AFFI News, I mentioned it the other day when I saw their patent news!
Affinity Launches Internet Loan Decisioning Service
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 18) BUSINESS WIRE -Feb. 18, 1999--
New Subsidiary, decisioning.com, to Sell Service and
License Users of Patented Technology
Patented Service Will Allow Fully Automated Loan Decisions
Over the Internet in Minutes
Affinity Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFFI) announced today the formation of decisioning.com, inc., a new
subsidiary that will deliver outsourced Internet loan decisioning services and license Internet users of Affinity's
patented technology.
"On-line loan application volume is exploding, but most applicants are frustrated by the lack of an immediate
response," said Murray Smith, Affinity's President and Chief Executive Officer. "With our new service, applicants
will get on-line decisions - a clear competitive advantage for lenders in the growing e-commerce channel."
Real Time Decisioning Service
decisioning.com's real time decisioning service, "RTDS," is an outsourced service enabling lenders to deliver
decisions to web applicants when they apply. RTDS decisions are based on the specific credit policy of each
lending institution using the service. When decisioning.com receives an application from a web site, RTDS
accesses the applicant's credit report, calculates a credit score, calculates other financial ratios, and applies the
institution's decision rules, returning an automated decision in about two minutes.
RTDS will be available for decisioning unsecured loans and lines of credit within the next several weeks. Extension
of the service to cover home equity and automobile loans will follow.
Information on RTDS is available over the Internet at www.decisioning.com.
decisioning.com Subsidiary Assigned Affinity Patent Rights for
Internet
The granting of Patent No. 5,870,721 on February 9, 1999, gives Affinity an ownership claim on systems and
methods for loan processing that include the entry of data by applicants from a remote location (such as the
Internet or an Automated Loan Machine); access to databases for information on the applicants' creditworthiness;
automated decisioning to approve, reject, or possibly refer applications to a human underwriter; and real-time
responses back to the applicants.
In order to increase the financial potential of the recently issued patent and to market RTDS, Affinity has organized
a wholly owned subsidiary, decisioning.com, inc. Affinity will assign to decisioning.com the exclusive right to
exploit the patented technology on the Internet, including the right to sub-license the technology. Affinity will retain
the right to the patented technology for use with kiosks such as its Automated Loan Machine.
decisioning.com will direct its marketing of RTDS toward financial institutions and financially oriented Internet sites.
decisioning.com will also license companies who choose not to purchase RTDS, but who will require a license
under the Affinity patent to continue to operate.
The recently issued patent is one in a family of patent applications filed by the Company. Additional pending patent
applications would extend the Company's proprietary position in the United States and include an extensive
portfolio of foreign counterpart applications in most major financial capitals of the world.
Affinity's technology enables financial institutions to link their dealers, branches, call centers, and Internet
customers electronically to their credit departments, providing fully automated lending - and, if necessary,
connectivity to a loan officer - through every channel. For financial institutions, Affinity's solutions expedite loan
decisioning and processing and increase productivity and capacity of branch personnel, call center agents, loan
officers, and indirect agents, while improving the overall customer experience. Affinity is located on the World Wide
Web at www.affi.net. |
