Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Orkut have been a great place for musicians and online dating companies to grab market share. But banks? It all started on May 24 when Facebook, taking a leaf out of what Microsoft has been doing for years, opened its network to outside developers. And one of the first finance companies to get onboard was Lending Tree, (Rob at Lending Club wrote in saying that they are in no way connected to Lending Tree) with Lending Club. Paypal has set up PayMe an online payment mechanism. But consulting firm Online Banking Report feels that all this is just the beginning. The rise of social networking, they say, could have a profound effect on banking and personal finance. As companies combine massive databases of financial transactions with the ‘collective intelligence’ of a networked customer base, interesting things can happen.
Filed under: Customer Generated, Finance, Future, Trends
icontract:
Thanks for writing about our company, Lending Club.
We do agree that social networking and affinity groups will be a key ingredient in the significant changes banking and personal finance have started to experience.
We are very excited to bring to Facebook an online lending alternative where people can borrow and lend money, bypass the banks, and get better rates. And users have embraced this concept, making us the top Money application in Facebook.
Stay tuned, as we bring this functionality to everyone in the next few months.
By the way, we are not related in any way to LendingTree.
Best regards,
Rob Garcia
Director, Web Production
Lending Club
Thanks Rob
I have fixed that error.