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Calcubot Cloud connects a financial institution’s website to Facebook for viral marketing of loans
BERKELEY, CA (September 30, 2013) — Shastic today introduced Calcubot Cloud, the first financial marketing solution to integrate the Web and Facebook using cloud technology to market loans. Calcubot Cloud enables users to explore a loan on Facebook and seamlessly continue their investigation on the Web — or vice versa — without having to start over again.
Calcubot Cloud’s consultative approach walks prospective loan customers through an interactive buying process tailored to a financial institution’s lending products. Members can save loan calculations in the cloud and access them from anywhere. ‘Savings Alerts’ can notify users when interest rates fall to a desired level. The social aspect of Calcubot Cloud lies in its ability to be shared with the end-user’s Facebook friends with the click of a ‘Like’ button, creating viral brand awareness for the financial institution. Unlike most fintech installations that require months or even years to complete, Calcubot Cloud can be configured and installed in 15 minutes.
Calcubot Cloud represents the start of an important industry trend to increase the effectiveness of online lending. Ariel Gomez, CEO of Shastic added “People hate entering the same information twice. Forcing them to do so substantially reduces conversion rates.” By using the cloud, users can shop for loans cross channel without any data re-entry.
“Financial institutions have to find a way to leverage the incredible power of social networks to increase the success of their online channel.” said Ron Shevlin, Senior Analyst at Aite Group. “Products like Calcubot Cloud recognize that it’s more cost effective to increase conversion rates than to increase traffic.”
Judy Ruiz, VP of Marketing at Kirtland Federal Credit Union said “It’s essential to grab people’s interest at the beginning of the process. Calcubot Cloud is a gateway to online lending that really keeps people engaged.”
For financial institutions interested in Calcubot Cloud, more information is available at http://calcubot.com. Financial Institutions have the option of a Shastic-led implementation or performing a Web-based installation.
Shastic, a technology company based in Berkeley, CA, created the first-ever consumer-facing tools on Facebook for the financial sector in 2012. Over 50 financial institutions, including top-30 credit unions and industry leaders trust Shastic to educate and empower their consumers. Its first offering, Calcubot, is a simple but powerful social application that helps credit unions and banks fully engage with potential loan applicants. Shastic is a portfolio company of Berkeley Ventures.