Top 5 Ways FinTech Lenders Help People Get A Cash Advance Online
FinTech companies are changing the way people get loans and cash advance today. What takes several months in the old days now only takes a few seconds. What used to be impossible for some before is now achievable for all. What limits most before, now empowers the same people. And at the heart of it, all are FinTech lenders paving the way for this phenomenal change. But what is FinTech and how did it come to be in the financial world?
What is FinTech?
FinTech, a portmanteau of Financial Technology, refers to any organization that uses “financial technology” to improve its financial services and processes. The first financial technology application was the ATM or Automated Teller Machine, which was introduced in the late 1960s.
Today, however, rather than just referring to the backend technological systems that big financial institutions employ, the definition has become more consumer-oriented as financial technology businesses increasingly offer consumer-oriented services.
“FinTech” has become an industry in itself, and true to its name, FinTech companies help their consumers better manage their financials via the use of specialized financial software for computers and smartphones, and providing tough competition for traditional financial institutions to meet consumer needs.
So as long as electronic and mobile banking continue to become mainstream, FinTech companies will continue to dominate the financial landscape. Aside from mobile banking, FinTech applications can also be found in insurance, cryptocurrency, investment, and, yes, lending apps.
Are FinTech Lenders Legit?
Short answer: yes. Long answer, just as not all traditional lending companies are honest, or legally registered and covered by financial regulations, there are also fraudsters out to steal your identity, your credit card details, and other sensitive information like usernames and passwords so they can further scam you and steal from you.
And then there are the occasional online lenders who prey on small businesses by obscuring terms of loans or recklessly approving loans to borrowers who may be incapable of paying them back.
Fortunately, if you’re interested in getting a cash advance online, there are red flags you can watch out for to avoid being scammed.
How to Spot Cash Advance Scams?
Financial scammers habitually prey on people who have bad credit scores or who have been previously denied loans. And as long as there are people vulnerable to promises of instant cash loans, there will always be scammers. So here are a few ways to tell if a cash advance online offer is a scam:
The company’s website is not secure
When you visit the website of the lender, you should see a lock symbol on the address bar. The website address should also begin with “HTTPS.” HTTPS websites have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), which encrypts your data so that all information you provide goes through a secure connection. Stay away from companies with websites that only have HTTP on them.
The company is not registered in your state or your country
Legit companies have a license to operate. Look for such information on their website, keeping in mind that claims for registration can also be bogus. To be sure, check with the government agency responsible for business registration in your state or country.
The company has no physical address
Though some legit FinTech companies only have a PO box address, if a company has no brick-and-mortar office, it’s almost a sure sign that it’s not a legit business. They don’t want to be found by you and the authorities.
The company gives a deadline for loans
Fraudulent lending companies want to pressure you into taking the loan immediately. They put expiration dates on their offers to force you into accepting them. They’re experts at making you feel the urgency so you’re left with no time to think. Don’t get fooled by these people. If they’re pressuring you into a decision, the loan is likely a scam.
The company promises sure approval
Even with a good credit score, there’s no such thing as a guaranteed loan. If a company offers guaranteed approval for a cash advance, you can be sure that the company is fraudulent.
The company asks for an upfront cash payment
If a company asks for cash as payment for a processing fee, insurance, collateral, and other creative reasons they can think of, run. Run and don’t look back. Legit lending companies will never ask for upfront payment for anything, particularly if they haven’t released your cash loan yet.
Bonus Tip: When you’re applying for a cash advance online, remember to always read the fine print and do a little research about the company whenever you’re in doubt. You’re likely to find reviews of the company so read them and judge its legitimacy from there. Scams aside, there are also other risks you should be aware of when getting loans from FinTech companies.
Risks of FinTech Loans
Perhaps the biggest risk associated with FinTech loans is the fact that it’s such a new industry that only a few regulations have been established to protect the interest of borrowers. There are bound to be loopholes that only time, with the eventual occurrence of different unique cases, can fully address.
The interest rates in FinTech loans are also something worth considering when getting loans and a cash advance online. FinTech lending companies tend to have higher interest rates. Lenders justify this through the speed by which they approve loans and their high approval rate.
In time, we might see new regulations for interest rates, but for now, you’ll find that conventional lending companies have a much lower rate and you might want to take this into account when you’re ready to borrow.
Now that we’ve discussed all that, let’s talk about why FinTech companies can be good, how they changed the lending process—mostly for the good—and how people continue to benefit from it.
5 Benefits of FinTech Loans
FinTech companies brought a technological revolution in the financial industry. There’s no doubt that they brought forth enhanced financial services in the world of finance, providing reliable and quick service, and fulfilling the most basic needs of financial consumers—businesses and individuals alike.
FinTech companies are growing popular, and for good reason. Let’s talk about some of those reasons below.
You can apply for a cash advance online
Application for a cash advance online has never been more attractive than it is now with COVID-19 currently putting most companies in limbo and forcing offices and stores to conduct their businesses online.
Even without a pandemic, applying for loans in banks with long lines can be a stumbling block for most. FinTech companies removed that block and made it convenient to apply for loans, at any time of the day and anywhere you are with an Internet connection.
FinTech companies offer fast loan approval and disbursal
FinTech lending companies provide people access to loans and cash advances they have difficulty getting via conventional means. To top that, FinTech companies offer fast loan approval and disbursal, sometimes just minutes after you hit the submit button. Now, what can be more appealing than that?
For businesses and individuals in time-restricted situations, the loan approval speed more than makes up for the high interest rate that invariably comes with these loans.
There’s no need to provide collateral
So, you don’t have collateral but you have the means to pay for a cash advance? No problem. FinTech companies don’t require collaterals for their loans. You can apply for a cash advance online and get the capital you need to start or expand a business or finance a personal need.
There’s zero bias in the lending process
Gone are the days—at least when you’re borrowing from FinTech companies—when your age, race, and sex are held against you. The technology FinTech companies use has no human biases that traditionally make it difficult for those in the minority to get a loan.
You don’t even have to dress like you own the bank. The algorithms of the software FinTech companies use to do all of the analysis on whether you’re fit to borrow or not.
You can get a cash advance online even with a low credit score
FinTech companies generally don’t use credit scores to approve your loans. In contrast to traditional banks and lending companies that largely rely on credit score information in giving out loans, FinTech companies use alternative data to analyze your capacity to borrow and pay loans.
FinTech companies look at your online transactions and judge your financial capacity from there. So, even if you have a bad lending history, you can still have access to cash loans with FinTech companies.
Should You Get a Cash Advance Online?
FinTech companies are removing barriers to loans and cash advances online. FinTech opens a world of possibilities and opportunities for people who can pay for loans but have no traditional proof to show for it. It offers a financial lifeline to businesses and individuals who value speed and have neither the patience nor time for the long process involved in traditional lending.
From this point forward, FinTech lenders can only get more popular. But whether you should go for FinTech loans or not depends on your needs and your belief system about money and loans.
Know, however, that FinTech lenders are real and legit. There are scammers, but there are also signs that will help you avoid them. And, yes, there are disadvantages, but at present, even with pending regulations, the advantages still outweigh them all. Should you take advantage of them? The decision is yours.
