BERKELEY, Calif. — Berkeley-based fintech startup Shastic, a provider of Facebook applications for the banking sector, announced today that it has expanded its client base by 66 percent in the first quarter of 2013, adding new financial institutions totaling $11.2 billion in assets. In the last 45 days alone, 11 more institutions have adopted its flagship product, Calcubot, a social loan calculator for Facebook.
“Financial institutions have had a strong presence online for a long time and they have a quickly growing presence in mobile. Facebook is the new frontier,” said Ariel Gomez, Shastic’s CEO. “Your FI’s high tech strategy should be a tripod of three legs: online, mobile and social.”
Engagement statistics for Calcubot usage show that 83.6 percent of Calcubot users complete an estimate and 17.3 percent of users who complete an estimate click the “Apply Now” button. Mortgages represent 50.6 percent of the traffic, while auto loans represent 49.4 percent.
Donna Handwerger, vice president of marketing operations at Mission Federal Credit Union, notes Facebook remains a vital yet underutilized channel for financial institutions: “The importance of social media for reaching consumers directly is obvious. Everyone is on Facebook nowadays and you have to be where your members are. We had previously been limited to daily posts to interact with our members. With Calcubot, we finally have a way to leverage the full power of social media.”
Shastic customers also note that Calcubot represents a significant step forward in reducing the cost of generating loans. According to Patelco’s Online Marketing Director Ignasio Medrano, “Calcubot doesn’t take long to show impressive ROI. At a cost of $99 month, a single funded loan pays for more than a year.”
Shastic customers attribute much of its success to its ease of installation and short time to reach end users. Lance Kissler, senior community development officer at Spokane Teachers Credit Union, added, “I really loved how easy everything was to set up. Start to finish, it took us no more than 15 minutes over the phone and it didn’t require any training.”
