Two thumbs up for Beneficial National Bank’s (Wilmington, DE; $16 billion) new 2 Minute Online Loan, a real-time unsecured personal installment loan. From the product name, to its co-branding strategy, this product is first rate. Beneficial promotes the loan as a tax-time product with prominent mention on two tax-related Web sites, Intuit’s TurboTax/MacIntax Web, and Block Financial’s Conductor. Real-time loans are also available to users of CompuServe’s online service .

The unsecured loans vary in size from $1,000 to $10,000 (more can be requested via an E-mail to Beneficial). APR is either 9.9%, 12.5%, 15.5%, 17.5%, or 19.5%. Loan terms are either 2, 3 or 5 years. Beneficial’s computer algorithm determines the loan’s APR and term after reviewing the applicant’s credit bureau file. Approved applicants get to review their loan “offer”

The 2 Minute Online Loan ranks as one of the best Web-based financial products we have seen, maybe the best. Here are some of the things they do right:

• Unique domain name for each loan program for TurboTax (online loans accounts for the “oll” after “ttax”) and H&R Block generated loans.
• Simple and quick “2 minute” application that delivers on its name (it took me 1 minute and 55 seconds to complete). The online application is virtually identical to the ubiquitous “acceptance certificates” that accompany preapproved credit card solicitations these days. Beneficial asks only for the common identifying data (name, address, social security number, E-mail address, phone number, and date of birth) and eight other data points (employer name, length of employment, work phone number, renter or homeowner, length of time at residence, gross monthly salary, other monthly income, and checking and/or savings account ownership).
• Attractive, yet small graphics and no frames result in speedy page downloads.
• Precise, targeted Web that does one thing and one thing only: sell loans. The Web is only three pages deep. Page one includes intro, graphics, “quick-read instructions” and legal stuff. Textual information is downloaded with the first page, but is placed underneath the main screen and is accessed by scrolling down or clicking on links that instantly drop you down to the desired text.
• Information verification step helps ensure a complete and accurate application. Upon completing the application, users press a button to verify that the application is complete. Not only does Beneficial’s server check the application, all the data is returned in an easy-to-read table so the applicant can review it for accuracy before hitting the submit button.
• Variable loan terms to fit a number of different credit profiles. Trying to fit every customer into one rate and term is one of the biggest mistakes banks make in consumer lending. Finance companies such as Beneficial rarely make the same mistake. They don’t pass up any business. If the applicant is less than an A credit risk, they are offered a higher rate and shorter term commensurate with the additional risk.
• “Quick-Read” instructions spell out in just five bullet points, exactly what will happen from the moment the application is submitted to its funding the next day.
• A simple three-row by five-column table details monthly payments per $1,000 loaned for all 15 combinations of loan term and APR.
• A fraud-fighting warning is included at the bottom of the application (see screenshot right).

Beneficial’s Co-Branding Partners
The online loan program is being promoted by two companies that have high brand awareness as April 15 approaches, Intuit’s TurboTax and H&R Block.

Intuit carefully positions the loan as merely a tax-related solution for those facing an April 15 financial squeeze. The loan is mentioned in the TurboTax software itself giving it valuable exposure to the estimated two million buyers of the industry-leading tax software. The online loan also gets prime real estate on the front door of Intuit’s TurboTax Web (see screenshot above). The loan is not mentioned on Intuit’s TaxFax line (800) 766.5034 or its automated TurboTax tech support line (800) 685.7369.

Intuit also steers clear of promoting the loan on its flagship Quicken Financial Network Web . Intuit may not want to further alienate its banking partners who are showcased on QFN. If that’s the case, it will be a short-lived problem. Similar real-time loan programs will show up at most leading online banks during the next 12-18 months. Presumably they will all have a chance to bid for space next year on the TurboTax and/or QFN Web.

Note: Bayshore Trust (Toronto, Canada; $500 million CDN) was the first financial institution to deliver real-time loans on the Web. Its program has been operational for nearly a year (OBR 3/96 p.11). Bayshore claims loan approvals in as little as 60 seconds. They are keeping their results confidential as you would expect.

Block Financial’s Conductor Web has a prominent link to the online loan (right of the word Conductor in the screenshot above). Clicking on the Two-Minute Loan icon transfers users to a site that mirrors the Intuit version. The only difference is that at the bottom users are sent back to Conductor instead of Intuit. Elizabeth Sibbring is Director of Commerce and Communications at CompuServe, 614.457.8600. Larry J. Wolfe is VP Personal Tax Group at Intuit, 415.944.6000. William P. Anderson is President Block Financial, 816.751.6000. Robert W. Pierce is CEO at Beneficial National Bank, 302.425.2000.

Fighting fraud. At the bottom of Beneficial’s application the following warning appears:

It is a federal crime to submit false information on a loan application to a federally insured national bank. Violators will be subject to substantial fines and imprisonment.