within secure frameworks. Our work with the Financial Data Exchange (FDX) is evidence of our investment in this future. We know that the work we do today will impact the world we live in tomorrow.

We are, therefore, pleased to have entered into a direct data agreement with U.S. Bank. Finicity and U.S. Bank share an unwavering commitment to consumers and to protecting their personal financial data. This agreement is the result of a collaborative partnership focused on designing superior consumer experiences and on setting the stage for the future of data sharing.

This represents our continued efforts in leading the development of next-gen data access solutions and it will translate into multiple meaningful benefits for U.S. Bank customers. These benefits include increased security, reliability, and control. For U.S. Bank customers, permissioning their data will now be easier and more secure, the ultimate in customer experience. The relationship centers on an application programming interface (API) that provides rapid access to data through a secure tokenized process. Because of this tokenization, U.S. Bank customers will not have to share their credentials with anyone other than U.S. Bank.

Integration will require minimal effort for U.S. Bank customers. The direct API experience will simply redirect them to a familiar login experience from U.S. Bank. Emphasizing the importance of consumer control, each customer will ultimately have access to a permissioning portal where they can access, manage, and restrict the sharing of their financial data. Consumer education and consent are at the core of this data sharing agreement and inform each aspect of implementation.

Finicity is leading the financial data access market by entering into these data-sharing agreements (see our announcements with USAA, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, Capital One, and JPMorgan Chase). We currently maintain market coverage of approximately 95% of U.S. deposits and investments under management and, at this writing, 40% of that coverage will be based on direct API access. Our leadership in the direct data agreement space reflects our commitment to partnering with banks to provide the best data and the best experience for our shared customers.

While this agreement with U.S. Bank comes after much research, thought, and dialogue, it is not the end of the journey. Rather, it is the beginning—a gateway to new opportunities, new products, and new possibilities.

Integration to speed up lending process while improving digital experience for lenders and borrowers

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah and PLEASANTON, California – July 29, 2019 – Finicity, a provider of real-time financial data access and insights, and Ellie Mae®, the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry, today announced that Finicity’s digital Verification of Assets (VoA) solution is now available through Ellie Mae’s Encompass® Digital Lending Platform.

Modern consumers expect an increasingly seamless, fast and accurate application process. This has been made possible by digital solutions such as Finicity’s Verification of Assets which can shorten the application process by as many as 6 days. Now lenders can access this solution through Encompass for faster and more precise insights that reduce friction for customers.

“We believe that consumer expectations are driving the mortgage lending experience to one that is as simple and seamless as they’re having in other parts of their life, like e-commerce, ride-sharing, and more,” said Steve Smith, CEO and co-founder of Finicity. “We’re excited to partner with an organization like Ellie Mae, that shares this vision and is pushing innovation in the mortgage space.”

Drawn-out closing times and piles of paperwork detract from the excitement of buying a first home. Integrating the Finicity solution into Ellie Mae’s Encompass platform streamlines the origination process for lenders enabling them to eliminate once-manual tasks and devote more time to customer service and business development. With over 230,000 users and thousands of providers, Ellie Mae’s partner network processes approximately one-third of all the residential loans originated in the United States. As part of the partner network, Finicity will provide Ellie Mae customers with fast, frictionless asset verification.

“With the integration of Finicity’s digital Verification of Assets through our Encompass Digital Lending Platform, we are further enabling loan officers, processors and other key lender participants to reduce cycle-times and offer a more complete digital mortgage experience for their customers.” said Parvesh Sahi, senior vice president of business development for Ellie Mae.

The integration enables lenders to request a digital asset verification report. Once a request has been made, borrowers are asked to complete a simple online process to permission financial data they want included in the report. Lenders can then review the bank-validated report in near real-time, shortening the verification process from days to minutes.

“Since implementing this integration, our closing times have been significantly reduced,” said Torrey Larsen, Synergy One CEO. “Our loan officers are spending less time trying to verify assets and more time focusing on what really matters — our customers’ futures.”

Finicity is an authorized, integrated provider of asset verification reports within Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®), giving lenders a validated asset report through Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty™ initiative, and the company is part of Fannie’s Single Source Validation (SSV) pilot. Finicity is also an authorized Freddie Mac asset validation report provider, and Freddie Mac and Finicity are partnering on new methods to validate income using payroll deposit data from bank statements.

To stay up to date on all Finicity company and product announcements, visit the website at www.finicity.com.

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About Finicity:

About Ellie Mae:

Ellie Mae is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and shorten the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362 to learn more.

From becoming first-time homeowners to securing a new set of wheels, credit plays an important role in helping all of us live out our dreams. And the new UltraFICO™ Score from Finicity, Experian and FICO, which empowers borrowers to build and improve their credit scores, is designed to turn a few more of those dreams into reality.

How it works

Credit scores rely on credit history, but don’t take into account other important factors of your financial profile – until now. With UltraFICO, borrowers have the option of sharing more information with lenders than ever before. Although credit scores typically consist of five specific elements, UltraFICO opens the door for a whole host of new data – including how you manage or balance your checkings, savings and money market accounts.

By permissioning the use of these data sources, borrowers can offer greater insight into their financial responsibility. Instead of assuming loan candidacy based solely on credit history, lenders can leverage this additional financial information to better inform credit decisioning.

Perhaps most importantly, we as consumers have unprecedented transparency into the data that is being used. Any confusion over what data is being used to recalculate a credit score will quickly become a thing of the past.

Who it helps

For consumers who have a subprime credit score – those in that “gray area” right on the cusp – more information means a better shot at obtaining a loan. Given the fact that just one in three millennials own a credit card to begin with, UltraFICO couldn’t come at a better time.

Millions of young adults are out of luck when it comes to borrowing. Among the most prominent reasons is fear of debt. Having seen their parents struggle to escape credit card debt, the last thing most millennials want to do is open a line of credit. Research shows millennials fear credit card debt more than the threat of war – or even death.

With UltraFICO, however, millennials will be better positioned for when they do need credit. Rather than using credit utilization or length of credit history to prove their financial wherewithal, consumers can point to other positive financial attributes – such as maintaining a healthy savings balance or paying a cell phone bill on time every month.

While millennials are prime candidates for UltraFICO, there’s no limit to who can take advantage of this new credit scoring system. For example, older adults who have paid off their mortgages may still want to obtain an auto loan. By giving them the option of sharing data from a well-funded checking or savings account, UltraFICO can help make up for any dips in credit score. It will also benefit other emerging consumers and borrowers who may have had previous negative marks but otherwise have demonstrated positive financial management.

Why it matters

We’ve entered a new era in credit scoring. Once left to wonder if they’d qualify for a loan, consumers are now empowered to provide more information that’s relevant to their credit worthiness. Whether it’s showing you have cash on hand for emergencies or that you’ve avoided a negative balance in your checking account, data that sits outside of the traditional credit scoring model can move consumers one step closer toward reaching their financial goals.

The best part? UltraFICO is just the start of digital innovation in the credit decisioning space. As more ground-breaking ideas emerge, consumers stand to gain greater control over and insight into their financial lives.

Asset verification from Finicity will integrate into Princeton Mortgage’s SnapApp

SALT LAKE CITY – December 5, 2018 – Finicity, a leading provider of real-time financial data aggregation and insights, announced today it is working with mortgage banker Princeton Mortgage to automate borrower asset verification for lenders. The agreement will provide Princeton Mortgage loan officers and borrowers with a faster, simpler loan origination experience that reduces both paper chase and headache.

Princeton Mortgage’s digital mortgage platform, SnapApp, will leverage Finicity’s Verification of Assets (VoA) solution to give lenders access to the data insights they need to streamline the loan application process, reduce mortgage fraud, free up resources and shorten time to close. Automation cuts the verification process from days to minutes as borrowers no longer need to search for bank statements, and lenders have more time to focus on high-value activities, such as approving more loans.

“We’re thrilled to work with Princeton Mortgage and provide its customers with an innovative, paper-free and hassle-free experience,” said Steve Smith, Finicity CEO. “As the leading financial data aggregator in the mortgage lending industry, we are always looking for partners who share our goal of transforming outdated loan origination processes into seamless digital experiences.”

Princeton Mortgage created The Effortless Mortgage™ to perfect the user experience in loan origination. The solution includes platforms for integrating, managing and securing data to reduce stress and complications in the process for both brokers and borrowers. This is always backed by the Princeton Promise — if clients feel that their loan process was not effortless, they can request up to $1,000 credit back at closing. The Princeton Mortgage SnapApp is a key component to this process as it allows customers to get pre-approved in minutes from their phone, tablet or desktop.

“Borrowers want an effortless mortgage experience, and with our new SnapApp they get just that. Through SnapApp’s automated digital mortgage process, borrowers can apply, verify their income and assets, pull their credit, run an automated approval and even receive a pre-approval letter in the middle of the night, at their convenience,” said Nicole Gordon, Princeton Mortgage Sales Enablement Manager. “We are excited to partner with Finicity to help make this digital mortgage process seamless and simple.”

Finicity is also a Freddie Mac automated asset and income validation third-party service provider, and Freddie Mac and Finicity are working together on new methods to validate income from payroll deposit data from bank statements.

To stay up to date on all Finicity company and product announcements, visit the website at www.finicity.com.

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About Finicity:

About Princeton Mortgage:

Princeton Mortgage was founded in 1983 as a licensed mortgage banker and is backed by a 100+ year old multifaceted real estate brokerage, investment, and insurance company. Princeton Mortgage is positioned as a well-capitalized banker that is debt free and is creating dynamic new opportunities within their industry. For more info, visit www.princetonmortgage.com.