Figure Technologies, a lending platform that uses blockchain technology, is now offering student loan refinancing.
Figure’s initial products included HELOC’s (home equity loans) and mortgage refinancing. Figure is the creation of Mike Cagney, founder of SoFi – a Fintech that started with the student lending market and then expanding into other verticals so the move into student loans should come as no surprise.
First covered by American Banker which spoke to Figure CFO TJ Milani who explained that most other lenders in the space are still very analog using paper. Figure is completely digital.
“We think we can take the same mousetrap with our really quick process to originate HELOCs and rejigger that process to use it for student loans,” he said.
A quick visit to the Figure website shows that the Fintech is touting that it only takes “minutes to apply.” Other lenders, well that will take days to pursue a loan and require a whole lot of paperwork. The fact the loans are being originated on their proprietary blockchain stack may make it easier to securitize the assets.
Figure will refi loans from $500 to $250,000 with terms ranging from 5 to 20 years. The rate will vary, depending on the borrower, but expect fixed-rate loans to start (for now) at 3.49%.
Figure is not alone in this market and, in fact, it will be competing with SoFi (and other Fintechs) for the business. The secret sauce may be the “Provenance” blockchain that was created as a standalone business.
This past July, Figure completed a $20 million security token offering on the Provenance blockchain.
