Outdoorsy, the most-trusted global online RV rental and outdoor travel marketplace, today announced the launch of its partnership with Lead Bank to bring innovative RV-focused lending solutions to the U.S., making a deeper push into offering financial services that support RV, motorhome, trailer, and overland vehicle owners.
The partnership between Outdoorsy and Lead Bank kicks off with the launch of an RV loan financing product to help eligible owners take advantage of competitive interest rates.
“Most RV owners never refinance their loans and don’t take advantage of the low-interest rates available in the market. This product helps Outdoorsy owners save hundreds of dollars a month,” said Outdoorsy’s Co-founder and CEO Jeff Cavins. “We’re excited to help put more money in the pockets of RV owners while also enabling them to earn extra income by listing their RVs for rent on Outdoorsy.”
In a recent survey, Outdoorsy found the majority of new and existing RV owners rarely compare interest rates when shopping for a loan. In fact, 90 percent of RV owners never shop around when getting a loan on their RV purchase, with many RV owners locking into loans with interest rates hovering anywhere from 6 to 12 percent.
Unlike traditional RV lenders, Outdoorsy’s proprietary data on RV ownership and usage — including monetization opportunity through its Outdoorsy marketplace — allows it to provide unique credit products that Outdoorsy owners and other RV owners won’t find elsewhere.
Although RV owners don’t need to rent their vehicles through the Outdoorsy marketplace in order to take advantage of this product, the new service is well underway with numerous applications already received from Outdoorsy’s existing community of 40,000-plus RV owners.
Outdoorsy’s VP of Product Anish Bhatt is leading the product launch. Bhatt joined the Outdoorsy executive team in April 2021 to oversee Outdoorsy’s partnership with Lead Bank as well as leading a full range of services and tools that help owners manage, promote, and grow their listings. Prior to Outdoorsy, Bhatt worked on the product teams at Apple, Google, and Square, where he helped lead the launch of pivotal fintech consumer products, Apple Pay Cash and Square Capital.
“We are ready to unlock a massive wave of new owners who originally walked away from dealerships offering unfavorable loan terms,” Bhatt said. “We’ve heard this grievance from our customers and many of our most successful listers. Many want to buy a new vehicle and grow their rental business and their fleets, but there hasn’t been a financially viable way to fund the costs. With the launch of our partnership with Lead Bank, I’m thrilled to be able to offer industry-low interest rates that help make RV ownership and rental business dreams a reality.”
In Q2 of 2021, RVIA reported the RV industry had set a new record for RV shipments with 151,760 RVs shipped. With the influx of interest in RV ownership and the massive backorder of RVs expected to hit the market in the next 8 to 10 months, Outdoorsy sees a sizable target market for this service.
The company is partnering with Kansas City-based Lead Bank to underwrite the loans and offer industry-low interest rates.
“Partnering with Outdoorsy and offering our competitive Banking as a Service (BaaS) solution to this RV-lending fintech ultimately gives more communities access to enjoy the great outdoors,” said Melissa Beltrame, CMO of Lead Bank. “Lead Bank continues to imagine how traditional community banks can serve new companies with compliant and innovative lending products, resulting in a win for the bank, a win for the company, and a win for the borrower. BaaS solutions enable companies like Outdoorsy to be able to offer their unique service at scale, and we are truly excited to be a part of this endeavor.”
In addition to RV loan financing, Outdoorsy soon plans to team with RV dealerships to provide additional loan financing options for consumers looking to purchase RVs. In looking to the future, Outdoorsy plans to take on other financing and banking initiatives to help RV owners upgrade their vehicles, build out their rental businesses, and offer financial incentives for optimal RV owners operating their rental businesses on Outdoorsy.
The launch of this new partnership builds on the success of Outdoorsy’s continued growth so far in 2021, following its best year on record in 2020. In June, Outdoorsy launched Roamly, its RV-focused insurtech, aimed to transform the world of RV insurance by creating policies that eliminate the commercial use exclusion clause and allow RVs to be ‘rent-ready.
To apply for a new RV loan or to learn more about what refinancing options are available to you, RV owners can visit outdoorsy.com/loans.
About Outdoorsy
Outdoorsy is the most trusted on-demand RV rental and outdoor travel marketplace on the planet. Founded in 2015, we have offices worldwide in the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, and the UK. Our mission is to mobilize the 54+ million idle RVs around the world to ensure everyone has the access, choice, and opportunity to safely enjoy outdoor experiences and travel while we empower RV owners to realize life-changing financial benefits. For more information, visit www.outdoorsy.com.
About Lead Bank
Lead Bank is a community-minded, independent commercial bank recognized for its innovative approach to community banking and unique banking solutions that allows real people, real businesses, and their communities to thrive. Serving communities with treasury management and lending services, consumer client products, digital consumer banking, and innovative financial technology services, Lead Bank is the first choice for those looking for a future banking partner. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, yet serving clients digitally throughout the United States, Lead Bank is known for being a small business advocate, having outstanding client service, and creating financial pathways for those, who in the past, have been financially unhealthy. 2020 member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), an international network of banking leaders worldwide committed to advancing positive change in the banking sector. For additional information, call (816) 220.8600 or visit http://www.lead.bank/.