LendUp

LendUp was an online direct lender founded in 2011 by stepbrothers Sasha Orloff and Jacob Rosenberg. The company, which graduated from Y Combinator, aimed to be a socially responsible alternative to traditional payday lenders for consumers with low credit scores, a demographic it termed "the emerging middle class." Orloff brought experience from the World Bank and Citi, while Rosenberg had a technology background from Yahoo! and Zynga. The firm attracted significant venture capital from prominent investors including Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and PayPal, raising over $325 million in equity and debt.

The company's primary business was providing payday loans, installment loans, and credit cards. Its business model centered on the "LendUp Ladder," a gamified program designed to incentivize responsible borrowing. By repaying loans on time and completing financial education courses, customers could theoretically earn the ability to apply for larger loans at lower interest rates, with the eventual goal of having their payment history reported to major credit bureaus to help improve their credit scores. However, from its early days, the fees charged were noted to be similar to competitors in the payday loan space. In 2019, LendUp spun off its credit card division into a separate company called Mission Lane to focus solely on its loan products.

Despite its stated mission, LendUp faced substantial and repeated regulatory actions, primarily from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In 2016, the company was fined for deceptive practices, with regulators finding that the "LendUp Ladder" program did not deliver on its promises for many consumers. The CFPB alleged that tens of thousands of repeat borrowers were charged similar or higher interest rates and were not given access to larger loans as advertised. The company faced further legal trouble in 2020 for violating the Military Lending Act. These issues culminated in a December 2021 settlement with the CFPB, which effectively shut down LendUp's lending operations. The bureau ordered the company to stop issuing new loans, cease collections on certain existing loans, and pay a penalty for its repeated violations. LendUp officially ceased all loan operations in January 2022. In May 2024, the CFPB announced it was distributing nearly $40 million from its victims' relief fund to consumers harmed by LendUp's practices.

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