[marothisu]

Interesting..

What's your data worth? Payday-advance startup raises $60 million.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john...s-60-million-0

Brian Mandelbaum had a hunch that cash-strapped consumers would be willing to give up some financial privacy in exchange for cash.

He was right. His startup, Klover, which provides consumers advances on their paychecks, has signed up 1.7 million consumers in about 18 months. The company just raised $60 million.

Borrowers don’t pay interest. Instead, they give Klover real-time access to their banking transactions. Companies such as Wayfair, DoorDash and GoodRX, pay Klover to advertise their products to borrowers based on their spending habits.

“What’s remarkable is how willing people are to share their personal information,” says Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “People talk about the importance of privacy, but when there’s a reason to share it, they do it. There’s a certain school of thought by some people that all my information is out there anyway.”

The average borrowers are millennials between 25 and 35 with an average income of $50,000 to $60,000 who borrow less than $250, Klover says.

"We believe consumers’ data is an extremely valuable asset and should be used to their benefit," Mandelbaum says. “We don’t sell the raw data. (Marketers) come to us to match their customer data with our customers. Mostly they want to find new customers."

Klover plans to double its headcount of 30 by year-end. Mandelbaum says the app company raised $30 million in equity and $30 million in debt to fund the advances to customers. He declined to disclose revenue.