THE Cambridge Connection - Episode 47

Absolutely. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be great. We’re going to get our supporting sponsor, Christopher Vialli, president of Cambridge Credit to come on and be part of that show. We’re going to have a bunch of call-ins from past guests.

It seemed like yesterday he was just sitting here. This is not an easy show because it’s not exciting. It’s not cutting edge. It’s really long game financial wisdom and wellness, and I think you’ve helped and we’ve worked together on mixing up the guests and the topics just so it had some variety to it. I mean, we could talk about student loans every week with the way things are changing up and down, but it’s not enough to talk about it for one whole segment.

We want our listeners to know that we’re doing all of this to get them information that’s going to be useful for them to have a financially well life, and if not, at least we’re giving information that will help them get there, and they know they have somewhere to turn that’s legitimate like these guests that we’re bringing on. I think we’ve toyed with and had some guests on that were part of the local community, but Cambridge has a national footprint and does business as a top nonprofit in all 50 states. We’re trying to figure out how we, in year two, can delve a little bit deeper into guests that come from other parts of the country because we know economically that everybody’s being affected right now by student loans or inflation or any mortgage rates going up, but every part of the country has a little bit of a different twist on their financials, from the South to the West to the Midwest. You and I are continuing to talk about how we get guests that can speak from those different areas so that our listeners in those different areas can feel a little bit more attached to the show itself. Amazing organic segue because our guest today is from Chicago, Illinois.

Introducing guest from CreditVolve

Love Chicago. What we’re going to do is we’re going to take a quick break. We’ll be right back. This is The Cambridge Connection right here on WHMP. Are the rise in prices for gas and other expenses crushing your budget?

How does typical clients save $140 per month while paying down their credit card debt at much lower interest rates? Call 1-800-CAMBRIDGE. Welcome back, everyone, to The Cambridge Connection. I’m your host, Gordon Oliver, here with my substitute co-pilot and amazing producer, Lisa Riley, and it is our honor to introduce our special guest, Elizabeth Karwoski-Stukas from CreditVolve. She’s the chief operating officer and chief content officer.

Guest’s path into credit counseling

Elizabeth, how are you today? I’m doing great. Can’t complain. It’s a sunny day here in Chicago. How are you?

Doing great. Looking forward to the fall. You know, foliage in the Northeast is rather incredible, and we’re slowly but surely trickling out of the summer, so kind of looking forward to that. FinTech, obviously, is huge in helping people with self-administering and working on their situations financially. Last week, we had Paul Oster of Credit Repair.

He’s the FICO man on to talk about the difference between all the products out there that really don’t help people versus the sound advice, and now, Elizabeth with CreditVolve. We’re going to get into that for a minute, but before we do, can you just tell our listeners a little bit about your career? My career. I’d like to say I was a learner. I loved to explore and learn things, so after graduating, I went on to being a consultant and trying to find problems and get solutions that really made a difference, and one of my clients was a mortgage company.

I don’t know if you guys remember. Back in the 2000s, everyone was playing in that field of mortgages, so I started my financial career in the mortgage industry back in 2000, and I was a broker-owner, and I like to say I actually wrote quite a bit of loans, licensed in a few different states, and after the market changed and personally going through a divorce, I sold my company and really started to focus on credit, and that was, I think, just because of my own situation. I always like to say you start to explore, and you really try to dive in when you go through some difficult challenges, and I went through difficult challenges with my ex, and I went through difficult challenges with an ex-partner, and you don’t realize until it happens to you how much one’s actions could negatively impact you, and credit was the interesting subject. Not only for my clients when I was doing loans, but as I mentioned personally, and back in 2007, 2008, it seemed like scores and credit and credit reports, it was all a mystery. How do you calculate it?

What do you do? And as I said, coming out of college, I love to explore problems and try to find solutions, and that’s where I dive deep into understanding what a credit score contains, what are FICO scores, Vantage scores, I received my FCRA, FICO certification, all of that good stuff to really become what I’d like to say an expert in understanding how the scoring model works for consumers. Yeah, we know to this minute, to this day, it’s still a mind scramble for people to understand when they’re not in the business or in the industry, the moves that they make, how it impacts their score quickly over time, what that looks like, so it’s funny. You and I share a very similar journey, because back in the early 2000s, I was... I was a credit counselor and obviously our whole industry just went through a complete overhaul and I had the same type of situation.

I went through divorce. So going through that at the same time as your career all over the place, I mean I totally get what you’re talking about, but, and I know you’re going to agree with this, it’s all about where you are, the wisdom that you’ve gathered. This show is all about financial wisdom and financial wellness, so sometimes you have to go down a little bit of a bumpy road to get that wisdom to be able to really turn what you’ve learned to help other people. I love what you said because it makes me so much, just the compassion towards every situation, right? And even, and why I’m excited about where we’re at today and the technology that we’re bringing forth into the industry for counselors and for lenders, it’s really understanding that there had to be a change, right?

To provide consumers with what’s holding them back from the American dream was always a goal after I’ve experienced it, right? So I don’t care, I always like to say, I don’t care who you are, what you do, how much money you make, credit doesn’t discriminate. It really is having that knowledge and education and being able to provide that guidance. And from there, I too got into counseling to provide that guidance, to give that education, to make sure that people didn’t give up because it is confusing. I mean, it’s funny, my husband sends me these articles every day, like this is what’s going on and this is what’s going on, and these changes, and as a normal consumer who’s not in the industry, how difficult is that?

I know when I look at other things that, you know, from other industries and I read these articles, I’m like, well, how is that going to impact me? What is it going to do? Right? And being able to turn to individuals such as counseling agencies that understand that, it’s pretty cool. And so, you know, just going back, as a counselor, what I realized is technology, there’s, as agencies, you know, and the detailed work that we do, if you don’t use technology, the efficiency, the capacity is limited.

So, you know, we really focused early on and I focused on bringing on some techie people. I myself am not a developer, but, you know, I knew that I like to sit in those conversations and sometimes it turns my head over and over. But, you know, at the end of the day, the technology is there to help drive the results. And that’s what CredEvolve, you know, at the end of the day, after so many years now being in this industry of counseling, I’d like to say almost over 13 years and pushing forward on technology, there’s still a need of human interaction, in my opinion, because you want that guidance. You want that reassurance.

But truth be told, and as we all know, when you use technology the right way, it should bring efficiency, it should bring, it should allow counselors to be more capable of doing what they’re really good at and the compassion and talking to the consumer versus the day-to-day paperwork who want to do paperwork. Yeah. And in my opinion, and again, we were parallel in doing work that kind of involves where a consumer can be in the same transaction from either not getting approved and again, the predator credit repair out there, they would do the tricks and gimmicks like challenging something on a credit report to try to get somebody approved and it wasn’t true credit repair, so were we really helping somebody? So you look back on that and there always was this dynamic where if a consumer shouldn’t necessarily be doing a mortgage because of the situation that they’re in or do they need to repair some things where it’s an organic approach, I always looked at that like it should be easy, but you’re dealing with two very different industries and when you’ve done both and you go through the compassionate empathy side of helping someone that isn’t ready or you don’t want them to get hurt financially by making poor decisions, it is tools and education like this that really helps people and helps multiple industries to get consumers where they belong. Agreed.

Technology bridging lenders and counselors

I mean, it’s funny you say that Gordon because I know, you know, one of the biggest challenge that I see in our current environment is putting together the objectives of a lender or any financial institution with the mission objectives, right? And so you think about it, right? At the end of the day, they want more customers. They want to be able to offer more products, but they stop there, right? Someone doesn’t qualify.

They stop there and, you know, what we looked at saying, why do you stop there? Why not bring in that mission objective that you as counselors, that we as counselors did and provide that support? But we all know if you don’t have technology, the efficiency, capacity, all of the things we’ve talked about, it’s so hard to do. It was next to impossible. Even if we tried, even if we were trying to do it, it just wasn’t possible because there were too many moving parts.

You’re right. And I like to say, I bring it down to simplicity. You know, you go to a bank, I bank, right? I go to a bank and I want to apply for something and I don’t qualify for that product or even opening a bank account, right? And if something’s on check systems, consumers don’t know what steps they need to take.

They just don’t know. So how and why not make it that easy through technology, refer them to the right nonprofits, refer them to get the support that they need, the education they need so that they can qualify. Maybe not today. We always like to say, it’s not a no, it’s a not yet. It’s not today.

In that journey, there’s a fork, right? And which direction? Are you going right or left? But at the end of the day, we’re trying to get you to your end goal. And to have an advocate or multiple companies with the same mission, getting that taken care of and resolved, that’s what we’re in this for.

We’re up against a hard break and I’d love to bring you back so we can really dig into the software and the FinTech part of this on how it’s going to help consumers, counseling agencies and the mortgage lenders. So you’ll hang out with us to talk about the software? Love to. All right. This is The Cambridge Connection.

Station identification and show promotion

We’ll be right back. Well, Tina Marie, here we are already in our mid thirties. Have you checked your license lately? You’re a far cry from being in your mid thirties. No, no, not me.

Our show, The Cambridge Connection. We’re already more than halfway through our first year of great guests and need to know topics. Oh, I thought you were talking about your age. Well, that would take a lot longer than we have in this message. But what only takes a moment to share is that if you miss any of our shows on Saturdays on WHMP, don’t worry.

com, click on podcasts and all of our shows are listed there. Plus, listeners can find us on all the podcast sites where they listen to their favorite podcast. Well, when I get home, I’m going to listen to my favorite episode. And what’s that? You know, the one with me in it.

How the CreditVolve platform works

Welcome back, everyone, to The Cambridge Connection. I’m your host, Gordon Oliver, here with my substitute co-pilot and producer, Lisa Reilly and our special guest, Elizabeth Kowalski Stukas from Creditvolve. I know you had some thoughts, Lisa. I did. As I was listening to Elizabeth, I was thinking about, OK, that average person walks into their brick and mortar bank and they sit down and they apply for a credit card or they apply for a mortgage or whatever they’re applying for.

And through the process, they find out that they have some things that need repaired. And rather than be sent on their merry way and just told no, which I know you alluded to a lot of banks, is your organization and are you personally working to change that pattern so that partnerships between fintech companies like Creditvolve can be a partner with the Chases or the Amexes or whatever other types of bank and financial institutions are out there and that that person sitting on the other side of the The table will say, oh, well, Mrs. Jones, you know, we work with, here’s a list of four different fintech companies that could help you repair that. When that’s fixed, come back to us and we’ll be happy to work with you. I love that question, and yes, right, through our digital integrations with lenders and credit counselors, CreditVault is that platform, the credit education and debt management platform that helps consumers who don’t need loan requirements become credit eligible and gain credit skills for life, and they do that by working with the counseling agencies that are on our platform, and what we’ve seen is that this transition usually happens in five months or less.

Wow, so is that, to me, five months sounds a little long, but is that a shorter timeframe than what maybe used to happen? So when we look at this, sometimes it’s just the know-how, right? So if you’re one time 30 late, and let me just give an example, you’re one time 30 late on your credit report, it could drop you 70 points overnight, right? And so if that’s the only thing that negatively impacted you, of course, a counseling agency through our platform can give the necessary guidance and share additional examples and review your report, but that takes time to resolve. So our agencies, such as Cambridge, we’re looking at what else, what else can help you, and through the platform, through the digitalization, it’s pulling this information to give that necessary guidance so that consumers know, okay, I might have dropped 70 points, but my gosh, within the next 30 days, these are the actions my coach is going to take, which I call the counselor’s coaches because we’re really coaching them, and what I’m going to take, and through the platform, there’s that communication.

Yes, we touch base on a daily, on a monthly basis with the consumer, but there’s that platform that ensures that we’re all taking the necessary steps to improve not only our credit, but our overall financial wealth. You know, consumers make mistakes a lot because they don’t know, they’re not coached, you don’t stay with them, and that’s why the counseling part of it is, over time, has been there to help people when they get to that desperate point, but I want to make sure we get out of here with you explaining the software and how it works, because this is the kind of thing that if people don’t know, they don’t necessarily need to, they just need to be in a process that has all pieces that will help them get better, short and long-term. So, Gordon, I love what you’re saying because, just going back to my example, right, a consumer comes in, the normal traditional process is you go to your bank, you get denied for whatever product you’re offering. We looked at that and said, there has to be a better way, and that’s what Creditval does. We connect and help lenders connect with credit counselors to work together to help consumers achieve credible and responsible well-being, right?

And so, how does that happen? Well, through API integration, our platform that the nonprofits work on, it’s a SaaS platform, right? So, what does all of this mean is that if you have an internet connection, if you have great Wi-Fi, you’re able to work and see the activity on your credit, on your budget. We’ve also added a really cool feature working with one of the GSEs, Freddie Mac, on our platform, which counselors can now do a lite version of an automated underwriting system and get an assessment report, which really helps consumers become mortgage-ready. There is no longer this secret, right?

We wanted to stop having this mentality for consumers that, well, the only way I’ll know if I could apply is if I go through this long, lengthy process. No. Working with a counselor on our platform gives them the necessary guidance and understanding on a monthly basis to provide them those resources, right? To provide them, you know, what is their true FICO score that a lender is going to pull? I mean, just even that, if you think about it, you go to a car dealer, you go to a lender, you go to apply for a credit card, they’re all pulling different scores.

How can a consumer, right? I mean, it’s mind-blowing. It really is. And so, I had dialogue with a credit union and their underwriters this week, and this was their problem, right? They know, like the perfect example, person comes, gets refinanced, has their credit cards open, they run them up again, come for refinance, now all of a sudden debt-to-income ratio is a little bit too high, and the bank, it’s a credit union, they’re a little bit more personal with their clients.

They’re like, you know, what do we do here? So to get a consumer to where they have a systematic approach, where the triangle is consumer, counselor, bank, there is really no better structure when it comes to a person being in the right place, getting advice from all experience of a transaction, to when it’s best for them and when they should be doing the actual transaction, they’re actually eligible to do so. Yep. And it’s really cool. I mean, what we’ve done is we’ve just brought lenders and counselors to use the same type of digital underwriting tools, right?

And with, of course, consumer consent and upholding to all the necessary compliance rules, lenders now can get also consumer progress updates, right? So everyone, as you mentioned, in this triangle is being communicated, updated, and really striving for the same goal. Getting that consumer, whether it’s into a mortgage so that they could own the American dream of a home, whether it’s a specific financial product, everyone’s on the same page. So Elizabeth, just to clarify, somebody gets turned down for the mortgage example, and then they would come to CredEvolve and go through the assessment process of your digital system, and then from there, you would recommend out to a coach in a third party, like a Cambridge Credit, or you actually have coaches in-house that then this assessment would be sent to? It’s sent to our partners, such as Cambridge, so we have multiple nonprofits on our platform, and we work with those that are aligned to have the common goal, right?

To ensure that each customer has a uniform experience, to ensure that there’s efficiency capacity for the counselors, and that the same success is reached across the board. Because though each situation, I always like to say each situation might be slightly different, there is still a formula, right? It’s still black and white, getting a budget in place, there’s still, you know, it still involves your expenses and income, and so how can we utilize digital validation through our platform to assist the coaches? So we, when an individual is sent to us, we do have nonprofits doing the assessment, and then moving forward with their agencies. Of course, we’re running out of time, and I will tell you this, what’s so energizing about this conversation is the more consumers know that there’s actual educational paths out there to not make the mistakes of falling prey to companies that don’t help, that rip people off, this is just an amazing opportunity for consumers to know that there’s opportunity out there now to be coached down these transactional roads, and I can’t say enough for the vision and the design.

Contact information and closing thoughts

Before I let you go, two things. What’s the biggest challenge in the current environment, and where can people find you? The biggest challenge, I think, is ensuring that you’re dealing with the right resources. Because there’s a lot of people or a lot of entities that say they’re going to do stuff, they don’t do it compliantly, they’re falsifying information. So I would always stress to ensure that you are dealing with individuals that, or companies that do it right.

Experience is extremely important, and that’s... That’s where, you know, our technology and our process plays an important role. And gosh, Gordon, I forgot the second question. So how do you reach us? Yeah, right.

Important question. com, or directly my number, 305-676-2221. That’s our client-counselors team. And any questions consumers might have or lenders might have, we would love to entertain and provide additional information. Elizabeth, you know, getting to know you and your team, you guys are doing incredible work.

Really appreciate. This is, again, another consumer protection and education measure that is so much needed in a very fast-moving world and in an economy that is somewhat struggling. So I really appreciate you taking the time with us today, Elizabeth. And we’re going to have you back on the show because I know we have a lot more to talk about. Great.

Thank you so much. Have a good one. You too, Elizabeth. Thank you. All right.

Defining fintech and its examples

We’re going to take a quick break. We’ll be right back. Saying no to applicants who don’t qualify for a mortgage costs you business and means you’re less likely to help the hardest-to-serve consumers, like first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate-income and minority borrowers. CredEvolve helps you turn no into not yet for consumers who aren’t currently credit-eligible. Through integrations with highly qualified coaches who leverage the same digital validation and automated underwriting services lenders use, we ensure consumers remain in your sales funnel and qualify for your products in as few as three months.

Do well by doing good. Welcome back, everyone, to The Cambridge Connection. I’m your host, Gordon Oliver, here with our producer and co-pilot, Lisa Riley. Lisa, again, FinTech. This has been our second guest.

We had Upsolve that developed an application to help people that cannot afford attorneys to file for bankruptcy. And now Credit Repair. We had a guest on last week to talk about credit repair, and now technology is showing up that helps the process of a counselor, of educating the consumer, to the end-all a transaction like getting a mortgage. I mean, really needed technology now. And you’re seeing in the technology world, things are just booming and new products are coming around every day.

They are. And I think for a lot of people, the technology terminology, like with Bitcoin, can be a little bit confusing. So I just wanted to read from something I pulled up on the computer, that description of FinTech. It says, FinTech simplifies financial transactions for consumers or businesses, making them more accessible and generally more affordable. So the other thing that I found that I thought was really important is that examples of FinTech are everywhere from digital lending and credit, which we’ve been covering, to mobile banking is FinTech.

So if you use Venmo, if you use any of your online banking, you’re in the FinTech. Cash app. All of these. FinTech world. Mobile payments.

Again, making a payment online, paying your electric bill. You’re using FinTech. Cryptocurrency and blockchain. Bitcoin. Right?

We’ve talked to Dan Held. Now you’re in the FinTech universe. Insurance, trading. So I think what happens is we all take on these digital usages for our banking and our finance, but we don’t ever think about calling it FinTech. And it’s all FinTech.

Closing quote and show credits

Well, the good news is you know we’re going to spend a lot of time here in this next year talking about these opportunities because it’s helpful to consumers. It’ll prevent them from going down bad paths. Absolutely. As you know, I bring a quote. Oh, hit me with the quote, Gordy.

Here you go. If the financial system has a defect, it is that it reflects and magnifies what we human beings are like. Money amplifies our tendency to overreact, to swing from exuberance when things are going well, to deep depression when they go wrong. Booms and busts are products at root of our emotional volatility. Special thanks to our guest, Elizabeth Karwoski Stukas from Creditvolve, my sub co-pilot and producer Lisa Riley, Leah on the mic and the board.

And of course, if you missed this show, you simply missed us. com, click on podcasts and you can see any of our last shows. org or feel free to call 1-800-CAMBRIDGE.