BMW partners with Bloom to develop blockchain-based customer lending solution

BMW Group Financial Services is partnering with blockchain startup Bloom in a bid to enhance customer lending solution.

The project is part of the BMW Collaboration Lab 2018 and aims to streamline customer journey and lending experience. Bloom is one of the six startups that were chosen to join the first U.S. Collaboration Lab.

The existing traditional lending process is not only cumbersome but also puts consumer data at risk and struggles to accurately score all borrowers. Bloom addresses these issues via its blockchain-based mobile app, which allows users to secure their data on their local device and apply for credit without putting their data at risk.

Ian Smith, CEO of BMW Group Financial Services USA, said that BMW is “looking to examine any and all methods of how blockchain ledgers could support the transformation of current data warehousing, payment, and customer information tracking. Ultimately, our goal is to enable BMW to automate a lot of processing and increase the tracking and security of information.

Powered by Ethereum, Bloom aims to disrupt the multi-billion dollar credit scoring industry. It uses public-private key encryption underpinning blockchain technology to verify customer identity and to attest to the accuracy of credit history without storing customer raw data on the servers.

“Bloom is excited to participate in such a forward-thinking initiative. I’m excited to be working with the BMW Financial Services team to build a streamlined and easy lending experience to improve the customer journey,” noted Anne Ching, Head of Partnerships at Bloom.