Monday, June 23, 2008

More Lenders Invest in Education

Here at Fynanz, we want to ensure that students receive help financing their education. The more lenders that bid on listings, the greater the competition, which will result in lower interest rates for borrowers. We don’t want to simply follow in the footsteps of others rolling out referral programs that offer cash back incentives; rather, Fynanz wants to attract lenders to our community who share in our goal of helping the students.

Fynanz would like to thank our lender, “plattsburghchick” for suggesting the idea the we implemented last week which involves a “Lending Bonus”. The concept of the Fynanz Higher Ed Stimulus Package was built around the idea of, “what would be attractive for lenders” and “help the students pay for their schooling?” Thus, giving cash back was out of the question as while it benefitted lenders it did not benefit borrowers. And here’s where “plattsburgchick’s” ingenious idea kills two birds with one stone. By providing lenders with a Lending Bonus which they can use to bid on loans, lenders eventually see the money, but not before helping some students out.

How it works:

- Refer a friend who becomes a lender – Both receive a $25 Lending Bonus

- Lend $3,000 or more Receive 3% Lending Bonus

- Lend $3,000 or more AND refer 5 new lenders – Receive 5% Lending Bonus AND $125 Lending Bonus

We’ve already witnessed an increase in lenders who have benefited from this new program. Fynanz wants to attract individuals and institutions who believe what we believe - education is the best investment! Our future is in the hands of today’s increasingly growing number of college and university students, so why not lend a hand?

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Tips for Borrowers

Now that more applications have started to come into the Fynanz Marketplace, we thought we would give a rundown for borrowers. Here is a list of important information that may ensure a quick path towards getting your private student loan funded:

  1. Fill out your description. Tell the lenders a little bit about yourself (don’t include your name or anything that may disclose your identity), such as goals, dreams, hobbies, etc. Lenders want to know about the students they are helping.
  1. Add a picture or two. Again, this goes towards the idea of personalizing your loan listings for the lenders. The last thing that Fynanz wants you to upload is a face picture of just yourself for safety reasons (you can be with a group of friends). We would prefer if you used a picture of a pet, your school’s mascot, school logo, etc.
  1. Always fill out your loan breakdown. Fynanz and lenders want to know where you are planning to use the money you receive. You will need to ensure that the money you are requesting is a qualified educational expense – which means tuition, room and board, books, a computer, and the cost of traveling to and from school, and any other school related fees. Fynanz will verify the expenses with a tuition bill. Remember, what you are asking for is co-payable to you and the school.
  1. Make sure that you exhaust your federal loans before you apply for a private student loan. Federal loans may be cheaper than loans you receive elsewhere. Filling out the FAFSA may be a long process, but it could save you money. You can learn more from http://studentaid.ed.gov/
  1. Spread the word about us to your friends and family. The more people who sign up as lenders, the more people can bid on your loan listing.
  1. Juniors/seniors/grad students can apply for loans up to $7500 without a cosigner. More information can be found in the FAQ section of our website under “Is a cosigner required?”. We will require a transcript to verify a borrower’s year in school.
  1. Please do not select a school that is currently not on our list of approved schools. Fynanz will verify which school you are currently enrolled with by asking for a tuition bill in your name. You can email customer.care@fynanz.com to see if or when your school will be added. During the week of 6/2 we added over 700 schools and institutions.
  1. Fax or email the documents that we request as soon as possible. The sooner we receive your information, the sooner we can place your loan listing in the marketplace for lenders to bid on.
  1. Check with your cosigner for when they will sign up for an account and/or when they will send us their pay stubs for proof of income. We will need their information as well as yours before we place your listing into the Fynanz Marketplace
  1. When in doubt, consult the Fynanz Help section. Many questions can be answered in the FAQ for Borrowing or in Fynanz Explained.

Should you ever have any questions or comments that you would like to share with us, don’t hesitate to call us at 866-639-9339 or email us at customer.care@fynanz.com.

Good luck with getting your education funded!