Pathward and Propel team up to offer credit to underserved consumers

By Delisha Fernandes

Pathward, a national bank driven by its purpose to power financial inclusion, is adding a new line of credit to open access for credit-challenged consumers. The national bank has partnered with Propel, to service the loans through its lending as a service (LaaS) platform.

Propel is an innovative FinTech dedicated to credit inclusion, and by leveraging the FinTech’s experience and AI-powered, proprietary platform, the program enables Pathward to provide consumers access to credit while limiting credit risk.

“Creating financial access for individuals who often get overlooked by more traditional lenders by offering the Pathward Line of Credit aligns with our purpose,” said Anthony Sharett, President Pathward. “We are thrilled to partner with Propel to bring this program to the market as a part of our Banking as a Service offering. Working together, we can provide eligible borrowers with year-round access to credit through a better alternative to high-interest programs.”

The Pathward Line of Credit is a pre-approved option offered to consumers through Pathward’s existing partner distribution channels. This model enables existing partners to connect their customers to credit access they might not otherwise have. Borrowers only pay interest on the drawn amount when they sign up for a Pathward Line of Credit, and there are zero fees affiliated with the product.

“Propel and Pathward are driven by a common mission to expand financial access to consumers. For Propel, this partnership marks the launch of our lending as a service product offering, a natural and critical evolution of our business. When we founded Propel, we saw the limitations of existing technology and service to the tens of millions of underserved consumers and have met our goal of building out a best-in-class AI-powered solution,” said Clive Kinross, CEO of Propel.