TransUnion and FinLocker Partner to Give Consumers More Control of their Data to Secure Loans

CHICAGO, Oct. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To help consumers take more control of their data and more quickly secure the right loans at the right time, TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced today an equity investment in FinLocker’s approximately $20M Series A-1 financing round, as well as entrance into a commercial partnership agreement.

The partnership will allow consumers to collect and permission their financial information needed to secure a mortgage, among other loans. This can allow consumers to receive a loan decision much faster and even make a home-buying offer equipped with a loan commitment from their lender ahead of time.

Consumers are able to maintain control of their information throughout the process. They can tap educational resources to help prepare them for the mortgage application process as well as take advantage of a personalized financial health dashboard, something that can be particularly appealing to first-time homebuyers.

Lenders also benefit in a number of ways. Educating consumers and streamlining the application process can save significant time and expense. They can also leverage FinLocker for lead nurturing and conversion by gaining deeper insights into consumers’ actions and behaviors, making smarter risk decisions and uncovering new opportunities to drive growth.

“A consumer’s personal information is the key to unlocking new economic opportunities,” said Peter Esparrago, Co-founder and CEO of FinLocker. “However, the current processes for securing credit can make it difficult for consumers to leverage their data assets to their full potential. TransUnion is well-positioned within the financial services industry to partner with FinLocker to pursue these avenues of growth and bring a more streamlined approach to the loan application and approval processes for both lenders and consumers.”

Consumers will collect their information through FinLocker’s next-gen transactional personal financial management tool. FinLocker is available to consumers through their financial institution via desktop or mobile application, and stores and manages information within a personal data and document vault or “locker.”

TransUnion will package its lead generation and servicing solutions with FinLocker to provide updated credit and consumer information to loan originators and servicers. Additionally, TransUnion will offer its best-in-class marketing suite of solutions to identify high quality leads so originators can reach consumers they are looking for, be it a veteran, a person with home equity looking to consolidate debt with a cash out refi or an aspiring first-time homebuyer.

The partnership comes at a time of massive growth in the mortgage industry. A recent TransUnion showed that loan originations increased to 2.2 million in Q1 2020, up from 1.2 million in Q1 2019. The spike was observed in 15- and 20/25-year loans as well as refis, partly due to the continued low interest rate environment.

“Companies in the mortgage industry are driving a digital-first evolution by leveraging new technologies to create innovative products and experiences and this partnership helps us uniquely differentiate ourselves in the market,” said Joe Mellman, senior vice president and mortgage business leader at TransUnion. “Buying a home is typically the largest purchase a consumer will make over their lifetime so it is essential for consumers to have all the information they need at their fingertips to secure a mortgage at the right time.”

For more information on TransUnion’s equity investment in FinLocker and for details on the partnership, please .

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.®

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

About FinLocker

FinLocker empowers consumers to Start, Achieve, and Continue their Homeownership Journey. FinLocker is a next-gen, transactional personal financial management tool that aggregates a consumer’s financial data, and analyzes/recommends/streamlines mortgage and other financial transactions. Consumers benefit from personalized recommendations, financial/mortgage education, credit score/report/monitoring, cash flow analysis, budgeting, goal planning, data sharing and more. Lenders utilize FinLocker to generate/convert leads, cross-sell value-add products, reduce costs, and create customers for life. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.