October 31 was a spooky day for many. A cyberattack impacted millions of Mr. Cooper mortgage customers. Mr. Cooper is the biggest non-bank mortgage service provider in the United States. Its borrowers were unable to transfer last month’s mortgage payments by their due date.
A week later, on November 7, business consultant and popular YouTube influencer CryptoWendyO posted a video describing “How Crypto Can Solve the Alarming Issue in Mortgages.” The media didn’t cover the Mr. Cooper data breach, said Wendy. And the company, under SEC rules, didn’t have to notify borrowers for 30 days. But word got out through TikTok.
On November 9, Forbes Advisor reported on “a new headache”: Mr. Cooper customers’ personal data was exposed in the attack. A press release from Mr. Cooper announced that the company was “working around the clock with cybersecurity experts to resolve this issue as soon as possible.” The company promised to “help resolve any negative credit reporting tied to the delay in mortgage payments.” Yikes.
And Forbes Advisor stated: There’s no way to ensure that data held by your mortgage provider or other financial company will be kept safe in the event of a cyberattack. Yikes again.
Alternative Payment Options?
Mr. Cooper is adding alternative payment options after this recent attack. But Wendy rightly notes that the new payment options — like phoning in a one-time web payment — won’t help much if the company’s systems have been taken offline. And alternatives like Western Union or MoneyGram International do not settle immediately.
Could blockchain technology be the better fix? In contrast with other methods, cryptocurrency settles immediately. It could offer the efficiency and peace of mind customers need, said Wendy.
Companies like Mr. Cooper know about the advantages of blockchain-based payments. But will they adopt them? Wendy thinks so — but believes they are waiting for centralized, government-issued forms of these currencies.
Government-Issued Digital Currencies?
Digital forms of a federal currency, linked to a country’s monetary system, already exist. In some countries, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are already in use.
China has the e-CNY. Yes, even though China doesn’t allow people to buy bitcoin, its central bank offers a government-issued digital currency for its banking customers.
Dozens of other countries, too, are exploring CBDCs, as their populations embrace digital finances. Europe’s central bank has its digital euro. The United States is experimenting with the digital Hamilton.
Governments are looking at a number of potential benefits from centralized digital currencies. They want to be seen as innovators. They want to speed up payments in the digital sphere. And — perhaps most urgently — they want the upper hand over the type of criminals that trapped Mr. Cooper.
“The Potential to Significantly Affect the World”
Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies let people log into their accounts with digital fingerprints to verify their identities. The management consultancy firm McKinsey & Co., says digital currency could be sent through mobile phone technology to enable prompt, tamper-resistant transfers. Blockchain technology can keep people and companies safe from fraud, cyberattacks, and money laundering.
Yes, institutions would need to invest in methods and tools to make it happen. But the rewards could be well worth the time and trouble. Financial service providers could save $400 billion annually, McKinsey estimates, by shifting expenses from physical to digital infrastructures.
“One thing is clear,” says McKinsey. “CBDCs have the potential to significantly affect the world.”
Wendy isn’t exactly jumping for joy, though. After all, what makes blockchain-based assets like bitcoin unique and special? They don’t rely on a central controller. Banks, financial services, and governments may consider blockchain-based assets a potential challenge to their systems. Conversely, many crypto fans are suspicious of centralized currencies repackaged as digital assets.
Ultimately, though, two digital money systems — decentralized, and bank-based — are on track to coexist.
Supporting References
Vinayak HV et al. for McKinsey & Co., via the McKinsey Blog: What Is Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)? (Mar. 1, 2023).
CryptoWendyO via YouTube.com: How Crypto Can Solve the Alarming Issue in Mortgages (Nov. 7, 2023)
Rachel Witkowski for Forbes Advisor via Nasdaq+ (Nasdaq, Inc.): Mr. Cooper Admits Mortgage Customers’ Data Exposed During Payment-Blocking Cyber Attack (Nov. 9, 2023).
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