During the pandemic, specialist fintech lending caused long faces at big banks by seizing share. Five percent of Gen Zers and Gen Xers took out loans for plastic or cosmetic surgery, prompted by staring into their own faces on Zoom. Boat loan applications accelerated 355%, while those seeking loans for motorcycles and recreational vehicles zoomed by 257% and 181%.

Specialist lenders offer targeted loan features like alternative credit scoring, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) loans, and digital preapprovals. But the big win came by centering on consumer lifestyles rather than lending features, and by racing to the beginning of the shopping journey rather than sitting in the shopping cart.

It might look easy to duplicate niche lenders’ loan features. But this report covers why specialists are special and have the inside track over those who simply add another loan purpose. It cautions fintech specialists that plan to plug and play their platform in other enthusiast markets. Learn how to compete with lifestyle lenders, and understand what the future holds for them with the wavering economy and failing specialist banks.

Key questions discussed in this report:

• Why are borrowers choosing specialist lenders?
• Which specialist lenders have been most successful (and which ones will be) and how did they siphon share from banks and fintechs? What are their differentiators?
• How can lenders compete and regain share?

Companies Mentioned:

Afterpay, AgFirst, AbbVie, Affirm, Allergen, Apple, BiggerPockets, Botox Cosmetic, Capital One, CareCredit, Citizens Pay, Climate First Bancorp, Comenity Bank, Compere Financial, Digital FCU (DCU), Discover, Earnest, FairPlay, Farm Plus Financial, Flexjet, Gearfire, Integrated Financial Technologies (IFT), Inovatec, Invisalign, John Deere Financial, Klarna, Lance, LASIK, LendingPoint, Mecam Auctions, Mercury, Move, Navient, NetJet Direct Financing, Octane Lending, Origence, PatientFi, PointsBet