40% of all American adults would have difficulty paying for a $400 emergency expense, with 12% not being able to pay at all*.

We believe that access to emergency funds is a foundational element in everyone’s financial journey. With customers viewing mobile banking as the norm and a growing interest in micro-lending we saw an opportunity to build a peer-to-peer network built around the need to provide Americans with access to funds in an emergency.

We developed a proof-of-concept model that allows groups of people to pool their resources and share access to a peer-funded safety net. Members are invited by the group (family/friends) or matched with individuals with similar risk levels via MassMutual. The group agrees upon the monthly contributions to fund the “pool”, who has access to funds, for what amount and for what reasons. Requests (claims) for emergency access to funds are voted on & approved by the group with an interest-bearing loan being deposited in the requesters linked account upon approval. The interest of this loan is set by the collective group and all revenue generated from the loan goes back into strengthening the pool.

* Report on Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2018 - May 2019, www.federalreserve.gov, May 2019

Prototypes & Testing

From our research and testing we were reminded that Americans are still very hesitant and consider it taboo to discuss/disclose finances with friends and family. They’re also likely to avoid lending money to friends and family due to the perceived stress resulting from verbal agreements and unclear expectations of repayment. A 3rd party solution like ours was met with positive feedback as it was seen as solving many of our customers concerns while providing access to a much needed safety net.