Mortgage industry veteran Paul Ryan has launched what he describes as a "community platform", giving consumers access to advice about credit matters from a range of brokers and lenders.The new service, Eccho, has been designed for mobile devices and operates through apps available on iTunes, GooglePlay or the company's website www.eccho.me.Consumers are invited to post questions about home loans, interest rates, business finance, personal loans, car loans, credit cards and other finance matters.The questions are answered by finance professionals. Consumers are not identified but have the option of inviting the broker or banker to contact them if they want to take the matter further.Eccho operates like a forum, so visitors can see all the questions and answers that have been posted.Eccho has been in operation since the middle of January and Ryan said it was too early to talk about traffic numbers or lead conversions."We have about 120 finance professionals answering questions," he said.Finance professionals are invited to leave a profile on the site, which allows consumers to review their credentials.Ryan said Eccho charges finance professionals a subscription fee for access to the site but does not take any commission on sales resulting from contact with consumers.He said the broker market was starting to work out how to embrace social media and digital services."We have designed this to be an independent community platform. We think consumers should have access to useful information that will get them into a better financial position," he said.?