SAN FRANCISCO, September 21, 2023 – EarnUp Inc., a financial wellness fintech company, proudly celebrates ten years in business after tremendous growth and demand as more companies and financial institutions prioritize financial wellness.
Earlier this year, EarnUp reached a significant milestone, helping millions of Americans schedule over $40 billion in mortgage, auto, and student loan payments through its platform. Of the nearly 3 million borrowers that have leveraged EarnUp, over 98% are on weekly, bi-weekly or semi-monthly automated debit schedules, helping to accelerate loan payments and reduce interest paid.
Because of its strong growth and commitment, EarnUp has garnered substantial industry recognition. The company was featured on HousingWire’s Tech100 for the first time this year, which recognizes companies and solutions revolutionizing the mortgage industry. EarnUp was also named a 2023 Innovations Award winner from PROGRESS in Lending, and ranked on The Financial Technology Report’s 2023 Power 300 list.
EarnUp effectively helps borrowers reduce the likelihood of defaulting on a loan and paying late fees and empowers them to potentially pay off their mortgage and other loans years faster. For example, a borrower with a $400,000 mortgage at 7.0% who opts into acceleration and stays current on the EarnUp platform for the entire life of their loan can save more than $130,000 in interest.
According to Sheila G., an EarnUp customer from June 2023, “EarnUp has been such a benefit to us. We paid off our mortgage last month 11 years early with the program! The customer service team is so nice and helpful and easily resolves any issue that comes up. You can take years off your mortgage and save SO much money in interest on this program.”
EarnUp enables borrowers to strategically manage loan payments to any payee. The turnkey platform reduces delinquencies and defaults, improves digital payment adoption, and offers a differentiated competitive advantage for employers and financial institutions. Ultimately, EarnUp helps users build generational wealth.
Matt Harris, partner at Bain Capital Ventures, an investor in EarnUp, said, “One of the things I love about investing in fintech is that in addition to providing outstanding financial returns, sometimes you also get a chance to invest in a future where every transaction supports a better world.”
In addition to Bain Capital Ventures, EarnUp is backed by LendingTree, Blumberg Capital, Flourish Ventures, SignalFire and KeyBank. These companies are all helping to fuel the company’s continued growth and expand access to its proven debt repayment platform.
For employers specifically, EarnUp co-founder and CEO Nadim Homsany points out that employee financial stress is on the rise as individuals navigate higher prices, uneven wage growth, and record credit card debt according to PwC. “Even more alarming, according to CNBC, nearly 30% of full-time employees often or always run out of money between paychecks. Now more than ever, employees are looking to their employers for help,” he said.
As student loan repayments resume, financial stress will likely worsen, with Wells Fargo reporting that it could feel like a 5% pay cut. Contrary to popular belief, student loan debt also has a greater impact on older individuals who make up the majority of the workforce, not just recent graduates. In fact, individuals aged 40-49 have a combined student loan debt of $344 billion and 30-year-olds have the highest average outstanding student loan debt.”
The impact of financial stress is also far-reaching. A recent PwC survey found that one in three employees say that money worries have negatively impacted their productivity at work. Among financially stressed employees, 56% spend three hours or more per week at work dealing with or thinking about issues related to their personal finances. Financially stressed employees are also more likely to leave.
For financial institutions, mounting loan debt poses challenges beyond delinquencies that impact the performance of their loan portfolios. As an example, 68% of Millennials have delayed a major financial decision like buying a home. They’re also struggling to save, which impacts an institution’s ability to grow and retain deposits – a top priority noted in Jack Henry’s recent study, and one of the most difficult priorities to achieve.
Matthew Cooper, Co-Founder and President at EarnUp, said, “In response, companies and financial institutions alike are prioritizing loan repayment and financial wellness tools to better support existing employees and customers. The challenge is that most tools today offer little actionable guidance and are instead touted for giving users the knowledge to move forward. However, individuals need and want actionable, automated steps to help them with their current situation; not an overview on retirement account options.”
“This is where EarnUp helps,” added Brian Gunn, EarnUp’s CRO. “We’re providing organizations with better tools that help borrowers schedule loan debits that sync with their payday and accelerate payments to the principal. This eliminates monthly payment shock, and helps borrowers meet the obligations of their loans with less of a struggle. Consequently, we’re seeing tremendous growth. As we reflect on our accomplishments over the past 10 years, we stand ready to continue helping more individuals conquer their personal finances.”
On September 27-29, EarnUp will be in San Diego for the Benefits at Work 2023 conference and then in Philadelphia October 15-18 for the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Convention & Expo. For more information or to schedule meetings, please contact Brian Gunn.
About EarnUp
EarnUp is an award-winning, consumer-first financial technology platform that intelligently automates loan payment scheduling. The EarnUp platform serves borrowers across the U.S., managing over $10 Billion in loan payments. EarnUp’s deep data insights can help enterprise organizations with risk mitigation, cost reduction, and ensure that customers have access to the best credit products available based on their financial standing. EarnUp has received industry-wide recognition and is named to HousingWire’s Tech 100, PROGRESS in Lending’s Innovations Awards, The Financial Technology Report’s Power 300, Forbes Fintech 50 and Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500. To learn more about EarnUp, please visit https://earnup.com.
