Platform is built to support both simple and complex requests
While well-known in the arena of financial technology, many Mississippi business owners might not realize that a lending technology company founded in Ridgeland in 2005 now not only has a national, but also an international reach.
Vergent Loan Management Software (LMS), a technology platform built for lenders, has grown to serve financial institutions operating in more than 4,000 retail locations in the U.S., Canada, Central America and the Caribbean, said Chief Product Officer Brad Tompkins. The company is also expanding into Australia and South Africa. Vergent LMS was named to the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies for seven consecutive years starting in 2013.
“It is a surprise for people to learn Vergent LMS’s headquarters are in Ridgeland where our 50 of 75 staff are located,” said Tompkins. “Our goal is to bring user-friendly, top financial technology to lenders and one of the federal government’s largest financial regulators.”
Vergent LMS prides itself on providing a comprehensive technology platform supporting loan origination, servicing, payments, communications and compliance through a flexible omnichannel system designed to support “any loan, anytime, anywhere.” The platform operates 24/7 with uptime near 100 percent.
“Uptime is very important,” said Tompkins. “We are revolutionizing the entire lending cycle. Vergent LMS is fintech’s most comprehensive lending software solution. Online vendors operate 24/7 and some of our foreign customers are working at what is the middle of the night for us. Our software is there to access at any time.”
Tompkins said Vergent LMS’s user-friendly loan management system includes a central dashboard, customer and retail portals to provide an extraordinary digital experience. The platform features a responsive user interface, meticulously organized modules, intelligent search capabilities, extensive integrated support resources and even a Spanish foreign language option.
Often, lenders have already built their own proprietary systems for payment processing, customer communication or fraud detection. Vergent’s modular platform allows those clients to integrate into the areas they need, rather than adopting a full end-to-end system. This enables lenders to use Vergent solely for origination, servicing, payments, collections, or communication workflows.
Tompkins said lenders sometimes discover that maintaining in-house software creates operational burdens and distracts from the core business of lending. “That is when they find us,” said Tompkins. “We eat, sleep and breathe financial technology. We’re not distracted by trying to lend money out. That is how we support lenders the best we can.”
Vergent’s platform is built to support both simple and highly complex loan types, including the specialized processes involved in bank receivership lending. Tompkins said that level of technical complexity is part of the company’s competitive edge.
Vergent also leverages AI within the platform. “Our team works with AI technologies to better serve our clients either with fraud detection or underwriting solutions,” said Tompkins. “Our AI augments efficiency rather than replacing any employees. All of our folks here are doing things that are very complex and oftentimes interfacing with clients to provide solutions at a level that AI is not yet ready for.”
Tompkins is not concerned about AI reducing the headcount at Vergent LMS anytime soon. The company keeps 100 percent of its staff based in the U.S. and does not offshore any jobs.
“We’re invested here in Mississippi,” said Tompkins. “That is our biggest interest. We hire in Mississippi. A lot of people would be surprised that a tech company launched here has grown so rapidly and is providing those types of jobs. While we have an international reach, we are always looking for bankers or lenders in the state to let them know we would like to service them and continue to be a part of Mississippi in its current positive trajectory.”
A college degree isn’t necessarily needed to work at Vergent LMS. There are career opportunities in software development, quality assurance, customer support, product implementation, quality assurance testing, sales and marketing.
“We have a broad spectrum of people who work here on both the technical and nontechnical side,” said Tompkins. “We hired one of our software developers from the Mississippi Coding Academy. Non-traditional and self-taught developers are okay with us. A lot of others come from public universities here.”
Tompkins said the company has grown steadily by acquiring some of the largest lenders as clients. Vergent’s growth has included its first major retail branch lender in 2006, a more than 900-branch lender in 2012, and one of the nation’s largest title companies in 2019.
“We have consistently grown by providing the best services we can to some of the largest lenders in the country,” said Tompkins. “We have grown by being consistent and very product focused. We are starting to do more marketing and sales, but most of our growth has been by word of mouth from providing good services. That is what allowed us to land some of the largest lenders in the country.”