Investment  |  Investees

AccountNow

AccountNow, headquartered in San Ramon, California, is a leading provider of financial solutions for the 40 million US consumers who do not have established credit or traditional banking relationships.  AccountNow's money saving offers give consumers an alternative to traditional checking accounts by providing access to financial products and payment systems, including MasterCard and Visa prepaid cards, Pay Anyone Bill Payment, and FDIC-insured deposits.   AccountNow's prepaid MasterCard cards are issued by MetaBank (NASDAQ NM: CASH) and AccountNow's Prepaid Visa Cards are issued by Palm Desert National Bank.  Visit AccountNow online at www.accountnow.net.


CircleLending
CircleLending is a specialty loan administration company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company is widely regarded as a market pioneer in the financial services industry for designing products to manage interpersonal loans between relatives, friends, and other private parties. The company provides document preparation services, customized repayment schedules, electronic billing and payment collection, and ancillary services such as credit reporting, year-end tax statements, mortgage recording, escrow administration, and web-enabled payment tracking. CFSI funded CircleLending to build credit reporting capabilities for its credit underserved clients. As part of the process of servicing the loans, CircleLending would provide credit reporting services for entrepreneurs to build their business credit. CFSI also supported CircleLending by exposing it to the industry, including showcasing it at BAI Retail Delivery 2004. Virgin USA has acquired a majority stake in CircleLending.

iSend
iSend is the leading provider of international electronic payments from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean.  With an estimated 85% of cash remittances being used to pay bills, iSend services allow consumers based in the U.S. to directly pay for these services as an alternative to sending cash.  Payments range from traditional utility bills to pre-paid wireless top-ups.  iSend enables consumers to directly pay for these services, giving users control over how their money is spent while reducing the cost of sending money home.  Consumers can initiate transactions through a growing number of retail locations throughout the United States.  These locations are a result of partnerships with major money transfer companies, bill payment providers, and large check cashers.

PRBC
PRBC accumulates, scores, and reports bill payment data such as rent, mortgage, auto loans, utilities, phone, insurance and other recurring payments, operating as a credit reporting agency as defined under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. PRBC provides this information to mortgage, auto, and credit cards lenders which can be used to either to supplement or in lieu of a traditional credit report and score, to gain a more complete and accurate risk assessment of one of the 30-50 million current individuals with thin or no-file credit scores. In addition to its own direct investment, CFSI assisted PRBC to complete a larger round of equity financing to expand the company. CFSI also supported PRBC's growth by introducing it to senior management and industry players, including showcasing it at BAI Retail Delivery 2004 and 2005.

Progress Financial

Progress Financial is a leading financial services company serving the needs of the growing Hispanic market. Under the name Progreso Financiero, the company offers unsecured credit to Hispanic families that lack FICO scores and established banking relationships. Using proprietary models, Progress has developed innovative ways to assess credit risk among Hispanic consumers and in turn, can lend money at fair rates and lower losses. In addition to its non-traditional scoring methodology, the company interacts with customers in familiar neighborhood settings, offers loan contracts in Spanish, and requires frequent, in-person payments to maintain a high-trust relationship with its borrowers. Progress’ mission is to help its customers build credit in the U.S. and gain access to better lives and mainstream financial services.The company’s principals come from highly respected companies, namely Bain & Company, Bank of America, McKinsey, and Morgan Stanley, and graduated from top universities, including MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.


RentBureau
RentBureau is the first national repository of rental payment histories providing apartment owners and managers with the ability to identify potentially risky residents while helping good residents build credit. RentBureau helps apartment residents, especially those who have thin or limited credit files, by making their rental payment histories available through RentBureau credit scoring.  Every 24 hours, RentBureau automatically and securely collects resident rental payment information from its members’ existing property management software.  RentBureau’s accurate and current data is then made available in standard screening reports through its National Rental Data Exchange (NRDE®) database.

TIO Networks

The "TIO Network" is the largest national multi-retailer network of self-service financial service kiosks in North America. Services offered under the TIO brand umbrella are tailored specifically towards the non-banked consumer marketplace. The TIO brand provides a beacon that symbolizes fair, convenient and secure access to financial services for non-banked consumers. With 6 top tier corporate owned convenience store chains participating, the TIO brand symbolizes safe secure access to key financial services. Since CFSI's investment, Tio Networks has expanded its network of financial services kiosks to over 2000, and extended its service options beyond bill payment to include prepaid card issuance and reloading as well as credit building features. CFSI also supported TIO's development by helping it build business alliances, including its partnership with NetSpend, as well as showcasing it as BAI Retail Delivery 2005.