How Cobalt Intelligence APIs Integrate with Banking Systems for Smarter Lending Decisions

For alternative business lenders and institutional lending executives, the ability to make rapid, accurate decisions is the lifeblood of success. Traditional manual verification processes are simply too slow, error-prone, and costly. 

Cobalt Intelligence offers a suite of API solutions designed to integrate directly with banking systems, transforming how lenders assess risk, prevent fraud, and streamline operations.

The Challenges of Traditional Business Verification

Before diving into the specifics of Cobalt Intelligence's API integration, it's crucial to understand the pain points it addresses. Traditional business verification methods often involve:

• Manual data entry: Underwriters spend valuable time searching Secretary of State websites, copying and pasting information, and manually documenting their findings.
• Outdated information: Relying on cached databases or third-party data providers can lead to inaccurate assessments, as business information changes rapidly.
• Inconsistent processes: Manual verification lacks standardization, leading to errors and compliance issues.
• Scalability limitations: As application volume grows, manual processes become bottlenecks, hindering growth and profitability.

These challenges highlight the need for a modern, automated solution that provides real-time data and seamless integration with existing banking systems.

Cobalt Intelligence API: A Comprehensive Solution

Cobalt Intelligence tackles these challenges head-on by offering a suite of APIs that connect directly to primary sources of business information, including Secretary of State databases, TIN/EIN verification services, and contractor license verification systems.

1. Secretary of State API: Real-Time Business Verification

Cobalt's flagship Secretary of State API delivers primary-source verification with unmatched speed and accuracy:

• Real-time data access: Connect directly to all 50 states' Secretary of State databases, ensuring access to the most current entity status, officer data, and filings.
• Automated verification: Automate routine verification tasks, freeing up underwriters to focus on complex risk assessment.
• Fraud prevention: Reduce the risk of funding non-existent businesses by verifying businesses registered as recently as an hour ago.
• Compliance documentation: Enhance compliance documentation with timestamped verification evidence automatically captured.

2. TIN Verification API: Confirming Business Legitimacy

Cobalt's TIN Verification API adds an extra layer of security by confirming that business tax ID numbers match registered information:

• Direct IRS connection: Verify Tax Identification Numbers against IRS records to confirm business legitimacy and prevent identity theft.
• Enhanced fraud prevention: Prevent wasted effort on potentially problematic applications, ensuring you're dealing with a verifiable business.

3. Specialized Court Data API: Identifying Potential Legal Risks

Cobalt offers specialized court data access for key jurisdictions like NY State and Miami-Dade County:

• Critical court records: Access critical court records to identify current and historical judgments.
• Risk mitigation: Flag potential legal issues before approval, minimizing exposure to litigation risks.

Seamless Integration with Banking Systems

Cobalt Intelligence APIs are designed for straightforward integration with existing banking systems:

• REST API: The REST API with clear documentation ensures a typical implementation is completed in less than a week.
• Flexible Implementation Options: Cobalt provides flexible implementation options with callback URLs.
• Integration with Existing Platforms: The APIs seamlessly integrate with existing systems, creating a multilayered approach to fraud prevention and risk assessment.
• Customizable Workflows: The API supports both individual lookups and bulk processing, with rate limiting to ensure reliable service and protect state resources.

Success Stories: Transforming Lending Workflows

Several alternative business lenders have successfully integrated Cobalt Intelligence APIs into their banking systems, achieving significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and risk management.

1. 1West: Streamlining Verification and Reducing Fraud

1West, a leading small business lending marketplace, integrated Cobalt Intelligence's Secretary of State API into their Automated Business Lending Engine (ABLE). Kunal, CEO of 1West, explains, "Cobalt helps us verify the file data that the customer provides on applications. It helps reduce fraud for our lending partners and ensures we have the highest chances of obtaining approvals".

• Automated verification: Cobalt API helps 1West automatically verify business start dates, ownership information, and addresses, which was previously done manually by their processing team.
• Time savings: The integration eliminated hours of manual lookup work, allowing files to be submitted to funders much faster.
• Easy integration: Shane, CTO of 1West, noted the Cobalt API integration took less than a week to implement for their engineering team.

2. Idea Financial: Automating Manual Processes

Idea Financial, processing 5,000-10,000 loan applications monthly, successfully automated a previously manual verification process using Cobalt Intelligence APIs. Joe Salvatore, Chief Risk Officer at Idea Financial, noted the implementation was "very straightforward" compared to more traditional bureau integrations.

• Streamlined operations: The integration streamlined operations for a lender handling thousands of monthly applications.
• Bottleneck solution: Cobalt solved a critical bottleneck in their application processing workflow.

3. General Merchant Funding: Increasing Efficiency and Speed

General Merchant Funding integrated Cobalt Intelligence APIs to automate their system, increase efficiency, and speed up the process. Craig Clark from General Merchant Funding, with over 14 years of experience in the alternative business finance industry, emphasized that the information they're looking at, they know they can trust because the integration setup was quick and simple.

• Time savings: Manual verification time was reduced from five minutes to seconds per file.
• Trustworthy Information: Automation with Cobalt ensures the information used is reliable and accurate.

4. Bectran: Enhancing Fraud Prevention and Accelerating Approvals

Bectran, a leading credit and accounts receivable management platform, integrated with Cobalt Intelligence to enhance their fraud prevention capabilities. Louis Ifeguni, Bectran CEO, noted, "This collaboration equips credit managers with real-time SOS data at the moment of application submission, resulting in tighter fraud security measures and faster credit approvals".

• Real-time data: Bectran now automatically pulls SOS data alongside credit applications, enabling real-time business verification during the credit application process.
• Scoring applications: The system scores applications based on verification data, providing a more accurate risk assessment.

Benefits of Integrating Cobalt Intelligence APIs

The integration of Cobalt Intelligence APIs with banking systems delivers a multitude of benefits:

• Reduced verification time: Automate routine verification tasks and reduce manual lookup time from minutes to seconds per business.
• Increased application processing: Process 500% more applications with the same staff.
• Improved decision quality: Enhance decision quality with more comprehensive, real-time data, leading to faster and more accurate lending decisions.
• Reduced fraud exposure: Identify red flags immediately and cut fraud losses by identifying suspicious applications earlier.
• Enhanced compliance: Enhance compliance documentation with timestamped verification evidence, creating audit-ready documentation automatically.
• Scalable operations: Scale operations efficiently without proportional increases in staff.

Getting Started with Cobalt Intelligence

Implementing Cobalt Intelligence APIs is a straightforward process:

1. Initial Setup: Create an account and receive API credentials.
2. Integration Planning: Determine which data points and features match your workflow.
3. Development: Implement the API using detailed documentation.
4. Testing: Validate integration with test credentials.
5. Production Deployment: Move to production with ongoing support.

Cobalt Intelligence offers transparent, usage-based pricing with no hidden fees.

Conclusion: The Future of Lending is Data-Driven

The ability to make faster, more accurate decisions will separate industry leaders from the rest. Cobalt Intelligence APIs empower lenders to transform data into confidence, streamlining operations, reducing risk, and improving the overall lending experience for both lenders and borrowers. By integrating Cobalt Intelligence APIs, alternative business lenders and institutional lending executives can revolutionize their risk assessment processes and unlock new levels of efficiency and profitability.