Business

Ladder Advisors Won’t Get You A Better Deal on Personal Loans

Published

5 years ago

April 11, 2020

If you are looking for a better deal on personal loans and you are considering Ladder Advisors, keep on looking. Our advice is to take a step back and check the Credit9 reviews before making a decision.

Very often in our lives, we need large amounts of cash for different purposes, be it for buying a car, renovating our home or paying medical bills. If you are seeking a loan, you should try to get a better deal on personal loans because it can save you a lot of money, make repayments much easier, and keep you out of debt collection.

Personal loans may range between $1,000 and $100,000. Online lenders and banks offer personal loans under their own terms and conditions. You should look for terms and conditions that will give you a better deal on personal loans.

The Coronavirus Crisis May Give You a Better Deal on Personal Loans

The coronavirus crisis has wreaked chaos everywhere around the world. However, there do exist opportunities for those seeking personal loans since the Federal Reserve is moving in aggressively to contain the devastating coronavirus fallout that the economy will have to endure and try and limit the number of coronavirus bankruptcies.

In short, the Fed has cut down interest rates to almost zero. The Fed did this to give impetus to an economy staggering and reeling under the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus. You shouldn’t be surprised that the Fed resorted to this measure considering that entire industries are currently stagnating and some like hospitality, travel, tourism and airlines are in danger of closing down.

Depending on your credit score, history and other factors, you may find loans with APRs ranging from 5% to 36%.

To get better deals on personal loans, you can visit certain sites to compare various loans. However, you can now expect to find very competitive interest rates as the interest rate that the Fed charges on loans have a strong influence on the finance industry.

Why is that?

It is all about the prevailing economic scenario. Back in the ‘80s when the economy was facing the shock of steep inflation, the Fed had used very high interest rates to battle the rising prices. At that time, the interest on personal loans was a stunning 19.2%.

Now the Fed has to work the other way round. It has to stimulate an economy that has been virtually knocked out by the coronavirus epidemic. The Fed is doing this by slashing interest rates to unprecedentedly low levels in order to stimulate enterprise and business activity, which have hit unthinkable lows. You can take advantage of this situation to get a better deal on personal loans.

In addition to personal loans, credit card rates are also falling. However, credit card rates still stand at an average of almost 15%, according to Fed’s research. You can play it smart and bring down your credit card costs by taking out a debt consolidation loan. You can now get a better deal on personal loans if you are seeking to consolidate debt. So, if you were looking for the right opportunity, then now is the time to act.

The Fed has brought down interest rates to new lows that were not seen since the last major financial crisis in 2008. Since the Fed has dramatically slashed interest rates, the effects will reverberate across the finance industry and they will be forced to follow suit. Hence, you should look around for personal loans because the times are ripe for deals that were previously unimaginable. Considering how aggressively the Fed is bringing down interest rates, you should not be surprised when you come across lenient terms and conditions. There has never been a better time to get a better deal on personal loans.

Apps for a Better Deal on Personal Loans

Even before the coronavirus crisis, personal loans were on the rise. Credit bureaus reported that in 2017 and 2018, there was a substantial 15% rise in personal loans.

Depending on the credit score of the borrower, most personal loans during this period ranged between $11,000 and $20,000.

Advances and developments in fintech are the key reasons behind the pre-coronavirus proliferation of personal loans. Financial apps now exist that allow you to get better deals on personal loans. These apps provide a seamless procedure for personal loan application that is both simple and convenient.

How important are these apps now? Towards the end of 2018, personal loans taken out through fintech apps accounted for a substantial 38% of the total, according to major credit bureaus. In 2013, these apps accounted for just 5% of all personal loans. Hence, the major rise in personal loans can be attributed to the relentless popularity of finance apps that allow seamless borrowing and make a better deal on personal loans easier than ever.

Personal loans are typically unsecured. This means that you do not have to forward any of your property as collateral for the loan. If you default on payments, the lender may be able to sell off the collateral to recover the loan amount. Since personal loans usually do not involve any collateral, you can have peace of mind knowing that your property is not directly at stake if you are late on a few payments. This is one of the reasons why you get a better deal on personal loans.

The repayment schedule of personal loans typically ranges from 3 to 5 years. Hence, you have plenty of time to pay back your personal loan. You can get a better deal on personal loans due to this generous payment schedule.

These loans also carry a lower debt than credit cards on average. If you have accumulated large amounts of credit card debt, you can take out a debt consolidation personal loan through which you can pay a lower cumulative interest rate on your combined credit card balances. A better deal on personal loans like this can help you with repaying credit card debt.

Hence, in order to get a better deal on personal loans, you may select an app that will help you to compare interest rates and other loan terms between different lenders.

Bottom Line

Fed interest rate cuts, combined with finance apps, can help you to get a better deal on personal loans. Given the current scenario, it is likely that the Fed may be forced to reduce the interest rate even further to bolster an ailing economy.

Business

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

Published

6 days 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.