FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Velocity Solutions, LLC, through a subsidiary, has completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Akouba Inc., a white label SaaS-based digital lending platform that enables financial institutions to underwrite loans quickly, efficiently, and profitably to small and medium-sized business (“SMB”) customers. In doing so, these institutions can provide a higher level of customer satisfaction and more effectively compete with large marketplace lenders.
“Akouba has been highly successful in creating powerful technology for the lending needs of banks and credit unions,” said Chris Rentner, CEO and founder of Akouba. “As consumer expectations continue to become more reliant on digital interactions, Akouba has positioned itself as the leading client experience platform for digital lending.” Rentner continued: “We are excited to join Velocity Solutions, with their unique approach and position, to accelerate the adoption of digital lending technology. This acquisition marks a big step in Akouba’s aim to provide financial institutions with the right platform to meet account holder expectations and financial institutions’ needs to reduce end-to-end time, maximize profitability of SMB lending, and to provide their account holders and staff with a better overall experience.”
Akouba is the only small business digital lending solution endorsed by the American Bankers Association (ABA). ABA endorsed solutions provide banks with the most advanced technologies and products to grow their business, cut costs and transform their customer experience. “This acquisition gives Akouba the financial strength needed to support banks’ third party due diligence requirements,” said Lisa Gold Schier, managing senior vice president, endorsed solutions innovation at ABA. “Akouba’s lending platform provides banks an opportunity to leverage their low-cost deposits in combination with Akouba’s technology to better serve their customers’ needs.”
The SMB digital lending space is poised for rapid growth because of its ability to streamline processes and improve the customer experience, serving Americans’ desire to conduct more business online. In a recent survey, the ABA asked 200 banks about their lending strategies, and 83% of surveyed banks stated they intend to grow their lending business over the next two years. Akouba’s solutions support this growth with more efficiency and lower overhead.
Mike Triggiano, executive VP of corporate development at Velocity Solutions, said, “This product is a natural fit in our efforts to expand the breadth of our product suite. We already serve the consumer lending space with our small-dollar, short-term lending platform, CashPlease®. We’re thrilled for the opportunity to acquire the premier, ABA-endorsed technology platform to facilitate Velocity’s entry into the SMB digital lending space. The acquisition of Akouba provides a natural progression to providing an end-to-end digital lending platform.”
For more information, please contact Velocity Solutions at info@myvelocity.com.
About Velocity Solutions, LLC
Velocity Solutions is the leading provider of digital revenue enhancement solutions to regional and community banks and credit unions. Founded in 1995 and servicing the transaction accounts of over 25 million consumers and business owners, Velocity has unparalleled expertise and insight into deposit account activity and transactional trends. Velocity’s digital solutions are designed to drive new accounts, offer short-term, small-dollar lending, generate non-interest income, increase account holder retention and address regulatory scrutiny. For more information, please visit www.myvelocity.com.
About Akouba
Akouba is the leading digital customer experience platform for small and medium-sized business lending at banks and credit unions. Founded in 2014 by Chris Rentner, Nick McMillan and Evan Hareras, Akouba’s advanced technology and integrations deliver a great experience, enabling financial institutions to execute lending processes quickly, efficiently, and profitably. Akouba is a Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud-based delivery model and is intended to serve all financial institutions that make small business loans. Akouba’s white-labeled small business digital lending platform is exclusively endorsed by the American Bankers Association. For more information please visit www.akoubacredit.com.
