How BMG Money partners with Argyle for automated underwriting, instant approvals, and low-risk paycheck-linked lending
BMG Money provides low-cost loans to workers facing financial hardship—with no credit score required. To ensure customers can access funds quickly, it needs a simple, straightforward way to verify income and employment and approve applications. Before, that meant inefficient, manual workflows—but with Argyle’s real-time data, it’s a breeze. Now, BMG offers instant, low-risk loans that borrowers can repay automatically through paycheck-linked lending.
Measurable successes
With Argyle, BMG has been able to automate underwriting, streamline repayments, and experiment with new borrower markets. This automation has not only translated to a 30% time savings for its operations team, but also lower risk allowing BMG to offer lower rates.
The background
Faster funds in a crisis
For workers rebuilding their finances, it can be hard to find a loan in an emergency. Without a solid credit history behind them, many potential borrowers are rejected outright by traditional banks and credit unions or forced to rely on predatory lenders. That’s why BMG issues affordable loans to steadily employed customers, with no credit score required. They currently serve public-sector employees including government workers, teachers, healthcare staff, and nonprofit professionals, lending a hand when they need it most. “Our customers are experiencing all sorts of hardships, whether it’s a divorce, a car accident, or an unexpected medical issue,” said José Patino, VP of Business Development at BMG. “We pride ourselves on being an emergency lender that can get funds into their accounts in as little as one business day—or even instantly.”
The problem
High-friction paperwork
Before partnering with Argyle, BMG’s loan process revolved around onerous, manual workflows. Borrowers had to physically scan and upload paper documents to verify their income and employment, while BMG’s operations team had to meticulously follow up with employers and payroll providers to confirm each detail. Applications were stalled for days—even weeks—delaying important loans that could make a difference in everyday lives.
The solution
Automated, real-time underwriting
For Patino, Argyle’s ability to instantly verify income and employment streamlined BMG’s onboarding from end to end. “Rather than having customers plod through paperwork, we sync their employment accounts automatically using Argyle’s technology,” he said. “Argyle speeds up the entire process and makes it extremely easy to access customer data.” Beyond verifying a customer’s income, having Argyle’s many endpoints at their disposal allows BMG to automate their underwriting and make smarter, faster lending decisions.
“We rely on a number of Argyle’s real-time data points for our underwriting algorithms, including length of employment and income history. If it wasn’t for Argyle, we’d have to input those fields manually.”
Better still, Argyle’s paycheck-linked lending capabilities allow BMG’s customers to allocate portions of their income directly toward repayments, ensuring they enjoy lower-priced loans and never fall behind. Meanwhile, BMG sees lower overall risk and delinquency rates.
The result
Smoother operations for better lending
Right off the bat, Argyle demonstrated their commitment to a superior user experience with their hands-on, responsive team and effortless products. “The implementation was very smooth,” said Patino. This ease of use has translated to a much better lending experience not only for BMG’s customers, but across its internal team. “Argyle has made it easier and faster for our customers to access our services, easier and faster for our underwriters to evaluate and approve applications, and easier and faster for our service reps to tap into a customer’s information—improving our operations across the board.”
Cleaner, simpler data
Argyle’s data is not only quicker, but more dependable. Now, BMG gets a round-the-clock stream of vetted user information they know they can count on.
“The data we get from Argyle is verified and trustworthy. With other services, we might get fraudulent or manipulated data that could put us at risk—but not with Argyle.“
In addition to stronger security, Argyle’s platform offers a more organized, accessible data package that’s simple for BMG’s lenders to implement and understand. “Above all, Argyle’s data is legitimate,” said Patino. “But it’s also clearer and more intuitive in the way that it’s presented. That makes it easy for our team to digest, and it ultimately makes our analysis quicker.”
The future
Widening the market
Moving forward, BMG is experimenting with loan opportunities outside of the public sector—with Argyle enabling their ongoing innovation. “We’re aiming to become the go-to lender for all employees,” said Patino. “As Argyle continues to extend their coverage, their technology will help us onboard new sectors we’re hoping to target.” As BMG embraces further growth and development, Patino is excited to discover the potential that their partnership with Argyle will unlock. “I have high hopes for what their platform will provide,” he said. “As Argyle’s network continues to expand, so will its value to our business.”
