The times are changing and loans may never be the same. Digital lenders have found a way to make risk assessment more of an exact science, and their methods are getting a lot of the right kind of attention.

Take this example from The New York Times:

Miguel Jimenez wanted to buy a Rickenbacker bass guitar but couldn’t afford it. His credit card company had previously given him a $500 limit and the guitar was $1,600. Miguel reached out to a digital lender and was able to secure the loan he needed.

The Times article almost praises the lender who funded Miguel’s loan. This shows a noticeable sway in opinion toward online lenders, who have been regularly villainized in the mainstream media.

How does it work? This new breed of consumer banker uses math to determine how risky it’ll be to lend to a potential borrower. The results can be very different from what a traditional bank or credit card provider may have come up with.

It’s no secret that young, inexperienced borrowers have been largely neglected by big banks. Because of their sometimes overly harsh risk assessment tools, these banks are not always an option for the many different kinds of people who need loans. It was only a matter of time before another product became available.

As a player in the loan industry, we welcome any positive press for digital lending. We look forward to a future when this form of lending is just as respected as traditional banks.