Business

5 Tips for Obtaining a Mortgage if You’re Self-Employed

Published

3 years ago

December 20, 2022

Being self-employed can be a great way to make a living, but it also has its own unique set of challenges. One of the biggest is obtaining a mortgage. Many lenders are wary of self-employed borrowers because they don’t have the same income stability and proof of income as those with regular 9-to-5 jobs. However, that doesn’t mean taking out a mortgage is impossible if you’re self-employed. You can do some things to improve your chances of getting a mortgage, including using non-traditional lending. Here are five tips to help you on your journey and some alternative credit examples.

Know Your Credit Score

One of the first things to do when applying for a mortgage is to understand your credit score. Lenders will look at this number to determine how likely you are to pay back your loan in full and on time. A good credit score (typically anything above 600) will give you an edge when applying for a home loan, so make sure you know where you stand before diving into the application process. You can check your credit score online for free or purchase one from one of the major credit reporting bureaus like TransUnion or Equifax.

Gather Your Paperwork

Before applying for a loan, ensure that all of your paperwork is in order and easy to access. This includes everything from tax returns and bank statements to business licenses and profit and loss statements. Having these documents ready will speed up the application process significantly. Lenders won’t have to wait around while you scramble to find them.

Prove Your Income Stability

Since lenders need assurance that they’ll be paid back in full, having proof of income stability is key when applying for a mortgage if you’re self-employed. Most creditors will require two years’ worth of tax returns along with any other paperwork that proves your ability to pay back money owed (such as business licenses).

Try to provide evidence that shows your income has been steadily increasing over time. This helps demonstrate financial responsibility, which can significantly boost your approval chances.

Show Proof Of Assets And Liabilities

In addition to proving income stability, lenders may also want proof that you have enough assets available should something happen, and payments need to be made late or missed altogether. This could include savings accounts, investment portfolios, etc. Also, showing them any liabilities such as loans or other debts owed could show them that while these obligations exist, they aren’t too large, where they would interfere with making payments on any new mortgages taken out.

Look Into Non-Traditional Lenders

Suppose traditional lenders such as banks are not approving your loan applications due to a lack of income verification or low credit scores. In that case, consider looking into alternative lenders, such as online lenders or private investors, who offer different types of loans with more flexible requirements than traditional banks do. These types of lenders often have fewer restrictions when it comes to approving applicants who cannot provide two years’ worth of tax returns or have lower credit scores than what banks typically prefer. While these alternative credit examples can come with higher interest rates than those offered by traditional lenders, they could still be beneficial in helping you obtain financing if other options are not available.

Conclusion

Getting approved for a mortgage if you’re self-employed can be difficult but not impossible. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way toward achieving homeownership quickly and securely. Success when applying for a mortgage as someone who is their own boss won’t be too far behind.

Business

High Volume, High Value: The Business Logic Behind Black Banx’s Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

June 16, 2025

Matthew Wiles

In fintech, success no longer hinges on legacy prestige or brick-and-mortar branches—it’s about speed, scale, and precision. Black Banx, under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Gastauer, has exemplified this model, turning its high-volume approach into high-value results.

The company’s Q1 2025 performance tells the story: $1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, $4.3 billion in revenue, and 9 million new customers added, bringing its total customer base to 78 million across 180+ countries.

But behind the numbers lies a carefully calibrated business model built for exponential growth. Here’s how Black Banx’s strategy of scale is redefining what profitable banking looks like in the digital age.

Scaling at Speed: Why Volume Matters

Unlike traditional banks, which often focus on deepening relationships with a limited set of customers, Black Banx thrives on breadth and transactional frequency. Its digital infrastructure supports onboarding millions of users instantly, with zero physical presence required. Customers can open accounts within minutes and transact across 28 fiat currencies and 2 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) from anywhere in the world.

Each customer interaction—whether it’s a cross-border transfer, crypto exchange, or FX transaction—feeds directly into Black Banx’s revenue engine. At scale, these micro-interactions yield macro results.

Real-Time, Global Payments at the Core

One of Black Banx’s most powerful value propositions is real-time cross-border payments. By enabling instant fund transfers across currencies and countries, the platform removes the frictions associated with SWIFT-based systems and legacy banking networks.

This service, used by individuals and businesses alike, generates:

Volume-based revenue from transaction fees
Exchange spreads on currency conversion
Premium service income from business clients managing international payroll or vendor payments

With operations in underserved regions like Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, Black Banx is not only increasing volume—it’s tapping into fast-growing financial ecosystems overlooked by legacy banks.

The Flywheel Effect of Crypto Integration

Crypto capabilities have added another dimension to the company’s high-volume model. As of Q1 2025, 20% of all Black Banx transactions involved cryptocurrency, including:

Crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto exchanges
Crypto deposits and withdrawals
Payments using Bitcoin or Ethereum

The crypto integration attracts both retail users and blockchain-native businesses, enabling them to:

Access traditional banking rails
Convert assets seamlessly
Operate with lower transaction fees than those found in standard financial systems

By being one of the few regulated platforms offering full banking and crypto support, Black Banx is monetizing the convergence of two financial worlds.

Optimized for Operational Efficiency

High volume is only profitable when costs are contained—and Black Banx has engineered its operations to be lean from day one. With a cost-to-income ratio of just 63% in Q1 2025, it operates significantly more efficiently than most global banks.

Key enablers of this cost efficiency include:

AI-driven compliance and customer support
Cloud-native architecture
Automated onboarding and KYC processes
Digital-only servicing without expensive physical infrastructure

The outcome is a platform that not only scales, but does so without sacrificing margin—each new customer contributes to profit rather than diluting it.

Business Clients: The Value Multiplier

While Black Banx’s massive customer base is largely consumer-driven, its business clients are high-value accelerators. From SMEs and startups to crypto firms and global freelancers, businesses use Black Banx for:

International transactions
Multi-currency payroll
Crypto-fiat settlements
Supplier payments and invoicing

These clients tend to:

Transact more frequently
Use a broader range of services
Generate significantly higher revenue per user

Moreover, Black Banx’s API integrations and tailored enterprise solutions lock in these clients for the long term, reinforcing predictable and scalable growth.

Monetizing the Ecosystem, Not Just the Account

The genius of Black Banx’s model is that it monetizes not just accounts, but entire customer journeys. A user might:

Onboard in minutes
Deposit funds from a crypto wallet
Exchange currencies
Pay an overseas vendor
Withdraw to a local bank account

Each of these actions touches a different monetization lever—FX spread, transaction fee, crypto conversion, or premium service charge. With 78 million customers doing variations of this at global scale, the cumulative financial impact becomes immense.

Strategic Expansion, Not Blind Growth

Unlike many fintechs that chase customer acquisition without a clear monetization path, Black Banx aligns its growth with strategic market opportunities. Its expansion into underbanked and high-demand markets ensures that:

Customer acquisition costs stay low
Services meet genuine needs (e.g., cross-border income, crypto access)
Revenue per user grows over time

It’s not just about acquiring more customers—it’s about acquiring the right customers, in the right markets, with the right needs.

The Future Belongs to Scalable Banking

Black Banx’s ability to transform high-volume engagement into high-value profitability is more than just a fintech success—it’s a signal of what the future of banking looks like. In a world where agility, efficiency, and inclusion define competitive advantage, Black Banx has created a blueprint for digital banking dominance.

With $1.6 billion in quarterly profit, nearly 80 million users, and services that span the globe and the blockchain, the company is no longer just scaling—it’s compounding. Each new user, each transaction, and each feature builds upon the last.

This is not the story of a bank growing.

This is the story of a bank accelerating.