It was a true privilege to be a featured speaker at their first event held in the United States, which was attended by global leaders in financial services.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my talk in New York, it was an honor to have the opportunity to share with the audience the story of SpringFour and the impact we create together with our bank partners. It’s thrilling to have started a company based on a simple yet powerful idea. That connections matter. And that by creating a technology solution that powers these connections or referrals to local, financial wellness resources, people can get back on track with their payments and improve their financial health. We are making a difference and we believe the ability to share our story on the Efma stage will help bring more resources to those in need.

Rochelle Gorey presenting at Efma Conference

Because the theme of the conference was Bank + Fintech, we were there to talk about our work with BMO Harris Bank. This work came about as a result of the BMO Harris/1871 Fintech Partnership Program last year, which we were selected for and ultimately chosen as one of the top three winners. BMO Harris shared how they vet potential fintech partners, what they consider when deciding to do business with them, and the value they see in SpringFour.

Mike Butler (President & CEO Radius Bank), Tony Nicholas (CEO Alloy), John Schulte (CIO Merchantile Bank), Keith Armstrong (Co Founder & COO Abe.ai), Rochelle Gorey (Co-Founder and CEO SpringFour), Purva Sule (Director, Senior Relationship Manager BMO Financial Group)

At SpringFour, we recognize the importance of working alongside financial institutions to deliver financial health resources to consumers. We could not do what we are doing without our bank partners. And when we say partners, we mean it. I often tell potential clients that we do not view ourselves as vendors. In fact, the first time a potential client referred to us as a vendor I was a bit taken aback. From our first conversation with a potential client, we view them as our partner in delivering financial wellness solutions.

Never have we thought of our relationships with our clients as transactional. And that makes a huge difference in the relationships we create with our bank clients as well as in our ability to create impact. We work with our clients every step of the way to understand the problem that they are trying to solve and maintain an open relationship. In this way, we can craft and create innovative solutions together. Our bank partners know that when they utilize SpringFour’s platform, they are getting everything they need to help increase repayment rates and help their borrowers.

Let me know if you want to learn more about how to become a partner with SpringFour and join us in our pursuit of financial health.

Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey
Co-Founder & CEO

We’re feeling excited. Have you seen this latest infographic by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) that illustrates the power of financial health tools at the workplace? It’s got us feeling pretty darn awesome here at SpringFour.

You see, for years now, we have been promoting and talking about how in order to help people with financial challenges, we must deliver more than education. And we’re not just talking about this. We have built the largest database of resources that help connect people with tangible resources, programs, and tools that help them reduce household expenses and increase cash flow. Our mission IS to provide necessary connections to real services that can create real solutions and alleviate financial challenges in the short term.

And it’s working. See our case studies with LendUp and US Bank.

Seeing the statement Financial Wellness at Work is Catching On, but Education is Not Enough in CFSI’s infographic sends off fireworks for us. You see, people are stressed and they often can’t make all of their monthly payments. While providing people with education is valuable, it isn’t what is going to solve their immediate problem: “How do I pay my mortgage this month when my furnace just went out and that cost me $4,800” or “My car broke down and I had to fix it because I need it to get to my job, but now I can’t pay my rent.” These are real life situations that happen everyday. They cause people a great deal of stress and anxiety. And you can be certain, that when people are facing these situations, they are distracted at work, they are stressed out, and no amount of education is going to relieve that.

But we have the power to help. To help make important connections to real resources and programs that can lead to a decrease in household expenses. It’s simple, yet not many organizations or employers are doing it. But we think that’s changing.

This illustration documents what we see as a significant mind shift in the industry, and we are thrilled to see this progress. If together we can continue on the path of creating and solving for income volatility, addressing shortfalls in the budget and providing real, tangible solutions to do so, we are all better off.

Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey

Co-Founder & CEO, SpringFour Inc.