A Sign of the Times: SimpleTuition Adds Debt Settlement and Savings Account Partners

Given the challenges in the private loan markets and the uncertainty surrounding the future of FFEL, it should not be surprising to see SimpleTuition seeking to diversify the services they offer.  With student loan defaults accelerating and the savings rates in the U.S. jumping in recent months, these partners seem to make sense but I was still surprised to see them on a student loan site. 

• Debt Rescue USA provides the following marketing pitch about their services:

"In just minutes, Debt Rescue USA will match you up with trustworthy & experienced debt settlement professionals who have helped thousands of people in your exact situation. If you have $10,000 in credit card debt or higher, find out how you can actually settle for less than you owe and get debt relief in as little as 12 to 36 months!"

• ING Direct Checking accounts:

"Electric Orange Checking from ING Direct lets you earn a high yield with easy access to your cash. It's about time your everyday money acted like a savings account."

• WT Direct Savings Account: 

"In today’s financial market, cash is once again king and consumers’ desire to save money and build wealth without high-risk investments has never been stronger. WTDirect Savings Accounts can help you achieve your financial goals."

In terms of their partners on the private loan side, after a few searches on schools throughout the country, their primary lender partners include two non-traditional and four traditional student lenders (Note:  lender partners are signified by logo next to their name on the SimpleTuition Search Results page):

• Non-traditional
  
  • CompleteEd - Credit union product managed by CUNA
  • Lending Club - social lending network
• Traditional lenders
  • Citibank - new partner
  • Discover
  • PNC Bank
  • SunTrust

In order to increase the number of private loan options, SimpleTuition also lists non-partner lenders, such as Chase, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.  Interestingly, the leading private lender, Sallie Mae, did not appear on the sample of searches that I ran today.