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ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Oct. 18, 2011 - ExtendCredit.com, an online lending software platform for creating and managing in-house customer financing plans for small and mid-sized businesses, today released its new Veterinary Wellness Plans module that provides another financing option for pet owners, increasing revenue for the veterinary practice and providing pets with much needed care.

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 25, 2011 -- ExtendCredit.com, an online lending software platform for creating and managing in-house customer financing plans for small and mid-sized businesses, today announced the latest version of its market leading patient financing software platform that provides new capabilities and flexibility to address diverse business environments.

For Mary Cotter, the first sign of concern came when her 7-year-old, Logan, appeared dizzy. His regular doctor said everything was fine, but Cotter insisted Logan be seen by a neurologist, who after an MRI found a tumor in his inner ear. An operation followed, and for the next month Cotter took Logan on a four-hour round-trip trek every day from her home in Ledyard, Conn., to a specialty hospital in Boston for radiation therapy.

The total bill for the tests, blood work, surgery and radiation came to $14,000 – not surprising in this age of sky-high medical costs. Except for one thing. Logan is a golden retriever. After another surgery for an unrelated illness, the total cost of Logan's care is approaching $20,000. Today Logan is healthy, but he has a new nickname: "20K."

Until recently, a credit score of 680 was something to be proud of. It meant you paid most of your bills on time, got dinged when you went shopping for a refi, but in general, had a solid enough record to get a loan at the best rates.

Not anymore. That 680 is firmly second-tier these days. Now, borrowers need at least 720 to get the biggest loans or the best terms, including a credit card with the longest 0% APR promotion or a jumbo mortgage. For millions of once-desirable consumers with scores between 680 and 720, that 40-point jump could cost thousands of dollars over the life of a typical loan.

ExtendCredit.com Helps Veterinarians and Animal Hospitals Deliver Care for Ailing Pets by Offering Easier Financing for Pet Owners

For the first time since the installation of the FICO credit bureau based scoring system in 1989, 35% of the population is now scoring below 650. This is up from 27%, which was largely unchanged for much of the past two decades.

Each of the big three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – maintain between 200 and 250 million credit file records, which means between 70 and 87.5 million consumers are now scoring below 650. To make matters even worse, 25.5% of them (or roughly 51 million people) are scoring below 600.

That 650 score break is meaningful because in today’s financial services environment many lenders and insurance companies consider the +/- 650 point to be the dividing line between prime and sub-prime. What this means is more consumers are going to be denied or adversely approved (that means you’re approved for a loan, but with punishing rates or terms). And if someone is waiting for the U.S consumer to spend us back into a fully functioning and healthy economy, that push won’t come from those folks.