ANBLIK Weblog

CashCall, Inc., was launched in 2003 with a very simple mission-to be the first online lending company that could approve a loan within minutes, day or night, and deposit the funds directly into the customer’s bank account within hours, including loan amounts of up to $20,000. But working in an undefined business space posed unique challenges, in addition to the usual challenges faced by start-up companies.The company’s developers knew that traditional technologies would be too rigid to support this innovative new business. CashCall engaged IBM and IBM Business Partner CCS Technology Solutions to implement a foundation of service oriented architecture (SOA) built on powerful IBM technologies. The result was a flexible and robust IT platform, enabling CashCall to quickly and easily respond to consumer demands.

Although the California-based company may have had a simple mission, their vision for growth was nothing short of ambitious. Led by a visionary CEO and an experienced technology team, CashCall sowed the seeds of success by building an infrastructure that would accommodate rapid growth and change. “Our founder and CEO, Paul Reddam, said he wanted to be able to handle 30,000 new loans a month. So we had a grand vision from the very beginning. Every decision we’ve made has been with an eye to that volume.”

The grand vision and long-term planning have paid off. Leveraging SOA and event driven architecture (EDA) on IBM hardware and middleware, they’ve grown to a US$750 million company with 600 employees in just a few short years. Today CashCall originates 15,000 loans a month and services more than 100,000 loans at any given time. “It’s hard to believe we’re halfway there,” says Ghourdjian. “And we already have the infrastructure in place to handle the 30,000 loans that Paul Reddam envisioned.”

This unique environment helps give CashCall the agility they need to keep a competitive edge in the lending market. By leveraging the flexibility of the architecture, CashCall was able to streamline and automate this process. Now the underwriters receive a complete application in a frozen electronic format. They review the information on the screen, then select one of three options with the click of a button: approve the loan, deny the loan, or send it back for more information. The automated process has helped CashCall achieve the company’s benchmark level of service-loan approvals within 15 minutes. Automating processes like these helps CashCall deliver high levels of service, drawing in new customers and building customer loyalty.

With a successful architecture in place, CashCall continues to expand at a rapid pace and now operates in more than a dozen states. The company works hard to maintain market dominance by continually rolling out improvements and reacting quickly to market changes and business needs. From complicated modifications like automating the underwriting process to minor changes to business rules, CashCall has the flexibility to respond. “Business changes at the speed of light,” says Ghourdjian. “We’re ready.”