Have you heard of Affirm?

[Ron1]

I read from other forum about Affirm. It is another payment option like PayPal or BML? Is it another hidden TL?

 

 

 

link:

 

https://www.affirm.com/u/#/signup

 

 

http://fortune.com/tag/affirm/

 

 

Ron.

[brandonc]

It's not like PayPal.

 

They allow customers to obtain a short-term loan to finance something they're buying online, like Bill Me Later, and on the merchant side Affirm takes all of the risk, so the merchant will get paid regardless of any potential default. I'm not sure if that's the case or not with BML.

 

Being in the tech industry, from my perspective the cool part of what they're doing is using big data to analyze potential customers from a more widened perspective than just their credit score.

 

I don't know if it is hidden or not. My guess is that it is.

[cashnocredit]

I think he has no idea what he is up against. The FCRA regulates data aggregators and there are complex state rules for DIYers. He would have to get aggregator data that had been filtered via FCRA regs and provide source info to applicants for anything found that might have resulted in a negative decision.

 

I don't see this working out.

Edited September 1, 2014 by cashnocredit

[JunkBuyersWorstNightmare]

It's not like PayPal.

 

They allow customers to obtain a short-term loan to finance something they're buying online, like Bill Me Later, and on the merchant side Affirm takes all of the risk, so the merchant will get paid regardless of any potential default. I'm not sure if that's the case or not with BML.

 

Being in the tech industry, from my perspective the cool part of what they're doing is using big data to analyze potential customers from a more widened perspective than just their credit score.

 

I don't know if it is hidden or not. My guess is that it is.

 

How wide are we talking about here?

[Losluv]

Using whether you have a FB profile and a cell phone as criteria for granting credit. Seems a little shaky.

[shifter]

All about risk management.

 

If they have stats to back it up

 

That makes sense for them.

[JunkBuyersWorstNightmare]

Using whether you have a FB profile and a cell phone as criteria for granting credit. Seems a little shaky.

 

Indeed. Do they monitor what you post?

[Losluv]

 

Using whether you have a FB profile and a cell phone as criteria for granting credit. Seems a little shaky.

 

Indeed. Do they monitor what you post?

If they do, are they judging the quality of the post? There are many Jerry Springer-like postings/pics on FB. Might be an excellent screening too-lol.

 

Seriously though, this seems like a sketchy metric for making credit decisions.

[brandonc]

 

It's not like PayPal.

 

They allow customers to obtain a short-term loan to finance something they're buying online, like Bill Me Later, and on the merchant side Affirm takes all of the risk, so the merchant will get paid regardless of any potential default. I'm not sure if that's the case or not with BML.

 

Being in the tech industry, from my perspective the cool part of what they're doing is using big data to analyze potential customers from a more widened perspective than just their credit score.

 

I don't know if it is hidden or not. My guess is that it is.

 

How wide are we talking about here?

 

 

It would depend on what kind of privacy settings people have and how active they are publicly on the web, as well as browser settings and such. As much as privacy is talked about these days, most people still don't do anything to protect theirs.

 

The data that can be aggregated is pretty astounding and doesn't just include Facebook profiles. (But, yes, it could look at and analyze posts under certain circumstances, and I actually think this would be a good predictor for credit worthiness, to be used for some small percentage of what is taken into account.)

 

I assume they can grab more than just social media profiles, though. They can easily track all websites being visited and from that you can actually get a pretty good picture of a person. I assume they are going to build a number of customers and find out who turns out to be a good customer and who doesn't and then they'll have a basis for comparison as well.

 

I think it will work out well. Then again compiling substantial data on people and filing through it is part of what I do in technology, so based on my experience I feel like they might be able to widen the profile of an approved consumer while also reducing their risk.

 

On the other hand, I also feel like it's scary how much data we can actually pull from what people do on a daily basis. I tend to be very closed off as far as what can be found on me if only because of what I've seen compiled on others.

 

I doubt it will be long before there's a startup attempting to disrupt the credit industry and make FICO scores irrelevant through big data and then taking into consideration some of the more traditional aspects that are taken into consideration now. I don't doubt that this is something Affirm is planning to do in the long-term.

[JunkBuyersWorstNightmare]

 

 

It's not like PayPal.

 

They allow customers to obtain a short-term loan to finance something they're buying online, like Bill Me Later, and on the merchant side Affirm takes all of the risk, so the merchant will get paid regardless of any potential default. I'm not sure if that's the case or not with BML.

 

Being in the tech industry, from my perspective the cool part of what they're doing is using big data to analyze potential customers from a more widened perspective than just their credit score.

 

I don't know if it is hidden or not. My guess is that it is.

 

How wide are we talking about here?

 

 

It would depend on what kind of privacy settings people have and how active they are publicly on the web, as well as browser settings and such. As much as privacy is talked about these days, most people still don't do anything to protect theirs.

 

The data that can be aggregated is pretty astounding and doesn't just include Facebook profiles. (But, yes, it could look at and analyze posts under certain circumstances, and I actually think this would be a good predictor for credit worthiness, to be used for some small percentage of what is taken into account.)

 

I assume they can grab more than just social media profiles, though. They can easily track all websites being visited and from that you can actually get a pretty good picture of a person. I assume they are going to build a number of customers and find out who turns out to be a good customer and who doesn't and then they'll have a basis for comparison as well.

 

I think it will work out well. Then again compiling substantial data on people and filing through it is part of what I do in technology, so based on my experience I feel like they might be able to widen the profile of an approved consumer while also reducing their risk.

 

On the other hand, I also feel like it's scary how much data we can actually pull from what people do on a daily basis. I tend to be very closed off as far as what can be found on me if only because of what I've seen compiled on others.

 

I doubt it will be long before there's a startup attempting to disrupt the credit industry and make FICO scores irrelevant through big data and then taking into consideration some of the more traditional aspects that are taken into consideration now. I don't doubt that this is something Affirm is planning to do in the long-term.

 

 

It sounds exceedingly creepy and invasive to me.

[cashnocredit]

 

 

It's not like PayPal.

 

They allow customers to obtain a short-term loan to finance something they're buying online, like Bill Me Later, and on the merchant side Affirm takes all of the risk, so the merchant will get paid regardless of any potential default. I'm not sure if that's the case or not with BML.

 

Being in the tech industry, from my perspective the cool part of what they're doing is using big data to analyze potential customers from a more widened perspective than just their credit score.

 

I don't know if it is hidden or not. My guess is that it is.

 

How wide are we talking about here?

 

 

It would depend on what kind of privacy settings people have and how active they are publicly on the web, as well as browser settings and such. As much as privacy is talked about these days, most people still don't do anything to protect theirs.

 

The data that can be aggregated is pretty astounding and doesn't just include Facebook profiles. (But, yes, it could look at and analyze posts under certain circumstances, and I actually think this would be a good predictor for credit worthiness, to be used for some small percentage of what is taken into account.)

 

I assume they can grab more than just social media profiles, though. They can easily track all websites being visited and from that you can actually get a pretty good picture of a person. I assume they are going to build a number of customers and find out who turns out to be a good customer and who doesn't and then they'll have a basis for comparison as well.

 

I think it will work out well. Then again compiling substantial data on people and filing through it is part of what I do in technology, so based on my experience I feel like they might be able to widen the profile of an approved consumer while also reducing their risk.

 

On the other hand, I also feel like it's scary how much data we can actually pull from what people do on a daily basis. I tend to be very closed off as far as what can be found on me if only because of what I've seen compiled on others.

 

I doubt it will be long before there's a startup attempting to disrupt the credit industry and make FICO scores irrelevant through big data and then taking into consideration some of the more traditional aspects that are taken into consideration now. I don't doubt that this is something Affirm is planning to do in the long-term.

 

 

 

From a technical POV I agree that there is an enormous amount of data much of it is probably highly correlated with future risk. However, their are strict laws that limit how this data can be used for credit decisioning. It's the wild west in other areas, especially targeted ads and market intelligence overlapping into Wall Street and deploying serious cash. It's the restrictions of the current legal framework, not the efficacy of the idea, that is why I believe it will fail. They should first try to set it up in countries w/o restrictive laws.

Edited September 2, 2014 by cashnocredit

[hegemony]

On 8/31/2014 at 10:40 PM, cashnocredit said:

I think he has no idea what he is up against. The FCRA regulates data aggregators and there are complex state rules for DIYers. He would have to get aggregator data that had been filtered via FCRA regs and provide source info to applicants for anything found that might have resulted in a negative decision.

 

I don't see this working out.

paywall: Affirm Prepares IPO That Could Value Fintech Firm at Up to $10 Billion

[cashnocredit]

3 hours ago, hegemony said:

paywall: Affirm Prepares IPO That Could Value Fintech Firm at Up to $10 Billion

The big data, social credit scoring bs they hyped 7 years ago seems to have never materialized here in the USA but forms of it are happening in other countries where regulations allow. I do believe there is significant gold to mine where regulations allow.

 

Now's a good time to sell that puppy with all the people staying home and buying online.

 

For the life of me I don't see the appeal of buying $200 items on installment but that's me.

 

Looking around a bit it appears Affirm has dropped the social media, big data, credit scoring approach and simply soft's standard CRAs for approval. They may sometimes ask for bank info. All that's good and fine with the regulators. Seems they are going after the low end of consumer credit market, bundling up the short term debt, keeping a substantial merchant discount, and selling the paper. Right now the market is hot for short term notes with interest rates so low. Make hay while the sun shines. Significant risk to the debt buyers though.

 

I sure hope they decide to IPO. Would love to look at the S1.

[gdtobefree]

On 8/31/2014 at 11:53 PM, Ron1 said:

I read from other forum about Affirm. It is another payment option like PayPal or BML? Is it another hidden TL?

 

 

 

link:

 

https://www.affirm.com/u/#/signup

 

 

http://fortune.com/tag/affirm/

 

 

Ron.

It reports. I used them twice and have two trade lines on my reports from them. 

[smartlypretty]

11 hours ago, gdtobefree said:

It reports. I used them twice and have two trade lines on my reports from them. 

Yeah, every so often I use it when I don't want to admit I'm spending $100 on something ridiculous, like a jumpsuit only available in leopard because black sold out. 

[brainchasm]

I used it to snag the fiancée's ring. *shrug*

I like having pay-over-time options when it costs me nothing in interest.

 

[hegemony]

is anyone using Affirm for high yield savings? It is currently sitting at 1.3% APY. That is enough delta from Amex to potentially be worth my time but reviews of Affirm indicate a lot of ID verification hassle and otherwise ho-hum experiences.

 

anyone have feedback? TIA

[cv91915]

1 hour ago, hegemony said:

is anyone using Affirm for high yield savings? It is currently sitting at 1.3% APY. That is enough delta from Amex to potentially be worth my time but reviews of Affirm indicate a lot of ID verification hassle and otherwise ho-hum experiences.

 

anyone have feedback? TIA

I'm willing to GP.  ID verification issues should be front-loaded at account opening, right?  

[hegemony]

1 hour ago, cv91915 said:

I'm willing to GP.  ID verification issues should be front-loaded at account opening, right?  

I would think so. There was one review all about having to scan drivers license which sounds so very 1990s.

[cv91915]

48 minutes ago, hegemony said:

I would think so. There was one review all about having to scan drivers license which sounds so very 1990s.

I've been looking for a reason to dump one of my savings accounts.  

 

I'll sign up now.

[cv91915]

From what I can tell so far, the only option for setting up and accessing the savings account later is via a mobile app.  

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by cv91915

[cv91915]

After successfully authenticating via Plaid with the target account for the source of the opening deposit, I still have to enter the routing number.

 

...which I'm still trying to find.

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by cv91915

[cv91915]

Aside from having to locate and then key in the routing and account numbers for an account that's already been successfully located and linked via Plaid, it was painless.

 

I really don't want to manage this account from my phone, so I'll probably link a couple of other accounts and use those to push/pull money to/from the Affirm account.

 

I'll also try to link the account to My Portfolio on Bank of America's site so I have more convenient access to the balance.

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by cv91915

[cv91915]

1 hour ago, cv91915 said:

I'll also try to link the account to My Portfolio on Bank of America's site so I have more convenient access to the balance.

Or not.

 

 

[discopanda]

On 8/3/2020 at 12:09 PM, smartlypretty said:

Yeah, every so often I use it when I don't want to admit I'm spending $100 on something ridiculous, like a jumpsuit only available in leopard because black sold out. 

Leopard huh? 😏