Affiliate Marketing For Lenders

Free Toaster co-founder Nick Madrid interviews Carlos Caro live at the Fintech Summit in NYC on April 28th.   On the heels of a Curated Table Event on April 27th (sponsored by Spinwheel), Nick bumped into Carlos at the Fintech Summit and did a short Q&A on how lenders eliminate friction from their application flows. ****** To support this Podcast, please visit our sponsors:   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may   Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

Rachael Olson spent years running product strategy on Discover's $6 billion personal loan business, and she joins the show to walk through a real lender's application from marketplace click all the way to the hard pull, screen by screen. Using a hypothetical billion-dollar lender for round numbers, Rachael shows why the highest-leverage work isn't always at the top of the funnel. A 3% lift in soft-pull submit is worth $50M. Another 3% at hard-pull submit adds $80M. That's $130M+ of upside before anyone touches the credit box. The teardown gets specific. Forced email verification before any offer is shown. Rent-or-own and vehicle questions that the soft pull will answer anyway. A long pre-soft-pull confirmation page surfacing stale data the borrower doesn't remember entering, including education and net worth. After the offer, a wall of tooltips, footnotes, and filters that could induce decision paralysis. And the origination fee: a $16,900 loan that funds at $14,872, is disclosed towards the end of the process and came as a surprise. Carlos and Rachael also dig into why mobile starters finish on desktop, why "more data is always better" breaks down once you account for the customers you scare off, and how to actually A/B test your way through changes that touch credit, compliance, and engineering at once. ***** Want to meet Rachel and Carlos in New York? If you'd like to discuss eliminating friction in application funnels with your peers, The Free Toaster in hosting a private dinner in New York City on April 27th to facilitate that discussion. And we'll be there! Register for the event here: https://luma.com/733al355 ***** Find Rachel Olson on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-olson-7b13525/   Find Carlos Caro on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-carlos-caro/

Deposits aren't loans. That sounds obvious, but the implications for affiliate marketing are anything but. Alana Levine joins Carlos Caro to break down how affiliate marketing works on the deposit side of the house: different unit economics, different optimization cadence, different failure modes, and a compliance environment that will humble anyone coming over from lending. Topics include how CP1K pricing works and why CPAs for high yield savings have more than doubled in the past year, what the application funnel looks like for best-in-class deposit products versus regional banks still figuring it out, why younger consumers are stickier depositors than boomers (counterintuitive but true), how Fintel runs daily budget pacing to hit billion-dollar quarterly deposit targets, and what a fintech needs to have figured out before touching affiliate at all. Alana also shares her take on the publisher landscape, the emerging LLM visibility play that's changing sponsored content strategy, and why a one-basis-point rate discrepancy on a publisher page can end up in a regulatory inquiry. If you work in lending and have always wondered how the other side operates — this one's for you.   Contact Alana at: [email protected]   ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors:   Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=feb   Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

Carlos Caro chats with Rakesh Patel, the Executive Vice President of the Experian Marketplace. For those of you not familiar with the Experian Marketplace, it got started in 2017 and it's quietly become one of the largest consumer marketplaces in the world for credit cards, personal loans, and auto insurance.    In today's episode we'll cover: -Experian's vision to become a financial co-pilot for consumers -The scale of the marketplace -The Experian Activate targeting platform -How Experian innovates with lending partners -Rakesh's advice for lenders looking to scale   ***** To contact Carlos Caro, please email him at [email protected]  

In April 2025, Transunion completed its acquisition of Monevo (a UK-based credit prequalification platform). In today's News Pod, Nick discovers that TU paid $56MM and that TU expects the Monevo acquisition to be immaterial to FY 2026 growth for TU. (Sources of that information below). Carlos and Nick discuss the Monevo business model and speculate on why growth could be muted in the US market. Please note: While recording the Pod, Carlos thought he heard Nick say that TU expects the revenue contribution in 2026 from Monevo to be immaterial (instead of the growth contribution from Monevo in 2026 to be immaterial). That colored his commentary in the episode.    Sign up for The Free Toaster Newsletter (www.thefreetoaster.com) to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, published every Wednesday. And then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on a select story (or two) from that edition.  ****** "In October 2021, we acquired a 30% equity interest in Monevo Limited (“Monevo”), which we accounted for as a Cost Method Investment. On April 1, 2025, we acquired the remaining 70% of the outstanding equity of Monevo and gained control of Monevo by exercising a call option we had obtained when we made our initial investment. The strike price of the call option paid at closing was $56.0 million, which was funded with cash on hand. Cash acquired from Monevo in connection with the transaction was $0.3 million, resulting in a net cash payment of $55.7 million. There was no contingent consideration related to this transaction."   Source: https://investors.transunion.com/~/media/Files/T/Transunion-IR-V2/reports-and-presentations/transunion-q3-25-10-q.pdf   "Additional revenue growth assumptions: The impact of our Monevo acquisition is expected to be immaterial for Q1 2026 and FY 2026." Source: https://investors.transunion.com/~/media/Files/T/Transunion-IR-V2/reports-and-presentations/q4-2025-earnings-release.pdf   ***** A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/ To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=feb A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

Today we walk through a list of questions to ask yourself to determine whether your application experience needs a tune up. ***** About The Free Toaster Podcast:  Insights and interviews at the intersection of consumer lending, marketing, and technology. Hosted by Carlos Caro, co-founder at The Free Toaster and Managing Partner at New Market Growth, a growth agency for consumer lenders. ***** ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=feb A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

This week Prithvi Prabhu drops in to help us contextualize Cash App Borrow's metrics from this Edition: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/cash-apps-invisible-200-billion-loan   Then, we discuss Mr. Beast's Fintech Acquisition and talk about why buying Fintech's could lead to trouble for the mega content creator.   Sign up for The Free Toaster Newsletter (www.thefreetoaster.com) to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, published every Wednesday. And then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on a select story (or two) from that edition.  ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=feb A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

The Free Toaster hosts Carlos Caro and Nick Madrid add context to the story covered in the Newsletter earlier this week. https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/wtf-2026-since-when-is-debit-now Sign up for The Free Toaster Newsletter (www.thefreetoaster.com) to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, published every Wednesday. And then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on a select story from that edition.  ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=jan   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

Today we cover the 7 traits of successful VPs of Partnerships, why they matter, and how to assess them during interviews.   ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=jan   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

Affirm is officially making a play to become its own bank by submitting applications to establish Affirm Bank through a Nevada-chartered Industrial Loan Company (ILC). This strategic shift aims to strengthen and diversify their platform, allowing them to scale operations and offer FDIC-insured products directly to consumers. The Free Toaster hosts Carlos Caro and Nick Madrid comment on this and the growth in their credit card program.  Sign up for The Free Toaster Newsletter (www.thefreetoaster.com) to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, published every Wednesday. And then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on select stories from that edition.  ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=jan   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

Cash App Borrow is quietly building a monster (and seemingly highly profitable) consumer lending business under the radar. The Free Toaster hosts Carlos Caro and Nick Madrid comment on the metrics they've seen published from the business. Sign up for The Free Toaster Newsletter (www.thefreetoaster.com) to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, published every Wednesday. And then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on select stories from that edition.  ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=dec A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/ A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

This week Carlos Caro unpacks what Jenius Bank's exit from affiliate marketplaces could mean for other prime personal loan lenders.  Sign up for The Free Toaster Newsletter (www.thefreetoaster.com) to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, published every Wednesday. And then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on select stories from that edition.  ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=dec A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

In the News Pod, The Free Toaster founders - Carlos Caro and Nick Madrid - unpack select stories from the Wednesday news edition of www.thefreetoaster.com Sign up for the Newsletter to get our curated news at the intersection of consumer lending & marketing, and then come here on Fridays to get our hot takes on select stories from that edition.  ***** To support The Free Toaster Podcast, please visit our sponsors: A word from our sponsor, Bulldog Media Group: Bulldog Media Group is a leading performance marketing company that specializes in online customer acquisition for clients in the financial services industry. Since 2000, they have focused on financial services digital marketing as their core niche.  https://www.bulldogmediagroup.com/   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=dec A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

In this episode, Tomás returns to share what's changed since Spinwheel's $30 million funding round—including a strategic investment from Citi—and gives us an inside look at the Spinwheel Network Token, a piece of technology that changes how lenders can serve customers across the acquisition journey. Please note: Spinwheel is a sponsor of The Free Toaster Newsletter and Podcast.  About The Spinwheel Network Token Spinwheel's Network Token creates a persistent, consent-based identity layer using just a phone number and date of birth. Here's what that unlocks: Skip the funnel: Instead of starting at step one with a lender, consumers can land near the end—already seeing which credit cards they can consolidate, with balances pre-populated. Real-time data: Lenders get live liability information including balances, due dates, minimum payments, and interest rates. Seamless payments: Disbursements can go directly to the credit cards being paid off, not just to a consumer's bank account. Early results show 20–30% increases in funded loans and up to 50% improvement in payoff completion rates for lenders using the token. Why This Matters for Agentic Commerce Tomás makes a compelling case that this infrastructure is a prerequisite for the AI-powered future of lending. When consumers start using voice assistants or smart agents to find and execute loans on their behalf, those agents will need frictionless access to verified financial data—and the ability to act on it. Spinwheel is building that layer now.   ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=dec A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

I sit with my co-founder Nick Madrid to discuss what we've learned in the last year of building this Podcast and Newsletter. About Nick Madrid - Co-founder, The Free Toaster. Former Bloomberg (10 years) and Chime (3+ years). Now building media properties including The Free Toaster and the Uncovered Media brand. Free Toaster Stats 1,200+ email subscribers (zero paid marketing), adding about 100 subs per month 13,000+ active users, 30,000+ views on www.thefreetoaster.com 118 posts published in 14 months Main Topics of Discussion Biggest lesson: Consistency matters more than predicting viral content What's working: Writing online attracts opportunities 2026 plans: Building curated events for consumer lending, launching small business lending newsletter Events vision: Intimate, niche gatherings (dinners, golf, coffee, even bounce houses for parents) - in addition to larger scale conference Contact Us If: - Operators: you want to help us plan/execute an event - Sponsors: you want to sponsor an event - Consumer lenders: you want to hear about our events/attend Email us at: [email protected]   ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=dec A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

I recently sat with Alex Johnson on the Fintech Takes Podcast. I hope you enjoy! ***** (Show notes below from Fintech Takes) Welcome back to the Fintech Takes podcast. I’m Alex Johnson, joined by Carlos Caro (author of the Free Toaster newsletter and host of the Free Toaster podcast) for the second episode of Facing Credit, where we unpack what’s really happening in lending right now. This one’s about marketing; the overlooked starting point of every loan.  Everything in lending sits downstream of how you acquire customers and what it costs to reach them. And right now, that system is in flux. AI has upended the old rules of digital acquisition. Google’s “Helpful Content” update triggered what Carlos describes in his writing as the “SEO Apocalypse”, a collapse that’s wiping out 50–90% of organic traffic and forcing publishers, affiliates, and lenders to rewrite their playbooks. The rise of AI-generated search results and zero-click answers means the economics of attention have changed for good. Carlos and I dig into: How AI is breaking traditional digital marketing and reshaping lender acquisition costs What Google’s updates mean for SEO, SEM, and the affiliate ecosystem How creators like My Rich BFF and MrBeast are becoming the new distribution channels for lenders And what “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO) might mean for the next phase of search Tune in for Carlos’s take on how lenders, publishers, and fintechs can survive the SEO extinction event (and what it’ll take to win attention in the AI age). Plus, we reference these three Free Toaster pieces throughout the conversation; consider them required reading: The SEO Apocalypse Has Arrived How New Balance's CMO Turned Around A 15-Year Decline Reddit Isn't an Affiliate Channel This episode was brought to you by Marqeta. Don’t sacrifice agility for stability. With Marqeta, launch payments experiences that perform at scale and flex with your business. Learn more at https://marqeta.com/ftt Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/ And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page. Follow Carlos Caro: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-carlos-caro/ Follow Alex Johnson:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson X: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson

I was recently a guest on another Podcast, and the host asked me a question about what will happen to publishers' organic traffic that disappeared with the recent Google / SEO changes. That question led me into a bit of a tangent / rabbit hole (I'll republish that episode here when it goes live in December), and today I share some of my updated thoughts after having an evening to reflect on the conversation. PS: If you want to sponsor our Podcast in 2026, now's the time to get in touch. Email me at [email protected]   ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=oct A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth: New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

Alana Levine, Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, returns to break down the compliance challenges that affiliate marketers face. As AI reshapes the affiliate landscape, financial institutions face mounting pressure to get compliance right—or face serious consequences.   In this episode, Alana shares her framework for managing affiliate compliance at scale, the real-world costs of getting it wrong, and how the rise of influencer marketing and LLMs is creating additional complexity for the next 12-24 months. We discuss... The Six Compliance Blind Spots Partner vetting: Creating systematic rules for who represents your brand Content accuracy: Managing product changes across dozens of live campaigns Compensation models: Understanding regulatory limitations on affiliate payments Disclosures: FTC requirements and commercial relationship transparency Data capture: Navigating GDPR, CCPA, and FCC lead buying rules Audit readiness: Maintaining documentation for regulator reviews Managing Compliance at Scale Manual workflows vs. automated solutions: When to invest Key players: PerformLine, BrandVerity, Fides, Red Marker, Fintel Check Cost reality: ~$100K for dedicated compliance support at $1M affiliate spend Real examples of tools catching violations before regulators notice Publisher Adaptation and the Future SEO traffic down 30% for content-heavy publishers Why paid replacement traffic is more expensive and lower converting Alana's prediction: Affiliate spend will increase, quality will improve   ***** About Alana Levine Alana is the Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, an award-winning performance marketing technology company dedicated to driving growth in the fintech, banking and insurance space. They're on a mission to create greater transparency and become the place to be for innovative fintechs and banks to connect with targeted influencers and publishers in the space. As a leading banking and fintech affiliate network in North America, Fintel is proud to power the affiliate programs for partners like Scotiabank, Tangerine Bank, Ramp, Rho, BMO, and others.   ***** A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=oct A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

We've all heard the rumors around SEO traffic drying up for publishers. Today I riff on what's going on, why it's happening, and what lenders should be doing about it. This is a supplement to something I recently published on The Free Toaster Newsletter. https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/the-seo-apocalypse-has-arrived-9812 *****   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=sep   A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. www.newmarketgrowth.com If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

We explore how fintech lenders could revolutionize customer acquisition by partnering with AI-powered finfluencers, alleviating current concentration in affiliate marketplaces. Key Topics The Current Problem: 30-70% of fintech lender volume comes from affiliate marketplaces, creating concentration risk. Lenders spend $4B-$6B annually on affiliate marketing but lack control over rankings and algorithms. The Finfluencer Opportunity: Top creators are severely under-monetizing. Vivian Tu (Your Rich BFF) made $3MM from 5MM followers—just $0.60 per audience member. Credit Karma generates $12.31 per member. At Credit Karma rates, Vivian could earn $61.5MM annually. The AI Revolution: Digital twins will allow Finfluencers to scale 1:1 advice 24/7. These AI assistants will answer questions in the creator's voice, recommend products, and handle compliant application handoffs. The AI chatbot market is exploding from $14B (2025) to $47B (2029). Why This Will Happen: Consumers already trust AI for 80% of customer service interactions. Lenders historically resist new channels (internet applications, mobile banking, social ads) before eventually adopting them. Key Stats $6.50 return for every $1 spent on influencer marketing Only 13% of influencers earn over $100K annually AI could save financial services $80B in customer service costs by 2026 The Bottom Line A platform will emerge where Finfluencers launch always-on AI assistants with seamless affiliate integration. Early-mover lenders who master compliance will create an edge while more conservation competitors remain skeptical. Action Items for Lenders Monitor top finfluencers in your category Start small influencer experiments now Prep compliance teams for AI + social media Identify potential platform partnerships Read the article in our Newsletter: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/the-ai-finfluencers-are-coming-dc2a   *****   A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=aug   A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

We sit down with Alana Levine, Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, to uncover what financial institutions get wrong when launching affiliate marketing programs—and more importantly, how to get it right from day one. As someone who lives in the trenches and is often the first call when lenders want to activate the affiliate channel, Alana shares her unfiltered pre-launch checklist and the hard-won insights that can save months of frustration and wasted budget. We discuss... The Strategic Foundation Why geographic reach can make or break your affiliate program The "me too" product problem and how to overcome it Application experience as everyone's shared challenge Budget reality check: Why $50k is the healthy starting point Setting realistic CPA expectations (especially for fintechs) Operational Requirements The critical role of existing digital marketing experience Why your current application page won't work for affiliate traffic Tracking and attribution: The technical foundation that publishers demand Written publisher guidelines as legal and risk management tools Performance reporting beyond basic conversion tracking Common Pitfalls The biggest stumbling block: Defining success metrics clearly Why volume, quality, and channel contribution all matter How to test your success criteria with external parties Timeline and Commitment The 6-month minimum commitment reality Month-by-month breakdown of the typical program journey Why 18-24 months is the real timeline for hitting potential Understanding the "zero to one feels like an eternity" phase Industry Context The massive scale of affiliate marketing in financial services How top fintech lenders achieve 45%+ acquisition through affiliates The $4B-$6B annual spend opportunity in consumer lending ***** About Alana Levine Alana is the Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, an award-winning performance marketing technology company dedicated to driving growth in the fintech, banking and insurance space. They're on a mission to create greater transparency and become the place to be for innovative fintechs and banks to connect with targeted influencers and publishers in the space. As a leading banking and fintech affiliate network in North America, Fintel is proud to power the affiliate programs for partners like Scotiabank, Tangerine Bank, EQ Bank, Borrowell and others.   ***** A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=aug A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Today's Topic (06:20) Optimizing Landing Pages for Better Conversions (11:59) Co-Branding and Its Impact (18:20) Tracking and Reporting Standards (26:44) Setting Up Publisher Terms and Conditions (33:08) Client Spending Spectrum (38:08) Publisher Performance and Success Metrics (45:07) Setting Clear Expectations and Timeframes (56:36) The Importance of Dedicated Staff (01:04:50) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

We sit down with Kirill Klokov, CEO of Truv, to break down everything lenders need to know about income verification providers.  Vetting Income Verification Vendors Why most providers use the same underlying data sources The power of back-testing analysis on your own data Smart questions sophisticated lenders ask during RFPs The Consumer Experience Why 35% of users drop off at bank login screens How to build a smart "waterfall" approach (spoiler: start cheap, then hit instant databases) The messaging that actually works with borrowers Beyond Basic Income Verification Why a "complete product" covers W2s, gig workers, benefits, and self-employed How payroll data beats bank data for complex income situations The complexity of underwriting sales reps vs. salaried workers AI's Impact on Lending How AI is eliminating manual QA and bug fixes Why payroll data becomes more valuable as AI-generated fraud gets better The future of mortgage loan officers (hint: they're not going anywhere) Truv's New Business Model Their shift from per-transaction pricing to "pay when the loan closes" How this aligns incentives and removes upfront risk for lenders Find Kirill Klokov on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillklokov/ *** A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Greetings (01:46) Complete Solutions for Income Verification (04:23) Consumer Friction in Lending Applications (08:40) Vetting Potential Partners (22:02) New Pricing Model: Pay Per Closed Loan (26:05) Impact of AI on Lending (32:29) Conclusion and Contact Information

Rich Walker is back! After our first direct mail episode became the most popular episode on the show, we're back for round 2. The 10 DM Pitfalls We Discuss 1. Attribution Nightmares People get your mail, then go to Credit Karma to respond. Your CFO freaks out about "paying twice" but that's just how the channels work together. Rich breaks down holdout testing and why you need to stop thinking about this as double-paying. 2. When Campaigns Go Off The Rails  Your mail program is humming along, then suddenly a campaign tanks for no reason. 80% of the time you'll figure out what happened, but 20% you just shrug and move on. Rich walks through the diagnostic checklist and why organizations sometimes kill entire programs over one bad campaign. 3. The Unit Cost Trap Everyone obsesses over cost per piece, but Rich explains why lowering your mail costs often means you'll spend MORE money overall (and why that's actually good). 4. Complexity Overload You start simple, then add segments, then more segments, then product variations... suddenly only one person understands how your program works. We talk about how to dig out of this hole. 5. Testing Problems Direct mail is expensive to test, so you're always making decisions on samples that feel too small. Rich shares the "10 small tests, pick the 3 winners" approach. 6. Model Addiction Your response models get biased because you only mail to people who passed your last model. Universe testing is the cure, but it's a hard sell to the CFO. 7. Overthinking Non-Response 99.5% of your mail gets thrown away without being read. Stop trying to psychoanalyze why people didn't respond - most of them never saw your offer. 8. Funnel Blindness High click-through but low conversions? That's a signal, not a failure. Your audience is telling you something - listen to them. 9. No Testing Culture Organizations that say "we're really good at testing" usually aren't. Real testing culture means constant experimentation with the right infrastructure to support it. 10. Death by Committee Legal needs 5 days, then compliance needs 5 days, then brand wants changes... Rich explains how to get everyone aligned without killing your cycle time.   About Rich Walker: Rich Walker is a 35-year industry vet who’s been responsible for over 10 billion pieces of Direct Mail. Rich has led direct marketing teams at Capital One, the Winterberry Group, Deluxe Corporation, 2nd Order Solutions, and more recently, Aven. He also ran his own consulting shop - Pilot Performance Marketing - focused on helping lenders solve Direct Mail. *** A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=june A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Podcast Success (05:15) Consumer Behavior and Validation (11:42) Holdout Analysis and Incremental Value (16:42) Campaign Performance and Troubleshooting (29:15) Optimizing Unit Costs and Growth (35:31) Understanding Buffer and Discount Rates (39:52) Signs of Overshooting in Complexity (46:48) Making Decisions on Small Samples (56:08) Model Addiction and Bias (01:04:31) Reading Too Much into Non-Response (01:12:19) The Importance of Gross and Net Response in Direct Mail (01:29:05) The Role of Testing in Direct Mail Campaigns (01:35:24) Challenges in Direct Mail Approval Processes (01:44:22) Navigating Affiliate Marketing for Lenders (01:49:14) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

I sat down with John Henson, a fintech-savvy lawyer who formerly worked at LendingTree (both as an attorney and a general manager). He unpacks the regulatory chaos swirling around lead generation in 2025 — what’s changed, what’s still risky, and how fintech marketers can navigate it without getting burned. In today's discussion: The CFPB Rolled Back Rules: Credit card and personal loan lead gen just got a little more breathing room. John explains what’s safe and what’s not. Mortgage Lead Gen Isn’t Dead: Despite RESPA, there are ways to play without federal headaches. State Privacy Laws Are Tightening: You might be a “data broker” without knowing it — and that’s a compliance minefield. Banks Fear AI: Rumor has is that some big banks are banning generative AI in lead gen. John weighs in on the reality. Some Lead Gen Is Still Garbage: Learn how to spot sketchy providers before you get sued. ...and much more.  Memorable Quotes “Everything is UDAP.”  “If you don’t understand how they’re generating the leads, you’re buying problems.” “Nobody ever got fired at a bank for saying no.” About John Henson John Henson is a rare breed: a lawyer who understands marketing. He spent 6 years at LendingTree running lead gen and compliance, so he knows the real-world challenges fintechs face. Now, he helps companies stay out of trouble while growing smart. Follow him on LinkedIn for sharp insights. *** A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=june A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Greetings (04:22) Understanding RESPA and Non-Steering Regulations (34:59) State Privacy Laws and Data Management (45:43) State Privacy Laws and AI Regulations (51:24) Starting a Solo Practice (54:48) The Role of LinkedIn in Business Growth (01:13:56) Challenges in Legal and Compliance Content (01:21:18) Conclusion and Contact Information

I explain positive and adverse selection in lending using recruiting as an analogy. If you've ever hired someone, you'll instantly understand why your channels, pricing, and process determine your loan portfolio quality. Key Takeaways The Big Idea: Attracting great borrowers works exactly like hiring great people. The parallels... 1. Channel Quality Inbound (website traffic): People actively searching, often desperate Outbound (direct mail): Higher-quality prospects who aren't hunting Best candidates and borrowers usually aren't usually looking 2. Price Matters Post a $100K vs $200K director role—which gets better candidates? Same with loans: competitive rates attract quality borrowers Even small rate differences (12% vs 14%) shift your entire applicant mix 3. Process Friction Complex hiring processes drive away top talent with options Heavy loan applications do the same to good credit risks You're left with applicants who have time and fewer alternatives Action Items for Fintech Marketers Audit your inbound vs outbound channel mix Price competitively—good borrowers shop around Streamline your application process ruthlessly Go find great borrowers instead of waiting for them You can find a written version of today's content in our Newsletter: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/positive-negative-select-in-lending *** A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine. https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=june A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Positive and Adverse Selection (02:19) Pricing Strategies in Lending (04:01) Funnel Friction and Its Impact (06:35) Personal Stories on Price Signals (09:38) Recap and Final Thoughts  

I talk about a surprising case study where a lending product thrived in one affiliate marketplace but completely flopped in another. We explore the key differences between marketplaces that can dramatically impact performance and provide actionable insights for fintech marketers. Key Insights Don't assume success transfers between marketplaces: A product that works well with one affiliate partner may struggle with another due to fundamental marketplace differences. Three critical marketplace variables to consider: Algorithm differences Competitive landscape variations Offer presentation layer discrepancies Strategic takeaways: Consider designing different product versions for different channels Expect varying unit economics across partnerships Recognize that market share will naturally differ between platforms ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Overview (02:19) Challenges in the Second Marketplace (05:35) Analyzing the Differences (08:05) Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned (11:17) Conclusion and Contact Information

Marketers sometimes like to enter new channels gradually, conservatively even. This works in many channels like paid search, social, and direct mail.  But for fintechs, entering new affiliate channels like this can have catastrophic consequences.  In today's Podcast, I share why entering into new affiliate marketplaces "cautiously" can be dangerous for new entrants. I'll walk you through how to play the game in reverse. Note: If you want to hear more about this in future Podcasts, email me at [email protected] with your questions.   ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=apr A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Launching Products in Affiliate Channels (02:00) Challenges and Mistakes in the Partnership (06:03) Playing the Game in Reverse: Concept Introduction (10:53) Conclusion and Contact Information

We chat with Colin about how AI is changing marketplaces. His thesis: “The rise of agentic AI will transform marketplaces from passive aggregators to active facilitators of transactions.” To learn more, check out Colin’s take on how AI will revolutionize marketplaces: https://www.gardinercolin.com/p/ai-and-marketplaces-agent-led About Colin Gardiner Former economics/statistical researcher that now loves building sticky consumer facing products via iterative data-driven methods. Built products for both large corporations and seed level startups, always with a primary focus on acquisition, conversion and monetization.   ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=apr A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Greetings (06:21) AI's Role in Financial Services (13:51) The Future of Affiliate Marketing (22:09) Building Authority and Audience (33:45) Understanding Audience Behavior for Effective Marketing (37:17) Content Strategies for Engaging Younger Audiences (44:48) Investing in Marketplaces and Emerging Trends (53:23) The Potential of AI in Financial Recommendations (01:00:35) Conclusion and Contact Information  

We sit with credit card expert Jason Steele about what's happening behind the scenes in the industry. Jason shares how he went from tech work to becoming a respected credit card authority who writes for major publications and runs CardCon, the credit card industry conference.   We discuss: The "Coupon Book Problem" - Premium cards are becoming more complex with endless small benefits ($6 at Dunkin', $10 off wireless) that frustrate consumers. Jason explains why this creates space for simpler card offerings that deliver clear value. What Drives Card Choices - Discover why exclusivity and status perks (like early access to products or "skip-the-line" privileges) might be more powerful than cash back for attracting high-value customers. Will shopping for cards change in an AI future? - The conversation explores whether consumers are moving away from traditional comparison sites toward trusted influencers and whether AI could personalize recommendations based on spending patterns.   Also: Why metal cards might affect spending behavior How credit unions approach card benefits differently The power of word-of-mouth in card marketing What makes people share positive card experiences   And remember: Jason conference — CardCon — happens May 6-8 in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Use code "TOASTER" for $50 off registration at cardconexpo.com.   Where to find Jason: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-steele/   ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mar A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Want to chat with Carlos Caro, our host? Find him at [email protected]   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Guest Background (03:11) The Couponing Trend in Credit Cards (08:30) Opportunities for Credit Card Disruptors (13:17) The Value of Exclusive Rewards (18:08) Card Con Conference Overview (21:59) The Future of Influencer Marketing in Credit Cards (27:17) Doubts About AI Solutions (38:13) Content Strategies for Credit Card Issuers (42:31) Word of Mouth and Referral Bonuses (51:16) Concluding Thoughts and Farewell

LendAPI lets you create application flows, credit decision engines, and complete lending products through simple drag-and-drop tools—all without hiring engineers or spending millions. You can build and launch lending products quickly and efficiently, then use a working product to raise venture capital. Even non-financial businesses like boat dealerships are using it to replace clunky Excel-based applications. Tim in unsually transparent as an early stage founder. He shared: $3.5 million in seed funding raised just four months ago How many applications they process daily How many lenders use the platform The company’s ARR and target before raising more capital LendAPI connects with all three credit bureaus, loan servicing systems, and identity verification providers that you work with daily. Tim's vision is to become the "WordPress of lending"—making it easy for your clients to launch financial products without technical expertise. Where to find Tim: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytli/ Substack (Tim’s build-in-public blog) https://substack.com/@lendapi LendAPI https://www.lendapi.com/ ***** A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mar A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:   New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Want to chat with Carlos Caro, our host? Find him at [email protected]   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Tim Lee's Journey (01:38) Marketing and Lending Technology (03:15) Credit Underwriting and Pricing (07:24) Customer Base and Use Cases (14:31) Go-to-Market Strategy and SEO (28:06) Revenue Model and Pricing (34:56) Expanding into Venture and Community Support (46:20) Building in Public and Transparency (52:44) Social Media Strategy and Content Creation (59:01) Conclusion and Contact Information    

In this episode, I catch up with my old Columbia PhD classmate Guru Sethupathy, founder of FairNow, an AI governance platform for financial services. About AI Governance: Involves three key components: Monitoring AI performance, explainability, and bias Ensuring compliance with financial regulations Establishing clear AI policies and procedures Why It Matters for FinTechs: Often viewed as a cost center but becomes a strategic advantage Becomes critically important during partner due diligence "Light touch" governance is better than scrambling reactively Risk of bias or compliance issues can be existential for startups Explainability Benefits: Meets regulatory requirements Improves customer experience Enhances operational understanding Helps identify performance optimization opportunities Resources: Learn more at fairnow.ai Contact: [email protected]   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mar Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Want to chat with Carlos Caro, our host? Email him at [email protected]   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Guru Slu's Journey (04:11) The Genesis of Fairow (10:56) The Importance of AI Governance for FinTechs (19:21) The Importance of Monitoring and Risk Management (32:09) Practical Steps for Early-Stage FinTechs (38:24) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode, we speak with Greg Cox, CEO of Monevo, to discuss their recent acquisition by TransUnion and how they're transforming credit offer distribution. Greg explains how Monevo serves as a technology layer connecting lenders and publishers, allowing lenders to distribute highly qualified credit offers to third-party websites and aggregators. The platform helps lenders target the right customers across multiple digital channels while improving conversion rates. Highlights: How Monevo's technology handles model hosting and decisioning, with flexibility for lenders to host models with Monevo, TransUnion, or their own platforms Their extensive publisher network, including major players like Lending Tree, NerdWallet, Credit Karma, and Clear Score The company's bootstrapped journey from a £25,000 investment to a TransUnion acquisition How their solution dramatically reduces soft inquiry costs for lenders Different types of offers presented to consumers (pre-approved, pre-qualified, qualified) Future plans following the TransUnion acquisition, including expansion into new verticals beyond personal loans and credit cards Greg shares insights on how Monevo makes both lender and publisher relationships more efficient by improving approval rates, boosting monetization for publishers, and delivering better-qualified users to lenders - all while maintaining flexibility in commercial agreements that align with good outcomes for all parties.   A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mar A word from New Market Growth: New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Consumer lenders spend $4B-$6B per year on affiliate marketing, making the channel too big to ignore. When done correctly, affiliates provide the credit-based targeting of Direct Mail, with lower and more predictable CACs. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, you're in the right place. Contact us: [email protected]   Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/   Timestamps: (00:00) TransUnion's Strategic Moves in the Market (01:17) Understanding Mevo's Technology and Integration (06:59) Publisher and Lender Relationships (10:14) Bootstrapping and Business Growth (17:00) Economic Models and Cost Efficiency (35:40) Future Plans and Expansion (38:56) Conclusion and Contact Information

Rich Walker is a 35-year industry vet who’s been responsible for over 10 billion pieces of Direct Mail. Rich has led direct marketing teams at Capital One, the Winterberry Group, Deluxe Corporation, 2nd Order Solutions, and more recently, Aven. So we jumped at the opportunity to get his take on how lenders can leverage Direct Mail to grow their customer acquisition programs.   We Discuss: 1️⃣ Why Direct Mail still matters -$3B in spend per year -The power of pre-screened marketing 2️⃣ Who should explore Direct Mail -High response, low LTV -Low response, high LTV -Breakdowns by product category 3️⃣ Direct Mail vs. other channels -How does it compare to affiliate marketing? -Attribution and overlaps 4️⃣ Unit economics -Cost per piece at scale (and subscale) -How costs breakdown by postage, data, creative/printing -Typical CACs & response rates 5️⃣ The mechanics of a campaign -Checklist of how to go to market -Typical GTM timelines -How to go from 0 to in market in 8 weeks 6️⃣ Building or renting a Direct Mail function -Case for keeping in-house -Case for out-sourcing 7️⃣ Optimizing the 3 big levers -List (targeting and modeling) -Offer -Creative 8️⃣ Ways to solve attribution -Invitation codes, QR codes, vanity URLs -GEO holdout tests 9️⃣ The future of Direct Mail A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:   Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo! https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=feb Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Rich Walker and His Career (10:45) Challenges and Benefits of Direct Mail (14:50) The Future of Direct Mail and Its Comparison with Affiliate Marketing (31:41) Optimizing Campaign Costs (41:27) Invitation Codes Explained (50:29) Building Effective Direct Mail Models (01:01:04) Launching a Direct Mail Program (01:12:48) The Role of Letter Shops (01:22:01) Balancing In-House vs. Outsourcing (01:33:08) Evaluating Consultants and Learning Resources

What is Congruence? Aligning messaging from your ad, to your landing page, to your final conversion steps creates lift in your marketing funnel, reducing your CACs and increasing your customer acquisition volumes. It sounds elementary. Yet many organizations forget to do it. Today we dig into examples of marketing from Wells Fargo and Discover to illustrate what it means to be Congruent across your marketing funnel. The visuals from The Free Toaster Newsletter will help: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/congruence Our sponsors: Spinwheel: Streamline your lending application pages with 2-fields. To see a demo, click below to chat with their Head of Growth. https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=feb New Market Growth My agency helps fintech lenders achieve explosive growth in affiliate marketing channels.  www.newmarketgrowth.com The Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Topic Overview (01:20) Case Study: Wells Fargo's Congruence (04:50) Case Study: Discover's Congruence Issues (09:38) Improving Congruence in Your Marketing (10:43) Conclusion and Final Thoughts   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   About the host: Carlos Caro is the founder of a New Market Growth, an agency focused on helping fintech lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Contact him at [email protected].

We chat with Kevin Bennett, a successful entrepreneur who helped grow Caribou to a billion-dollar company. Now, he's back with Further, a platform focused on helping people afford their first homes. Kevin shares important lessons for early-stage founders and gives practical advice for growing a business.   We Discuss: Product vs. Distribution: Kevin explains why both product development and getting your product to customers are equally important. Experimenting with Marketing: Kevin talks about the need to test different marketing channels and how to do it quickly. Evaluating Marketing Channels: Kevin shares a simple framework to decide if a marketing channel is worth investing in: Does it resonate with your audience? Can it scale as you grow? Are the economics (costs and returns) good? How stable is the channel or partnership? Speed and Cycle Time: Kevin emphasizes the need to test ideas fast and make decisions quickly. Strategic Partnerships: Kevin talks about the value of finding strong partners who can help your business grow. A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel: Streamline your lending application pages with 2-fields. If you’re anything like us, friction on application pages makes you nauseous. It makes your CACs go up. It makes your volumes drop. It causes your CFO and CEO to say mean things. The trouble is, application friction isn’t easy to fix. Your prod/eng is busy. We get it. Spinwheel’s APIs streamline a lending application form with just a phone number and a birthdate - like magic (but it’s really just smart tech)! Then you get a 20-30% lift in your application rate. Additionally, they can give you real-time, verified consumer credit data and seamless payment processing, which can help you serve customers beyond the initial application. To see a demo, click below to connect with their Head of Growth and see this thing in action. https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=jan   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Early Stage Scalability (02:13) Strategies for Early Stage Distribution (05:04) Experimentation and Learning in Marketing (14:43) Strategic Partnerships and Scaling (26:26) Kevin's Current Venture: Further (28:14) Conclusion and Podcast Wrap-Up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   About the host: Carlos Caro is the founder of a New Market Growth, an agency focused on helping fintech lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Contact him at [email protected].

I just launched a new Podcast at the intersection of marketing, lending, and fintech. It includes everything you get on this show, plus more. (PS - If you're happy with Affiliate-only content, stay here. I'll keep publishing episodes I think will be relevant to you). Find the new show by searching "The Free Toaster" on your Podcast player, or by going here: https://thefreetoaster.podbean.com/ Please also check out the weekly Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com And, please check out our sponsors: www.spinwheel.io www.fiatgrowth.com www.newmarketgrowth.com (my affiliate marketing agency)

Carlos shares what he learned about brand marketing from New Balance's turnaround.   TL;DR - For 15 years, New Balance watched its revenues decline. Consumers saw its sneakers as “dad shoes”—safe, comfortable, but uncool. Traditional direct-response marketing wasn’t reversing the trend. In April 2020, a new CMO, Chris Davis, arrived with a bold idea: flip the marketing mix from a 70% reliance on direct-response ads to a brand-led approach. It was a big gamble that took nearly 19 months to pay off, but when it did, New Balance emerged as a revitalized global brand.   Written version of the story: https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/how-new-balance-s-cmo-turned-around-a-15-year-decline   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and New Project Announcement (00:28) The New Balance Turnaround Story (01:31) Understanding the Quant Mindset (03:10) The Power of Brand Marketing (08:57) Lessons from New Balance's Success (14:27) Closing Thoughts and Business Focus   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   About the host: Carlos Caro is the founder of a New Market Growth, an agency focused on helping fintech lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Contact him at [email protected].

Carlos riffs on why CPA negotiations are a waste of time and 9 other things you should know about the topic as someone new to the channel.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to CPA Negotiations (01:43) Understanding CPA and Market Dynamics (02:22) Strategies for Effective CPA Management (06:11) Common Pitfalls and Final Thoughts   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe and review our show. Contact the host at [email protected].

We sit with Tomas Campos, CEO at Spinwheel. Spinwheel’s product caught my attention because affiliate marketers could use their product to reduce the friction in their application processes.    Timestamps: (00:00) Meet Tomas Campos, CEO of Spinwheel  (02:30) Ideal customers and use cases (06:30) Success metrics (12:35) Challenges building the business (15:37) Partnering with lenders (22:41) Uplift from pre-filling application forms (28:12) What holds lenders back from buying (34:10) The NerdWallet integration (36:05) Other challenges lenders have (46:52) Bank account verification (47:10) Wrap up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   Where to find Tomas: LinkedIn   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe and review our show. If you’re interested in being a guest, email me at [email protected].

We sit with David Nohe, CEO of FinGoal, to discuss the CFPB’s Rule 1033 on Open Banking and the implications it has for bank marketers.   Timestamps: (00:00) David Nohe, CEO of Fingoal (01:59) The 101 on CFPB Rule 1033 (09:32) Consumer consent (18:04) Future of subscription models (22:52) Funnel dynamics / friction (24:09) Credit bureau vs. open banking data (26:43) Why be concerned or optimistic (32:10) Banks' strategic opportunities (41:37) Wrap up and dinner bet   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   Where to find David Nohe: LinkedIn  Twitter/X - @fingoaldavid   References: Ten Take-Aways on 1033 for Community Bankers https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ten-take-aways-1033-community-bankers-david-nohe-yo8cc/?trackingId=WR0OUVGdRGahil7tCSZ48w%3D%3D   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].  

Personal finance platforms (like Credit Karma) are now at scale, with the ability to recommend products at the 1:1 user level. Further, they’re incentivized to recommend niche products that are highly customized to each user. Lending products, however, are designed for mass audiences. This disconnect presents a huge opportunity for lenders.   Timestamps: (00:00) Why personalization matters (04:06) Hyper-niche lending products (05:37) Social media and niche content (08:43) Opportunities in financial services (12:57) Where I see this all going (15:01) Wrap up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X References: The case for building hyper-niche lending products https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/hyper-niche-lending-products   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Today we chat with Tim Hong, the Chief Product Officer at MoneyLion. He walks us through a partnership they’ve built with Plaid and other data providers to offer cash flow data at the marketing stage to lenders in the Engine marketplace.   Timestamps: (00:00) Tim Hong, CPO at MoneyLion (04:06) The Engine marketplace (12:02) Open banking and UX (22:48) User permissioned data (25:15) Sharing bank credentials (27:25) Cashflow data in lending (31:09) Spark platform (37:20) Future of open banking (44:17) Wrap up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   References: Plaid & MoneyLion’s announcement: “The power of cash flow underwriting with instant onboarding: Introducing Layer and Consumer Report” https://plaid.com/blog/layer-consumer-report-instant-onboarding/   Carlos’ piece: “Where's The Consumer Demand For Cash Flow Underwriting (CFU)?” https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/where-is-the-demand-for-cash-flow-underwriting   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

I’m starting to worry that we don’t have an economically viable way to distribute cash flow underwriting (CFU) products to consumers. In today’s episode, we discuss the opportunity and challenges CFU lenders will have in distributing their products through direct mail, paid search, and of course affiliates.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Fintech and Cashflow Underwriting (01:21) The Article and Its Insights (02:38) AI-Generated Overview of The Petal Case Study (09:21) End of AI-Generated Overview (09:26) Analyzing Cashflow Underwriting (11:36) Challenges in Cashflow Underwriting (15:54) Marketing Cashflow Products (20:03) Potential Solutions and Future Outlook (25:26) Final Thoughts and Next Steps   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   References: Carlos’ piece: “Where's The Consumer Demand For Cash Flow Underwriting (CFU)?” https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/where-is-the-demand-for-cash-flow-underwriting   Alex Johnson’s piece on Cash Flow Underwriting: https://fintechtakes.com/articles/2024-05-22/cash-flow-underwriting/   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Today, we discuss the backstory behind my marketing agency, New Market Growth. I’ll share my background working in affiliate marketing at a connected home startup, my experience working on credit cards at Capital One, my 4 years at Credit Karma, and how my experiences came together to form a services business for lenders.   Timestamps: (00:00) What is New Market Growth (01:30) Early years in affiliate marketing (03:53) Credit Karma (06:50) My first business: legal services marketplace (09:10) Return to fintech + personal brands (12:19) Founding New Market Growth (14:27) Current focus + looking out to the future (15:55) Wrap up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Today, we discuss high-level principles for your affiliate measurement (analytics) strategy. We’ll cover the 2 big questions your dashboards should be answering, we dig into 9 metrics you might not be watching, and we hit on the importance of connecting marketing stage and performance stage data.   Timestamps: (00:00) True North (01:34) Driving questions (01:53) Delivering for your partners (04:26) Partners delivering for you (06:35) Combining data sources (09:34) Effective dashboards (16:49) 9 key metrics to watch (22:26) Wrap up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Today, we discuss the most common reasons that lenders don’t hit their volume, account quality, and growth goals in the affiliate channel. Based on Carlos’ experience talking to lenders in his affiliate marketing agency, New Market Growth.   Common struggles: Cross-functional dysfunction Model misalignment (Non)compliance  Application friction Mispricing Access to big affiliates Concentration Cold starts Lack of differentiation CPA game Thinking it’s easy   Timestamps: (00:00) Common Struggles in Affiliate Marketing (03:00) Reason 1: Lack of Cross-Functional Effort (04:54) Reason 2: Misaligned Targeting Model (06:36) Reason 3: Approval Rate Issues (07:59) Reason 4: Application Friction (09:01) Reason 5: Uncompetitive Pricing (10:39) Reason 6: Missing Major Marketplaces   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Today, we continue to discuss the 4 levels of Operational Maturity in affiliate marketing for lenders. We’ll go deep on 301 and 401 levels and wrap up with some tactical things you can do to land at the 401 level.   Summary of the 4 levels:   𝟭𝟬𝟭 - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹  We're focused on the volume of leads and the cost of acquisition. The rest of the operation looks a lot like affiliate programs in other industries. There's not much attention placed on the quality of accounts that we acquire.   𝟮𝟬𝟭 - 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 We learn that not all leads are created equal and not all lead sources are created equal. We pay more attention to what happens to a customer post-booking.    How much revenue are they driving?  What are the delinquency rates?  What are the loss rates?    We start to think about the relationship between LTV and cost of acquisition.   𝟯𝟬𝟭 - 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 We learn that when we make a change to our business, the affiliate reacts in a certain way, and that in turn has a knock-on effect on our business. We also start to overanalyze why volumes dropped and why applicant quality is changing. We often get distracted by a lot of these questions as there are often no actions we can take as a result of our curiosity.   𝟰𝟬𝟭 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 We learn that our success relies on delivering exceptional products and exceptional buying experiences for our affiliates' customers. Under this frame, we recognize that each affiliate's a little different. They all have different buying experiences, data assets, customer types, and integration capabilities. We try to reverse engineer our business to best fit each partner. We notice that we were overanalyzing the volatility in our programs, and conclude that our investigations were often unproductive.   Timestamps: (00:00) 301 Intro (04:20) 301 Strategy (15:55) 301 Challenges and realities (18:43) Recap of 101-301 (21:48) 401 Deep dive - becoming leaders (30:48) Model alignment (41:48) Wrap up   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   References: A written summary of the 4 levels of Operational Maturity: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-carlos-caro_operational-maturity-affiliates-activity-7204481122464907264-f_hC   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Today, we introduce the 4 levels of Operational Maturity in affiliate marketing for lenders. We’ll go deep on 101 and 201 levels. The 301 and 401 levels will be covered in our next episode.   Summary of the 4 levels:   𝟭𝟬𝟭 - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹  We're focused on the volume of leads and the cost of acquisition. The rest of the operation looks a lot like affiliate programs in other industries. There's not much attention placed on the quality of accounts that we acquire.   𝟮𝟬𝟭 - 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 We learn that not all leads are created equal and not all lead sources are created equal. We pay more attention to what happens to a customer post-booking.    How much revenue are they driving?  What are the delinquency rates?  What are the loss rates?    We start to think about the relationship between LTV and cost of acquisition.   𝟯𝟬𝟭 - 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 We learn that when we make a change to our business, the affiliate reacts in a certain way, and that in turn has a knock-on effect on our business. We also start to overanalyze why volumes dropped and why applicant quality is changing. We often get distracted by a lot of these questions as there are often no actions we can take as a result of our curiosity.   𝟰𝟬𝟭 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 We learn that our success relies on delivering exceptional products and exceptional buying experiences for our affiliates' customers. Under this frame, we recognize that each affiliate's a little different. They all have different buying experiences, data assets, customer types, and integration capabilities. We try to reverse engineer our business to best fit each partner. We notice that we were overanalyzing the volatility in our programs, and conclude that our investigations were often unproductive.   Timestamps: (00:00) Why maturity matters (04:36) The 4 levels (10:18) 101 deep dive (17:56) 201 deep dive (26:15) Wrap up and next steps   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   References: A written summary of the 4 levels of Operational Maturity: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-carlos-caro_operational-maturity-affiliates-activity-7204481122464907264-f_hC   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Episode 005: Today, we discuss the marketing levers lenders have at their disposal to improve the performance of their affiliate marketing campaigns.   We’ll discuss levers in the following categories: Eligibility Impressions/placements Click-through rate Application rate Approval rate Funding rate CPA/Payouts   Timestamps: (00:54) Recapping previous episodes (01:50) A big misconception (03:02) Key levers (09:30) CTR (18:37) Application rate (21:35) Approval rate (27:09) Funding rate (29:49) CPAs / payouts (31:43) Conclusion and final thoughts   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   References: Click-through rates by ad rank/placement on Google: https://firstpagesage.com/reports/google-click-through-rates-ctrs-by-ranking-position/ Outline of levers discussed in the show https://medium.com/@newmarketgrowth/your-affiliate-marketing-levers-9f98092ab37b   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].

Episode 004: Today, we tackle two simple, but important questions. The first: “What affiliates should I partner with?” And the second, “Where should I host my targeting model?”   We cover: How to build a list of potential affiliate partners Why “getting in” isn’t an easy as you think How to build a pitch for potential partners Where to host your targeting model Guiding principles for targeting model development   Timestamps: (00:43) Outline of today's episode (04:25) Building a list of potential partners (09:25) Why getting into publishers isn't easy (14:15) Crafting your pitch 18:18 Hosting your targeting model (18:18) Hosting Your Targeting Model (22:20) Targeting model platforms (36:56) Guiding principles (41:45) Wrap up / final thoughts   Where to find Carlos: LinkedIn Twitter/X   References: Credit Karma Lightbox https://www.creditkarma.com/about/commentary/credit-karma-welcomes-team-bitmatica Monevo https://www.monevo.com/us Eagle Data https://www.eagledata.biz/ https://medium.com/@carlos.ny/a-chat-with-travis-broad-ceo-at-eagle-data-a6409c6683a7 MoneyLion https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/moneylion-inc-nyseml-q1-2024-earnings-call-transcript-1299056/   Find Us: Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at [email protected].