Flexcar's mission is to make car ownership more affordable and flexible by offering a hassle-free alternative to traditional leasing. They provide a zero-down, month-to-month option with no long-term commitment. Flexcar’s membership covers essentials like insurance, maintenance, and roadside assistance, making driving stress-free and convenient for qualified customers.

Method provides an excellent partnership that allows us to give the best outcome to our customers. The team is highly responsive and disciplined on data quality and compliance, a great fit for any customer data needs.

– Michael Zambrano, VP of Risk at Flexcar

Objective

Before partnering with Method, Flexcar faced the challenge of qualifying as many applicants as possible while adequately managing risk. Their primary concern was assessing factors like ability to pay, potential for delinquency, and repossession. To enhance their underwriting process and capture all eligible borrowers, Flexcar sought better data to assess a potential borrower’s debt profile, including credit, auto loans, mortgages, and student loans, and determine if there were any negative outcomes, like repossessions or charge-offs.

Approach

One auth to connect all liability accounts: Method helps Flexcar bridge the gap in traditional underwriting by providing access to critical financial data needed to assess consumer eligibility. Method’s APIs are redefining financial connectivity with real-time, read-write, and frictionless access to all consumer liability data using over 200 integrations with more than 15,000 financial institutions. With a one-time identity-based authentication, and—most importantly—consent, Method can instantly identify every single credit line in someone’s name.

Enriched real-time data: Method’s approach allows companies like Flexcar to stream high-fidelity data and pull real-time balance information and other factors critical for underwriting, such as delinquent statuses, key dates, credit limits, and minimum payments. Thanks to Method's robust and reliable APIs, Flexcar now receives real-time financial information for 100% of applicants, with no downtime or gaps in data. Flexcar can thus gain a clearer view of a potential borrower’s financial health and more accurately assess their eligibility.

Increased favorable outcomes: With this enriched data, Flexcar can now approve more applicants by "rescuing" those without qualitatively bad indicators like repossessions or charge-offs. Without this real-time, high-fidelity data from Method, many creditworthy borrowers would be denied. Method’s mission of enabling consumer-permissioned data for favorable lending outcomes ensures that borrowers in need of a vehicle can lease with Flexcar while aligning with the company's business goals and risk tolerance.

Impact of Partnership

Flexcar’s partnership with Method has already made a significant positive impact, providing account connectivity to tens of thousands of Americans to help qualify more consumers and set the terms of the lease. By leveraging Method's APIs, Flexcar has been able to confidently increase the percentage of approved applicants by 14%, without increasing default rates or adding friction to the customer experience, allowing more consumers who need a vehicle to obtain one.

This partnership has also prevented defaults and losses, contributing to the sustainability of Flexcar’s operations. Flexcar estimates that using Method enables them to efficiently reduce bad outcomes by nearly 20% while only reducing potential order volume by a fraction of that percentage. Overall, the partnership has streamlined the approval process for Flexcar, and ultimately contributed to better customer satisfaction and reach as Flexcar transforms the $110 billion car leasing industry.

About Flexcar

Flexcar empowers all walks of life the flexibility to have a car of their own without the hassles of traditional car ownership. Convenient and affordable, Flexcar is here to disrupt a 110 Billion dollar industry by providing customers a better alternative to car ownership. Visit flexcar.com to learn more.

About Method Financial

Method’s APIs are redefining financial connectivity with real-time, read-write, and frictionless access to all consumer liability data with integrated payment rails. Method helps lenders increase revenue by streamlining customer acquisition, improving underwriting accuracy, and increasing line utilization through balance transfers, all without the need for a consumer’s username and password. Today, Method powers solutions for over 60 fintechs, lenders, and FIs including Aven, Bilt Rewards, SoFi, PenFed and Figure. Method is backed by a16z, Abstract Ventures, YC, Truist Ventures, and more.