Aura Approves 350,000th Affordable Loan

Mission-Driven Lender has Disbursed $437 Million to Hard-Working Borrowers since 2014

SAN FRANCISCO--()--Aura, a mission-driven financial technology company that offers affordable loans to hard-working families, this week approved its 350,000th loan.

Since its launch in 2014, Aura has provided more than $437 million in credit-building loans to borrowers at approximately 1,200 partner locations using technology that enables local businesses to administer loan applications. Currently, Aura’s average loan size is around $1,600.

“This is a major milestone which demonstrates that our approach in looking beyond the credit score is working,” said Aura CEO James Gutierrez. “We’re able to approve affordable loans to hundreds of thousands of individuals with no or low credit and do it with very low losses. This helps our borrowers take an important step on the road to financial security and provides compelling returns to investors.”

Aura loans are made possible by its social bonds. In total, Aura has raised over $403 million in social bonds across 21 bond issuances. The most recent issuance was in March for $50 million.

Millions of working families in America lack access to safe and affordable loans and are vulnerable to predatory lenders. Aura is able to provide borrowers with affordable loans that have saved them hundreds of millions of dollars in additional fees and interest by avoiding predatory options. Additionally, two-thirds of Aura’s borrowers have grown their credit score by an average of 285 points from their first to second loan.

Aura also provides its borrowers with detailed financial education tools including free credit scores, a summary of what’s in their credit report, and a personalized budget, including expenses, DTI and tips for savings. Aura has also launched a new customer loyalty program known as “Aura Hearts” that offers benefits to borrowers who pay on time such as larger future loans, lower rates, and faster pre-approvals.

About Aura:

Aura is a technology-powered, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides small, affordable loans to working families in America. Aura’s mission is to build financially healthy low-income communities by providing empowering financial services to America’s 66-million underbanked and unbanked. Aura has pioneered a cloud-based lending technology that enables trusted local businesses to submit credit applications for centralized review and approval by its proprietary scoring algorithms.

Currently available in nearly 1,200 locations across California, Texas, Illinois and Arizona, Aura has provided hundreds of thousands of credit-building, responsible loans to low-income households since launching in 2014. Aura was founded in 2012 by James Gutierrez, Kevin Kang, and Randy Wong. All three founders helped create and scale Oportun, a CDFI and one of Time Magazine’s Top 50 Most Genius Companies in 2018. For more information visit www.myaura.com.

Contacts

Scott Gerber, scott@vrge.us, 408-202-4255

Contacts

Scott Gerber, scott@vrge.us, 408-202-4255