MyLendingTree, LendingTree’s play to create an online home for a borrowers’ credit, has entered the final stages of development.
Doug Lebda, the founder and chief executive of LendingTree, said the kinks would iron out of MyLendingTree within the next couple of months, finalizing an application that the company views as central to its future.
LendingTree, which matches borrowers with lenders online, was launched in 1996. The company [ticker: TREE] has a market capitalization of about $620 million.
On the surface, MyLendingTree lets borrowers check their credit score. But the real use case for MyLendingTree is to create a single portal for credit applications online. Think of it as an “electronic health records” portal for consumer credit. MyLendingTree allows borrowers to pursue a mortgage, auto, student, personal or credit card loan — utilizing LendingTree’s formula of pushing each loan application to four lenders — from one centralized online location.
“We call this credit scoring with a brain,” Lebda said.
The interface is, frankly, beautiful. And because LendingTree is using TransUnion for credit data, it also includes details on the borrower’s existing outstanding credit. The company said that it could white-label MyLendingTree to other financial institutions. Some elements of MyLendingTree are derived from LendingTree’s acquisition of Thrive, a Mint-like PFM, in 2009.
Interestingly, Lebda has been vocal about the commoditization of money. He said at the recent Bank Innovation 2015 that “Money is a commodity… like wheat.” MyLendingTree is a play to be at the center of that commodity — to LendingTree’s benefit. As they say, this pony has legs.