Articles by deBanked Staff
Only One Month Until B2B Finance Expo
September 27, 2025The B2B Finance Expo is October 28-29. Returning to Wynn Las Vegas after its incredible inaugural success in 2024, this groundbreaking event will once again bring together leaders from Small Business Lending, Equipment Finance, Real Estate Lending, Revenue Based Financing, and beyond. Over the course of this exclusive two-day event, brokers, lenders, funders, and service providers alike can expect networking opportunities, insight sessions, and much more.
Sponsorships / Exhibiting: SOLD OUT
Wynn Discounted Room Block: SOLD OUT
Backup Discounted Room Block: Click Here
Tickets Still Available at: REGISTERING NOW.
B2B Finance Expo is powered by deBanked in collaboration with the Small Business Finance Association (SBFA).
RadioShack Owners Accused of Running a Ponzi Scheme
September 25, 2025When the RadioShack brand was acquired in 2020 by Retail Ecommerce Ventures, LLC, the company shifted gears into a new direction, cryptocurrency. Using Twitter, now X, as its main base of messaging, the RadioShack account rapidly became outwardly controversial and hostile in order to generate eyeballs and attention. It was quite successful and piqued my curiosity to the point that it ended up on deBanked in 2021.
At the time the company said “RadioShack DeFi is focused on the early majority. It will become the first to market with a 100 year old brand name that’s recognized in virtually all 190+ countries in the world.”
When I actually inquired about information on its new DeFi platform, all I received was a digital coupon for a boombox…
I signed up to learn more about @RadioShack ‘s DeFi project and instead got offered a discount on a new boombox. pic.twitter.com/0O3i8llgyL
— Seán Murray (@financeguy74) December 30, 2021
But the party seemed to come to an end and the account stopped tweeting on November 17, 2022.
Why'd @RadioShack go dark after Nov 17, 2022? They were one of the most epic crypto troll accounts on twitter.
— Seán Murray (@financeguy74) February 15, 2023
Now, according to the SEC, it has been revealed that the owners of RadioShack and other defunct brand names had been conducting a ponzi scheme precisely through November 2022.
Taino Adrian Lopez, Alexander Farhang Mehr, and Maya Rose Burkenroad, were charged this week for running a $112M ponzi scheme. Apparently, none of the household brand names they acquired were generating any profits, but they claimed to investors that they were in order to raise capital. “Consequently, in order to pay interest, dividends and maturing note payments, Defendants resorted to using a combination of loans from outside lenders, merchant cash advances, money raised from new and existing investors, and transfers from other portfolio companies to cover obligations,” the SEC claims.
In addition to RadioShack, the accused operated Brahms, Linens ‘N Things, Modell’s, Stein Mart, and Pier 1 Imports.
Sold Out? How to Get a Hotel Room for B2B Finance Expo
September 25, 2025The B2B Finance Expo coming up in Las Vegas is in high demand. The discounted conference room block is entirely sold out but it is still possible to secure a room at the Wynn directly at full price. If that’s too steep, the conference has secured an additional block across the street where the rooms are approximately 80% lower in price. To take advantage of the extremely discounted rooms, use this link. The event itself is at the Wynn!
The conference is on October 28-29.
MCA Reconciliation Can’t be Reviewed as “Illusory” if the Merchant Didn’t Even Engage in the Reconciliation Procedure
September 25, 2025In Apollo Funding Co v Dave Reilly Construction, LLC, The Appellate Division of the Second Department of the Supreme Court of New York, reversed the lower court’s denial of the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion. For background, Apollo purchased DRC’s future receivables, DRC breached the agreement, Apollo sued and moved for summary judgment, and DRC entered a defense that the agreement was actually an unlawful usurious loan. Based on DRC’s defense the lower court denied Apollo’s summary judgment motion.
Upon Apollo’s appeal in the Second Department, the Court found: “the plaintiff established that the transaction set forth in the agreement was not a loan. The terms of the agreement specifically provided for adjustments to the daily payments by DRC to the plaintiff based on changes to DRC’s daily receipts. Concomitantly, as the amount of the daily payments could change, the terms of the agreement were not finite, and because DRC did not engage in the agreement’s reconciliation procedure, our review of the claim that the process was illusory is precluded [emphasis ours]. Moreover, no contractual provision existed establishing that a declaration of bankruptcy would constitute an event of default.”
The Second Department ruled that Apollo had “otherwise established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the complaint, and the defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition, the Supreme Court should have granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the complaint.”
The original case ID in the New York Supreme Court was 035156/2023. The Appellate Division’s Decision and Order was issued September 24, 2025.
FICOs Are 580 and Below, Repayment Rates Are Above 97%
September 23, 2025Block recently published an interview with Juan Hernandez, the company’s Head of Credit and Underwriting for its consumer lending divisions. Among the most interesting details Hernandez revealed is that 70% of Cash App Borrow customers have FICO scores of 580 or below, but their repayment rates are above 97%.
“That is only possible because our models are continuously learning from customer activity across Cash App and Afterpay,” Hernandez said of it.
Block sees income, deposits, spending patterns, savings behavior, and repayment behavior across the spectrum of its ecosystem and is able to use that data to make better predictions than legacy third party credit indicators.
“The future of credit will be based on actual repayment ability, not outdated proxies,” Hernandez said. “With near real-time data and modern modeling, we can finally build a system that is more inclusive and safer than traditional credit scores that look backward, update slowly, and often misclassify people who are capable of managing credit.”
Block has made a name for itself in the lending space. Cash App Borrow originated $9B in loans in 2024 while its sister company Square Loans, which provides capital to small businesses, is the largest online small business lender that deBanked tracks. Square Loans originated $5.7B in 2024.
In March of this year Block received FDIC approval for its industrial bank, Square Financial Services Inc, to offer the Cash App Borrow loan product directly.
Industry Event Schedule
September 15, 2025Missed the deBanked Long Island event??? Check out the photos here!.
Meanwhile, here’s what’s in store for the rest of the year and early 2026:
B2B Finance Expo: October 28-29, Las Vegas, NV
Counselor Library (Hudson Cook) Financial Services Conference: Nov 2-4, Baltimore, MD
deBanked CONNECT MIAMI: Feb 12, 2026, Miami Beach, FL
If you have the DailyFunder mobile app on your phone, clicking this link will take you right to the next event on the schedule: Click if on Mobile
SOLD OUT: Sponsorships to B2B Finance Expo in Las Vegas Have Sold Out
September 5, 2025The opportunity to sponsor B2B Finance Expo in Las Vegas this October is now gone but there’s still time to be a part of the commercial finance industry’s biggest event in Las Vegas by making sure you’re registered to attend. Taking place on October 28-29 at the Wynn, B2B Finance Expo will once again bring together leaders from Small Business Lending, Fintech, Real Estate Lending, Revenue Based Financing, SBA Lending, and beyond.
The room block is also full but the Wynn may still be honoring the discount code so be sure to take advantage now since it could shut off at any moment. Book Your Room Here.
Funders Comply With New Texas MCA Law
September 2, 2025As Texas implements the prohibition on ACH debits made by sales-based financing providers, here’s a working list of how funders are acting to comply:
Bitty: offering fixed-term installment loan. (see announcement)
CFG Merchant Solutions: offering fixed-term installment loan. (see announcement)
Merit Business Funding: Exempt from the law due to being a subsidiary of Meridian Bank. (See announcement)
Spartan Capital: offering fixed-term installment loan. (See announcement)
LCF Group: offering small business loans. (See announcement)
Backd Business Funding: offering term loans through their partnership with FinWise Bank.
If you are a sales-based or revenue-based financing provider that is continuing to fund in Texas and would like to be added here, email sean@debanked.com
