Business

Saxton Associates Poor Review: Credit Card Consolidation

Published

5 years ago

May 11, 2020

Matthew Wiles

Saxton Associates and Credit 9 has been flooding the market with credit card consolidation offers.

Should you respond to Saxton Associates or Credit 9 and trust them with your debt consolidation process?

If you have been thinking about it and you just received a “too good to be true” loan offer in the mail from Saxton Associates or Credit 9 – follow your instincts. Do you really think you qualify for a 3.99% interest rate? Do you really think that reservation code is especially for you?

Credit card consolidation can help you in a number of ways to eventually pay off your entire debt. It can provide you with many benefits, such as reduced overall interest rate, lower monthly payments and simplified payments.

Credit card consolidation combines all of your credit card balances into one grand total. Thus, you have to make one payment each month rather than multiple payments. The right credit card consolidation option payment entails smaller interest expenses, which, in turn, makes debt repayment much easier.

Here are the 5 best credit card consolidation options that you can consider to pay off your credit card balances:

Credit Counseling

Working with a non-profit credit counseling firm is one of the best means of credit card consolidation. These firms first analyze your unique financial scenario and then suggest a plan that will help you to overcome your financial problems. Non-profit credit counseling firms can serve you in a number of ways. They can help you with budgeting, spending habits, debt management and money management.

However, before committing yourself to any credit counseling firm, you must do your research to ensure that it is a reputable organization.

The credit counseling firm will negotiate with your creditors so that you gain concessions to help you pay off debt. All of your credit card balances will be combined into a single amount so that you have to make a single monthly payment. You will make the payment to the credit counseling firm, which will then pay your creditors. Credit counseling firms negotiate with creditors to lower your interest rate, reduce the debt amount, waive fees or gain any other concession.

You may have to pay fees for some credit counseling services. You may also have to agree to certain terms, such as not applying for a new line of credit or using the credit cards that you currently hold.

Personal Loan for Credit Card Consolidation

Personal loans are another means of credit card consolidation. You can take out a personal loan to pay off all your credit card balances. When all your credit card balances are settled, you will need to make only one monthly payment to the creditor that extended the personal loan. This will simplify payments and save you time and effort. A good choice of personal loan may also imply a reduced interest rate.

If you have good credit, your chances of getting lower interest rates on a personal loan may increase. The advantage of personal loans is that many different kinds are available to borrowers. Each one of them has their specific terms and conditions. You can select a personal loan with terms and conditions that can help you with debt management. There are also lenders that submit funds directly to credit card companies to minimize the chance that the loan amount will be used for any other purpose. A prequalification option is also available with many lenders. You can take advantage of this to search for options without bringing down your credit score. This might be a good credit card consolidation option for you.

The biggest drawback to personal loans is that you will have to meet the lender’s criteria in order to qualify. If you have a low credit score, then you may not be able to get an interest rate that is substantially lower than your credit cards. You will also have to watch out for origination fees, which add to the cost of paying back debt. You may have to pay hundreds of dollars as origination fees with some lenders.

Balance Transfer Credit Card for Credit Card Consolidation

With the help of a balance transfer credit card, you can transfer all of your credit card balances into your new account. Most balance transfer credit cards carry a zero percent introductory APR that extends into several months. This zero APR time frame can give you the opportunity to pay back your credit card debt without incurring any interest. Debt payment will be much easier without accumulating interest, making this a viable credit card consolidation option.

However, to take full advantage of balance transfer credit cards, you must pay back the entire debt within the zero APR time period. Otherwise, you will have to pay interest on the balance transfers and the plan will backfire.

One key point to look out for is the balance transfer fee. Some cards impose balance transfer fees that increase the burden of debt payment. You cannot transfer an amount greater than your credit limit.

Take Help from Friends and Family for Credit Card Consolidation

You can also think about getting money from your friends or family members if that is possible. However, before obtaining funds this way, make sure that you work out the details of repayment terms so that there is no dispute later on about payments.

The biggest advantage of this credit card consolidation method is that you do not have to meet the eligibility criteria to qualify, as is the case with financial firms. The interest rate may also be likely lower.

One major drawback is that it can possibly strain your relationship if you fail to pay back on time.

Home Equity Loan for Credit Card Consolidation

Before going any further into the details, you should know that this is the riskiest method since you can possibly lose your home. Thus, you should think about it only if you have exhausted all options and are certain that you have the means of paying back the loan in time.

You can take out a home equity loan with your home as collateral. That is, your home equity serves as a security for the loan. There are two advantages to this. First, you are putting your home equity to use. Second, since this is a secured loan, the interest rate may be lower than your credit cards, which are unsecured loans. The lower interest rate may be a big boon for debt repayment.

The major disadvantage of this credit card consolidation method is that if you are not responsible enough, then you could end up losing your home. Defaulting on repayments will give your creditor the right to press for a foreclosure on your home to regain the amount that you owe.

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.