It got me thinking about how lenders are applying technology to underwriting, particularly tying the need for real-time data and the need for speed versus the completeness and accuracy of the data. At Lendit, Bluevine, the balance sheet small business lender, touted their ability to pull and analyze bank transaction data, not a trivial exercise. First you need a business's permission to access the data. Even if you have that permission, you have to interpret bank statements, which are highly variable between financial institutions and not user friendly. For example, Merchant Cash Advance could show up as MCA, MerchCash, or Advance, or some other form.