Business

Nickel Advisors Isn’t Approving Personal Loans for Debt Consolidation

Published

5 years ago

July 24, 2020

Nickel Advisors has begun flooding the market with debt consolidation and credit card relief in the mail. The problem is that the terms and conditions are at the very least confusing, and possibly even suspect. The interest rates are so low that you would have to have near-perfect credit to be approved for one of their offers. Best 2020 Reviews, the personal finance review site, has been following Nickel Advisors, Coral Funding, Neon Funding, Ladder Advisors (also known as Carina Advisors, Corey Advisors, Pennon Partners, Jayhawk Advisors, Clay Advisors, Colony Associates, and Pine Advisors, etc.).

According to recent studies, people’s most commonly cited reason for taking out a personal loan was debt consolidation. A study by Bankrate in April collected answers from more than 160,000 participants on why they seek personal loans.

Almost 40% of participants stated that they took out personal loans for debt consolidation in quarter one. Similarly, another 5% of the participants from the study cited credit card refinancing as the primary reason behind seeking a personal loan.

Another report by LendingTree, an online lending marketplace, stated that almost 36% of people seeking a loan were doing so to consolidate debt in December of 2019. Moreover, more than 30% of loan applicants gave the reason of credit card refinancing as their primary motivation behind seeking a loan.

Both sources also showed loans requested for debt consolidation to have the largest dollar amounts. These amounts were quite higher than loans requested for other purposes such as emergency funds, special occasions like weddings, vacations, and even home-related expenses.

What is the Difference Between Credit Card Refinancing and Debt Consolidation?

As shown by the studies mentioned above, the two most common reasons why people seek out a personal loan are either for debt consolidation or credit card refinancing, such as for APR on a high-interest debt. Sometimes, it was even both reasons together. But what exactly is the difference between the two?

To consolidate debt means to combine several different kinds of loans or liabilities into one to make it easy to pay it back. For instance, if you have several credit cards and instead of paying each back separately, you combine them so that you must pay only one monthly bill.

One way to do this is through a personal loan. You can borrow one large personal loan and use that to pay off all your other debts. After that, you just have to focus on paying back that one personal loan every month.

An American usually has around four credit cards, and if each card has different rates, monthly payments, due dates, as it usually does, it can be quite a hassle to keep track of all of them. Therefore, debt consolidation through a personal loan is a good way to make your life easier.

While debt consolidation helps to simplify things for you, credit card refinancing can help you save money by lowering the interest rate on your debts. When you need more time to pay off the balance of a certain debt, but the high interest rates keep pulling you back, you can go for credit card refinancing to get ahead on your payments.

Both of these sound quite different, but you can achieve them both through a personal loan. Personal loans usually come with low interest rates, regardless of whether you get them from a physical bank or an online lending marketplace. However, they’re not always the best option over credit cards, so you need to understand how these loans work before you take one out.

How do These Loans Work?

A personal loan to refinance a credit card or for debt consolidation is somewhat like how you use a balance transfer credit card. However, there are some differences. With a personal loan, the cash is instantly accessible as it is deposited into your checking account.

So, you can use it to pay back other debts right away. After that, you can pay back that personal loan at a fixed low interest rate every month as decided by the loan issuer. Initially, you may have to pay certain service charges or origination fees, but usually, it’s only the interest.

If you’re eligible for it, a balance transfer credit card can also be quite helpful. With these, you have a specific time period, usually between six and 21 months, in which they charge you 0% interest. So, you can pay back all your credit card debt without additional charges.

Moreover, you only have to pay a small percentage as transfer fees, which is usually 2 to 5%, and if you happen to qualify for a no-fee balance transfer card, you don’t even have to pay that transfer fees. You can transfer all your other debt into this card and pay it back within the 0% interest period.

For instance, with the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card or the Citi Double Cash Card, you can transfer debt from your other cards to this card for a 3% transfer fee. However, balance transfer credit cards do require you to have an excellent credit score. Personal loans are better in that regard as they are available for people with even good or fair scores.

Average Debt Consolidation Loan

In the studies mentioned at the beginning, the number one reason why people took out a personal loan was for debt consolidation. According to LendingTree, debt consolidation loans in 2018 came to an average of $12,670, while loans for credit card refinancing averaged at $14,107.

According to Bankrate, the amount requested for a personal loan fell between $2,000 and $25,000. However, almost 50% of loans between $10,000 and $24,999, as well as those greater than $25,000, were to consolidate debt.

How Can a Personal Loan Help Save Money?

According to Fed’s data from February of 2020, the average rate on consumer credit cards was around 16.6%. In comparison, the average rate for a two-year personal loan was 9.63%, which is almost half of the credit card.

So, let’s say you had a debt of $10,000 on your credit card. You would have to pay around $2,660 in interest, with the rate of 16.61%. On the other hand, with a $10,000 personal loan, you would only have to pay $1,450 in interest at the rate of 9.63%.

This equals to a saving of more than $1,200. While there are people who find the sudden increase in personal loans quite alarming, it is quite apparent that these personal loans offer quite a few advantages to people who have debts to pay off.

Business

Derik Fay and the Quiet Rise of a Fintech Dynasty: How a Relentless Visionary is Redefining the Future of Payments

Published

2 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Matthew Wiles

Long before the headlines, before the Forbes features, and well before he became a respected fixture in boardrooms across the country, Derik Fay was a kid from Westerly, Rhode Island with little more than grit and audacity. Now, with a strategic footprint spanning more than 40 companies—including holdings in media, construction, real estate, pharma, fitness, and fintech—Fay’s influence is as diversified as it is deliberate. And his most recent move may be his boldest yet: the acquisition and co-ownership of Tycoon Payments, a fintech venture poised to disrupt an industry built on middlemen and outdated rules.

Where many entrepreneurs chase headlines, Fay chases legacy.

Rebuilding the Foundation of Fintech

In the saturated space of payment processors, Fay didn’t just want another transactional brand. He saw a broken system—one that labeled too many businesses as “high-risk,” denied them access, and overcharged them into silence. Tycoon Payments, under his stewardship, is rewriting that narrative from the ground up.

Instead of the all-too-common “fake processor” model, where companies act as brokers rather than actual underwriters, Tycoon Payments is being engineered to own the rails—integrating direct banking partnerships, custom risk modeling, and flexible support for underserved industries.

“Disruption isn’t about being loud,” Fay said in a private strategy session with advisors. “It’s about fixing what’s been ignored for too long. I don’t chase waves—I build the coastline.”

Quiet Power, Strategic Depth

Now 46 years old, Fay has evolved from scrappy gym owner to an empire builder, founding 3F Management as a private equity and venture vehicle to scale fast-growth businesses with staying power. His portfolio includes names like Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, BIGG Pharma, Results Roofing, FayMs Films, and SalonPlex—but also dozens of companies that never make headlines. That’s by design.

Where others seek followers, Fay builds founders. Where most celebrate their exits, Fay reinvests in people.

While he often deflects conversations around his personal wealth, analysts estimate his net worth to exceed $100 million, with some placing it comfortably over $250 million, based on exits, real estate holdings, and the trajectory of his current ventures.

Yet unlike others in his tax bracket, Fay still answers cold DMs. He mentors rising entrepreneurs without cameras rolling. And he shows up—not just with capital, but with conviction.

A Mogul Grounded in Real Life

Outside of business, Fay remains committed to his role as a father and partner. He shares two daughters, Sophia Elena Fay and Isabella Roslyn Fay, and has been in a relationship with Shandra Phillips since 2021. He’s known for keeping his personal life private, but those close to him speak of a man who brings the same intention to parenting as he does to scaling multimillion-dollar ventures—focused, present, and consistent.

His physical stature—standing at 6′1″—matches his professional gravitas, but what’s more striking is his ability to operate with both discipline and empathy. Fay’s reputation among founders and CEOs is not just one of capital deployment, but emotional intelligence. As one partner noted, “He’s the kind of guy who will break down your pitch—and rebuild your belief in yourself in the same breath.”

The Tycoon Blueprint

The playbook Fay is writing at Tycoon Payments doesn’t just threaten incumbents—it reinvents the infrastructure. This isn’t another “fintech startup” with a flashy brand and no backend. It’s a strategically positioned venture with real underwriting power, cross-border ambitions, and a founder who understands how to scale quietly until the entire industry has to take notice.

In an age where so many entrepreneurs rely on noise and virality to build influence, Fay remains a master of what can only be called elite stealth. He doesn’t need the spotlight. But his impact casts a long shadow.

Conclusion: The Empire Expands

From Rhode Island beginnings to venture boardrooms, from gym owner to fintech force, Derik Fay continues to build not just businesses—but a blueprint. One rooted in resilience, innovation, and long-term infrastructure.

Tycoon Payments may be the latest chess piece. But the game he’s playing is bigger than one move. It’s a long game of strategic leverage, intentional legacy, and generational wealth.

And Fay is not just playing it. He’s redefining the rules.