Method Financial expands reach to 200k+ Americans managing more than $22 billion in consumer debt
AUSTIN, TX (July 18, 2023) — Method Financial, a leading provider of real-time data and payment access for consumer liabilities, has expanded its reach to more than 200,000 Americans managing over $22 billion in consumer debt since its launch at the end of 2021. Method continues to increase its reach through its growing client base, which has grown by 250%+ in the last 12 months.
Since the company’s launch, more than 55 customers, including banks, credit unions, fintechs and personal finance management apps, have entrusted Method to help thousands of end-users connect over $22 billion in consumer debt and process more than $75 million in liability payments. Method’s newest clients include Clutch, a digital lending solution for credit unions; Aven, a fintech that empowers access to credit and capital through home equity; Chipper, a comprehensive digital solution for student loan borrowers; Conductiv, a software provider that powers loan approvals for banks and credit unions; and Reach Financial, a personal loan provider designed to help people pay down debt faster. Method anticipates continued growth through the remainder of 2023 and beyond, as more financial service providers seek to help consumers view and service their liabilities across a broad spectrum of debts.
“Method’s rapid growth is a testament to the growing demand among consumers, fintechs and financial institutions for a better approach to comprehensively manage and service a range of liability accounts. Consumer debt is at a record high and according to a recent New York Life survey, 29% of Americans who feel less confident about their finances say the top reason is because they struggle to manage debt,” said Jose Bethancourt, Co-founder & CEO of Method Financial. “Our team is changing this. By empowering debt-burdened consumers to easily manage their liabilities in one place and access more affordable credit offers, we can meaningfully improve their financial health long-term.”
Method Financial makes it easy for financial institutions and fintechs to embed loan repayment, data, balance transfers, debt consolidation and bill pay automation into their user journey through a single API. Using cutting-edge technologies provided by mobile network operators, credit bureaus and banking cores for real-time identity verification, Method allows consumers to securely retrieve and pay all of their debt accounts in one place with their personal identifiable information (PII).
Conventional approaches to assessing an individual’s financial liabilities, such as student loans, credit cards, mortgages and more, rely on screen scraping and credential-based logins. However, these tactics lack standardization and require the user to provide authentication details to their various accounts, which makes it impossible to securely and seamlessly perform actions, such as balance transfers or liability payments.
Instead, Method achieves the consumer credit access that was envisioned in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act by retrieving a person’s liabilities across more than 15,000 institutions in the U.S. using PII and telecomm-based authentication. The company’s debt-agnostic solution allows users to access more competitive rates, initiate payments on any type of debt, conduct balance transfers and refinance or consolidate their debts. Financial institutions and fintechs gain access to a real-time view of a consumer’s liability, supporting more personalized product offers, cross-sell opportunities and the ability to modernize the onboarding process.
Earlier this year, Method raised a $16 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, joined by Truist Ventures, SV Angel, Abstract Ventures, along with other fintech operators. With this funding, the company is well-equipped to further its mission of helping consumers better manage their liabilities and ultimately, achieve improved financial health.
About Method Financial
Method Financial empowers real-time data and payment access for consumer liabilities. Using a consumer’s PII, Method can securely connect all of a user’s liabilities, retrieve comprehensive data, and enable payment access via APIs. Method’s industry-backed network allows lenders, fintechs, and financial institutions to build personalized lending and financial management experiences supported by comprehensive real-time credit data, evergreen connections and integrated payment rails. Through a single integration, Method powers access to liabilities held at over 15,000+ FIs in the US, covering 95% of all outstanding consumer debt. Since launching in late 2021, Method has helped 200k+ users connect $22Bn+ in consumer debt to the financial institution of their choice.
