I had heard the rumor a few weeks back but did not immediately believe it until a reader sent me these pictures showing a Lending Club drone prototype during a test flight in the Presidio in San Francisco. If confirmed, the program could have a major impact on this industry, following in the footsteps of Amazon’s drone program for delivering packages that was announced last year.
The sighting above was not the only one and we heard that the prototype has successfully flown around San Francisco making test deliveries.
When I first heard of this new program I wasn’t sure it was real so I reached out to Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of Lending Club, to get confirmation. While Renaud declined to comment, we were able to independently confirm the existence of the program and gather more information about how the program will work. When a borrower applies for a loan they will be able to choose whether they want a transfer to be made into their bank account or delivery of cash via the Lending Club Loan Drone. If a borrower chooses the Loan Drone option then once the loan is approved and funded the cash will be counted and loaded on to the Loan Drone for delivery.
Unfortunately, you will not likely see a Lending Club Loan Drone flying in your neighborhood any time soon because they have to apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for permission. That process could take years but sources told me that Lending Club is committed to making this an option for borrowers as soon as possible.
A Compelling Move by Lending Club
I must admit I was quite skeptical when I first heard about the Loan Drone program. But after seeing the prototypes and talking with sources close to Lending Club I am now a believer. The Loan Drone would provide two things that borrowers love: speed and cold hard cash. While getting a transfer into your bank account is nice, getting a wad of $100 bills delivered to your doorstep in less than 60 minutes is very compelling.
Obviously, I will be following this story closely and if there are any new developments you will read about them here. Below is a photo of the Loan Drone in action.
Over to you readers. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Very funny Peter. Well done!
Upstart announced the same thing today: http://blog.upstart.com/loans-by-drone/
What are the chances 😉
Thanks Brigitte. Clearly this is an unstoppable trend….
Upon delivery, I would like an option to let the drones rain cash from the sky. They can do a fly by.
My fishing net stands ready
An inside source just told me that the drone data will be classified as Policy 2.
Underwhelmed – I thought they’ll use Uber (UberCash) and utilize one local lender to deliver the final cash to the borrower; TRUE P2P lending.
Renaud was unavailable for comment because he was busy testing the new high speed, water borne cash delivery option aboard Lending Club 2.
Meanwhile Ron Suber confirmed the Lending Club drone delivery escapes velocity and is set to follow Prosper throughout 2015.
I believe the camera in front is to provide proof of delivery and capture lender’s happy experience.