Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company enabling bank, retail and healthcare partners to offer more inclusive financial services to millions of everyday Americans, announced the launch of the Aspire® Banking platform: a first-of-its-kind banking program that puts the financially underserved on a clear path to being granted credit.
Geared towards the nearly 44 million Americans whom the FDIC estimates are unbanked or underbanked and overdrafting, Aspire® Banking provides customers with a bank account, debit card, and a prescribed list of activities intended to help consumers build positive financial habits. Upon completion of these activities, which can be done in as little as 90 days, customers are presented with an Aspire® Credit Card offer. Designed to establish good banking behaviors, these activities include meeting minimum criteria for making deposits, maintaining a balance, and making purchases, each for three consecutive months. Aspire® Banking’s path to credit provides an alternative to secured card products that carry deposit requirements most unbanked and underbanked consumers cannot afford.
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“Atlanticus is committed to making a real impact on real people. We created the Aspire® Banking platform to help overcome challenges many consumers face when trying to gain access to credit today,” said Jeff Howard, Chief Executive Officer of Atlanticus. “Without a credit history, underbanked individuals are not only denied access to loans, but are behind their peers when landlords, utility companies, or insurers utilize credit reports to make decisions about whom to rent to, insure or provide services to without additional deposits. Not only do we want to open opportunities to earn credit, but we also want to help cardholders establish financial habits that will better their futures. This launch embodies our dedication to offering more inclusive financial services and we are so excited to help those on the path to financial empowerment.”