FormFree sharpens focus on decentralizing and democratizing consumer access to credit with strategic divestiture of AccountChek

Eric Lapin promoted to president to oversee fintech’s evolution to Web3

Founder and CEO Brent Chandler today heralded a new era for FormFree® following its strategic divestiture of asset-verification service AccountChek®. Moving forward, the fintech will focus on products that advance its mission to decentralize and democratize the way consumers understand their financial data and access credit opportunities. Eric Lapin, who joined FormFree in 2022 as chief strategy officer, will guide the company’s next chapter as president.

“FormFree changed the lending industry when we launched its first wave of digital transformation, and we’re ready to change it again by ushering in a new era of consumer empowerment and expanded access to credit for all people,” said Chandler. “As our new president, Eric will play a critical role in guiding FormFree’s next chapter as we double down on creating new avenues for lenders to responsibly serve credit invisibles and other underserved populations.”

Lapin says the company’s new direction will include an increased focus on blockchain and other decentralized Web3 technologies that give users greater control over their data and privacy. For example, the Qualified Borrower™ (QB) token Lapin helped conceptualize and bring to market last year enables FormFree to share consumers’ validated Financial DNA® and indicators of homebuying interest with best-fit lenders and service providers while keeping consumers’ identities anonymous.

A widely recognized innovator in mortgage and financial services technologies, FormFree is the developer of Passport®, a first-of-its-kind mobile application that verifies and perpetually updates a consumer’s comprehensive Financial DNA and puts consumers in the driver’s seat of their self-sovereign financial identity (SSFI). FormFree is also the creator of the Residual Knowledge Income Index™ (RIKI™), a method for evaluating consumer creditworthiness based on cash-flow analysis. RIKI allows lenders to safely extend credit to consumers whose lack of credit history or thin credit files may not meet traditional underwriting requirements.

FormFree will continue to operate in the mortgage space with a focus on helping lenders meet the needs of more than 45 million Americans who are either credit-unserved or credit-underserved. In so doing, FormFree will help regulated financial institutions meet their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which calls on banks to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income borrowers in the communities they serve.

The fintech will also continue its ongoing expansion beyond mortgage origination into other phases of the homeownership journey, including home search, pre-purchase housing counseling and loss mitigation. In addition, Lapin sees opportunities for FormFree’s know your everything (KYE) and anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities to disrupt the digital currency, auto loan and personal loan verticals.

“FormFree is proud to have pioneered the mortgage industry’s first asset verification service, and that revolutionary spirit will propel the next phase of our growth,” said Lapin. “Moving forward with a laser focus on the future will allow FormFree to innovate with the agility of a startup while benefitting from all the experience and wisdom we have accumulated over nearly two decades in business.”

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