Upgrade Establishes Partnership With One Hundred Credit Unions

Fremont, CA: Upgrade, a fintech firm that provides mainstream customers with cheap and responsible credit, mobile banking, and payment options, signed its hundredth credit union partnership with Northwoods Credit Union. Credit unions can use these relationships to buy Upgrade loans and card receivables and enroll new members using Upgrade's online and mobile platforms.

"Over the last few years, Upgrade and PenFed have worked together to establish a very seamless, transparent, and efficient process that has resulted in billions of dollars in loans," said Jay Fee, PenFed Vice President of Consumer Banking. "Thanks to our connection with Upgrade, even more individuals have heard about PenFed and our fantastic rates."

GreenState Credit Union's Chief Consumer Services Officer, Amy Henderson, remarked, "Upgrade has become the partner of choice for credit unions." "Our loan-to-deposit ratios are such that we can all benefit from the types of loans and card receivables Upgrade has to offer, which have a good yield and a short term of less than two years. It's good to know we can scale with billions in new originations every quarter."

"I like that there's no black box; all credit decisions are transparent," said Matt Valentine, Carter Credit Union's Chief Lending Officer. "We may overlay our own credit criteria and even geographic footprint if we understand how credit underwriting works. We also like that we can sign up new members through our Upgrade alliance, which helps our credit union develop its household base."

Pathways Credit Union's Chief Lending Officer, Curtis Onofri, remarked, "We truly enjoy the flexibility of our cooperation with Upgrade." "There are no minimum purchases required, and no long-term commitments are required. We understand that, depending on our own circumstances, we can make various decisions month to month. This is quite beneficial to us."

Upgrade co-founder Adelina Grozdanova commented, "We are happy to have so many committed and valuable partners." "Shortly after our launch in 2017, we began working with credit unions, and we look forward to deepening our ties in the space."

The company's flagship product, Upgrade Card, was just named the fastest-growing credit card in America by Nilson Report. The Upgrade Card encourages responsible credit by converting all balances into fixed-rate installment plans and rewarding cardholders as they pay off their debt. In addition, upgrade just introduced Upgrade ShoppingTM, which rewards customers with 5 to 10 percent cashback at local and national merchants.