LendUp is a direct lender that provides financial education and gamification for responsible lending behavior.
LendUp loans to customers that banks usually decline, giving borrowers with poor credit scores access to short term loans without hidden fees, rollovers, and high interest rates.
It’s that strategy of building an enduring consumer banking brand on the principle of compassion that let LendUp raise a new $47.5 million round led by Y Combinator’s growth fund. This Series C values LendUp “substantially higher than the last time” it raised in January 2016, says CEO Sasha Orloff. That’s an impressive feat during a rough season for late-stage fundraising.
LendUp will apply the cash toward scaling out its L Card, a credit card with no hidden fees and a flexible payback schedule. It also sports modern features through its companion smartphone app, which lets users instantly halt charges in case of loss or theft, and a financial health meter that clearly shows how much credit the customer has left to spend. LendUp is already signing up thousands of accounts per month, even though it hasn’t been ready to aggressively market itself just yet.
TechCrunch (22 Aug.)
