While the non-prime consumer lending space is less competitive than prime there are many companies doing interesting things. We heard the recent news of US Bank entering the space and just today I read that the CFPB intends to change the rules for payday lenders in the new year. It is certainly a dynamic space that will be going through lots of changes in the near future.

Investing in real estate has been around for centuries but it is only in the past few years that it has become possible to do this remotely and at scale. While institutional investors have had lots of options individual investors have been limited, for the most part, to buying homes in their local area.

There are many VC firms investing in fintech today but most are based in the US or Europe. Our next guest on the Lend Academy Podcast runs a different type of fund that has its origins in China.

I have said many times that regulators have a difficult job. They are not built for the fast changing world in which we live and they often struggle to deal with innovation, particularly in finance. Our next guest on the Lend Academy Podcast has been at the front lines of this struggle.

We have come a long way in the past decade when it comes to innovation in financial services. But how is fintech truly improving the financial health of the average American? Not as much as it should be. Changing this situation is the mission of our next guest on the Lend Academy Podcast.

When it comes to the fix ‘n’ flip real estate lending space it is still very much a cottage industry with many small players in local areas providing loans to their network. There have been few national players, including banks, that have really focused deeply on this segment.

One of the largest verticals in all of lending is equipment finance. There is $1.1 trillion worth of equipment financed each year and yet only a tiny fraction of this number is financed in an all digital process.

When it comes to applying for a loan, whether it be a mortgage, personal loan or auto loan there is pretty much an expectation that it will be a stressful experience. Our guest this week on the Lend Academy Podcast is trying hard to change that paradigm.

It is not news that consumers continue to take on more debt. Credit cards, student loans, personal loans, auto loans – total balances for most consumer loan categories are growing. What is somewhat lacking is advice on when more debt is actually too much debt.

I have said many times that the ultimate promise of fintech is to bring the three billion financially underserved people in the world into the financial system. There is probably no organization on earth that has done more to promote financial inclusion over the last 50 years than Accion.