by Mike Walsh | Aug 3, 2020 | Blog, From Around the Web
With the economic downturn taking a toll on lenders and borrowers alike, more borrowers have turned to non-bank options for their funding. However, on the opposite side of this dilemma sits the federal agencies overseeing the activities of these lenders. The urgency to better regulate the industry has led to legislation that leaves lenders with unanswered questions.
Photo by Fritz Hoste from Pexels
New York State’s new law affecting lenders, the Small Business Finance Disclosure Law, passed last week in a matter of several days. The law mandates that lenders disclose APR, among other uniform disclosures, on their contracts for commercial financing. It also puts New York’s Department of Financial Services in charge of overseeing these changes and implementing punishments for those found violating the law.
The issue comes down to this: Some of these requirements are simply not possible to fulfill. For instance, the section requiring disclosure of the APR applies even to contracts that are not for loans and have no set time-frame. How do you disclose an APR if there is none involved? Also, in the case of California (who passed a similar law), regulators could not come to an agreement on how to disclose, or even come up with an APR for contracts that do not inherently involve one.
While the law still hasn’t been formally signed by the governor, alternative lenders and MCA providers should consult with a lawyer to make sure they are as compliant as possible with the upcoming regulations. For now, businesses are hoping that the New York Department of Financial Services issues their own formula to calculate APR when the law is enacted.
With the economic landscape being foggy at best, how can you prepare your business for the coming events? Take a look at which factors you can still depend on to plan for the future.
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.
by Mike Walsh | Jul 29, 2020 | Blog, From Around the Web
Trade shows, weddings, vacations, family visits. Humans are social animals and it’s in our nature to stay connected. For hundreds of years, we were bound to paper mail at best. Then, air travel changed that all. But now with travel being risky (if even available), how are people adapting?
The first thing you could do is to look at the stock performance of the seven biggest airlines. Companies like Southwest, United, Delta, and Lufthansa saw between a -48% to nearly -79% change in total returns. The evidence is everywhere. Plane capacity is being cut to help keep a safe distance. Staff are getting laid off and even the executives have taken pay cuts.
Interestingly enough, our need to stay connected at a distance hasn’t changed. While air and other long-distance travel aren’t currently in the cards, people are arguably more connected than ever. School and work have come online, and so have our friendships.
While the seven biggest airlines saw their stocks take a nosedive, Zoom, the video conference giant, had its stock shoot higher than those seven companies combined. In May of this year, their market capitalization jumped to $48.8 billion. Especially with its new use in distance education, Zoom’s popularity suits the current social need.
That said, Zoom has seen its fair share of problems. Security issues and uninvited guests joining meetings raised some concerns early on. However Zoom manages these and its future road bumps will decide its future from 2021 on.
Airlines and software companies aren’t the only ones facing an unclear future. See how the lending market is managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.
by Mike Walsh | Jul 29, 2020 | Blog, From Around the Web
Both businesses and individuals have taken the COVID health emergency as an opportunity to bring their operations online. As the number of remote financial transactions grows, more and more companies are trying to capitalize on this trend.
However, with billions of dollars circulating online, financial software needs to be safer than ever before.
First, how do we tell how secure a company’s software is? There are two metrics that measure this. The first is the average time it takes to detect a security breach and the second is the average time it takes to respond to the threat. The first is abbreviated as MTTD (mean time to detect) and the second as MTTR (mean time to respond).
While a trained staff must monitor for potential threats, the majority of these processes are monitored digitally. Programs scan for unusual activity and reduce the MTTD for the software. After, the time saved by automating the detection process can be used so the security team can quickly respond to and eliminate the threat.
Another measure a company can take to protect its app and is to focus on the security of its data. Encrypted communications protect financial information from third-parties and two-step verification can keep users’ account data private. That said, financial companies will need to go above and beyond in order to succeed as a record amount of transactions take place online.
Tech companies will be the ones responsible for their apps’ security, but who is making the paper-to-digital transition happen for their users? Take a look at one example here that is helping lenders get their processes done online.
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.
by Mike Walsh | Jul 24, 2020 | Blog, From Around the Web
We’re finally beginning to understand how to care for our physical health in the pandemic. Wear your mask, keep a safe distance from other people, avoid crowded and poorly ventilated spaces. Simple enough, right? But what about the health of your finances? Just like your own well-being, there are simple measures you can take to protect your wallet’s as well.
First, a financial checkup: Do you know how much you spend every week? Making accurate judgements about your financial health is impossible without knowing where your money is going. If you don’t already, start to take note of how much goes to food, housing, and other expenses as part of your weekly budget. If you are new to budgeting, there are apps that can link to your bank account and help you track your expenses.
No matter where you are financially, be sure to save something for your future. Even $100 can put a buffer between you and financial uncertainty. Though the future is always unpredictable, remember that your retirement savings account allows you to save more money over time than a standard savings account.
These are fairly basic steps, but fully investing in your bank account’s preventative care can ensure you have the resources for your own physical health. The list continues here with this article from Finance Monthly.
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.
by Mike Walsh | Jul 22, 2020 | Blog, From Around the Web
While we were gently easing into digitized life, the world decided it had other plans in mind. The infrastructure was there, but now tech has to adapt to the broad capabilities it has to serve. Is it ethical to record data on employees’ health? How do you keep workers safe without overstepping privacy limitations? But most of all, how do we do all of this in a way that keeps tech trustworthy?
This great migration will require a complete ethical overhaul. With CRMs like Salesforce and Hubspot taking over oversight roles, personal data must be treated with the utmost care. When inputting data, it’s important to think if this data could be used unfairly against people that belong to a minority group. Is it accessible for people with disabilities? And how will it change with these individuals and society’s needs?
Now more than ever, things as simple as retaining employees are tied in with their trust in your organization. Transparency and participation are key. In fact, the communities for which this software is used will have the biggest say in how it’s designed. Surveys, focus groups, and other methods of getting feedback will become the primary method of making sure your software also works for them.
Salesforce, one of the current CRM giants, knows firsthand how important keeping up with the current changes can be. They have five pieces of advice to responsibly manage data in this article by World Economic Forum.
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.
