LendUp

{{Short description|American financial technology company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = LendUp

| logo = LendUp_Corporate_Logo.svg

| logo_size = 220px

| type = Private

| defunct = {{End date and age|2022|01}}

| traded_as =

| industry = Consumer finance

| area_served = Nationwide

| key_people = {{unbulleted list|Anu Shultes (CEO)|Bill Donnelly (CFO)|Vijesh Iyer (COO)|Nigel Morris (Board Chair)}}

| products = Payday loans, installment loans

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| assets =

| equity =

| num_employees = {{circa|250}} (Q3, 2018)

| founders = {{unbulleted list|Sasha Orloff|Jake Rosenberg (CTO)}}

| subsid = Ahead Financials

Mission Lane

| homepage = {{URL|https://www.lendup.com/}}

| foundation = 2012

| location = San Francisco, California

}}

LendUp was an American online direct lender. It offered payday loans, installment loans, and credit cards to consumers with low credit scores using publicly available data to assess creditworthiness.{{Cite news|last=Kolodny|first=Lora|date=2013-11-12|title=Google Ventures Backs LendUp to Rethink Payday Loans|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/11/12/google-ventures-backs-lendup-to-rethink-payday-loans/|access-date=2021-04-20|issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite magazine|last=White|first=Martha C.|date=2012-11-16|title=Can a Payday Lending Start-Up Use Facebook to Create a Modern Community Bank?|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://business.time.com/2012/11/16/can-a-payday-lending-start-up-use-facebook-to-create-a-modern-community-bank/|access-date=2021-04-20|issn=0040-781X}} The company referred to its customers as “the emerging middle class.”{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2017/03/01/lendup-fintech-subprime-borrowers-jobs-trump.html|title=Exclusive: S.F. fintech raises $100 million for subprime lending|website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=2018-04-22}}{{Cite news|last=Shubber|first=Kaddim|date=September 28, 2016|title=LendUp: playing with people's lives|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/309161d9-b547-34e6-aeae-8e119d3e23ae|access-date=April 29, 2021}} LendUp also issued credit cards in partnership with Tom Steyer's Beneficial State Bank.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/16/lendup-credit-card/|title=LendUp launches a better credit card for people looking to improve their credit|date=2017-05-16|access-date=2021-12-27|work=TechCrunch|publisher=Yahoo!}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lendup.com/press-releases/5-16-2017|title=LENDUP AND BENEFICIAL STATE BANK ANNOUNCE MAJOR EXPANSION OF CREDIT CARD PARTNERSHIP|date=2017-05-16|publisher=self-published by LendUp}}

LendUp was co-founded in 2011 by stepbrothers Sasha Orloff and Jake Rosenberg and incubated at Y Combinator. The company positioned itself as a "socially responsible lender" and claimed to provide access to financial services for "underbanked" Americans in addition to lower cost credit and credit-building opportunities.{{Cite magazine|title=Tech's Hot New Market: The Poor|language=en-us|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/01/techs-hot-new-market-the-poor/|access-date=2021-04-21|issn=1059-1028}}

LendUp received $325 million in equity and debt financing from PayPal, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Alexis Ohanian, Y Combinator and QED Investors, among others.{{Cite news|last=Demos|first=Peter Rudegeair and Telis|date=2016-08-23|title=Silicon Valley Lender Raises Nearly $50 Million for Subprime Credit-Card Push|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/silicon-valley-lender-raises-nearly-50-million-for-subprime-credit-card-push-1471884723|access-date=2021-04-21|issn=0099-9660}} In an article published shortly after the company's launch, Time Magazine wrote that LendUp "says it’s not like other payday lenders. Yet the fees it charges — a little over $30 to borrow $200 for two weeks — are similar to what its competitors charge."

In 2016, LendUp raised $150 million to develop a credit card product in January,{{Cite web |last=Constine |first=Josh |date=2016-01-23 |title=LendUp Scores $150M For A Credit Card That Won't Screw You Over |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/22/the-loan-dolphin/ |access-date=2023-07-25 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} then paid $6.3 million in fines for deceptive practices {{Cite web|date=2016-09-28|title=Google-funded loan startup to pay $6.3m for 'deceptive' practices|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/28/lendup-fine-google-payday-loan-deceptive-practices|access-date=2021-04-21|website=the Guardian|language=en}} and widespread violations of payday and installment loan laws in September.{{Cite news|last=Peterson|first=Andrea|date=September 28, 2016|title=Regulators Crack Down on Alphabet-backed Payday Lender|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/09/28/regulators-crack-down-on-alphabet-backed-payday-lender/}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/fintech-upstart-lendup-fined-by-cfpb-california-regulator-1474993380|title=Lender ordered to pay total $6.3 million over payday-loan and installment-lending violations.|last=Wall Street Journal|date=September 28, 2016}}{{Cite web|last=Koren|first=James Rufus|date=2016-09-27|title=Google-backed LendUp fined by regulators over payday lending practices|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lendup-cfpb-20160926-snap-story.html|access-date=2020-07-19|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} In 2020, it was again sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for violating the Military Lending Act.{{Cite web|date=2020-12-04|title=LendUp overcharged military borrowers, CFPB says in lawsuit|url=https://www.americanbanker.com/news/lendup-overcharged-military-borrowers-cfpb-says-in-lawsuit|access-date=2021-04-21|website=American Banker|language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2021/08/18/oakland-fintech-lendup-said-to-have-stopped-origin.html|title=LendUp No Longer Offers Installment or Single-Payment Loans|date=2021-08-18|access-date=2021-12-27|author=Mark Calvey|work=San Francisco Business Times|publisher=American City Business Journals}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lendup.com/faq|title=Frequently Asked Questions|access-date=2021-12-27|work=LendUp|publisher=Self-published}}

In January 2019, LendUp announced Anu Shultes as the new CEO and split its credit card operations into Mission Lane.{{Cite web |last=Calvey |first=Mark |date=January 11, 2019 |title=LendUp splits in two, names new CEO |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2019/01/10/lendup-splits-new-ceo-fintech-credit-cards-loans.html |access-date=2023-07-25 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}

In December 2021, as a result of deceptive marketing and fair lending violations, LendUp was fined $100,000 by The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Additionally, the company was required to stop issuing new loans and stop attempts to collect on certain loans. The action was taken to resolve a September 2021 lawsuit that alleged LendUp practiced illegal and deceptive marketing in violation of the 2016 finding.{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Katanga|date=2021-12-22|title=U.S. consumer bureau orders fintech firm LendUp to halt new loans, pay penalty|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-bureau-orders-fintech-firm-lendup-halt-new-loans-pay-fine-2021-12-21/|access-date=2022-01-07}} It ceased loan operations in January 2022. On May 8, 2024, the CFPB announced the distribution of nearly $40 million to affected consumers.{{cite web |date=May 5, 2024 |title=CFPB to distribute nearly $40 million to consumers misled by fintech company LendUp Loans |url=https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/cfpb-to-distribute-nearly-40-million-to-consumers-misled-by-fintech-company-lendup-loans/}}

As of March 1, 2023, LendUp last filed an annual report in 2020 and purportedly owes $390,332 in taxes.{{Cite web |title=LendUp Global Entity Search Status {{!}} PDF |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/665418375/LendUp-Global-Entity-Search-Status |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Scribd |language=en}}