AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, SpringFour, a social impact financial wellness fintech company, announced that its partnership with leading credit building company Self Financial has delivered more than 3 million financial health referrals to consumers.
Since the partnership began in 2019, SpringFour has offered Self customers —- many of whom live paycheck to paycheck — access to its more than 23,000 trusted local government and nonprofit resources in 665 cities, towns, and metro areas across the United States through S4direct, SpringFour’s digital self-serve product. Recently named a Fast Company “Brand That Matters,” SpringFour enables companies to connect their customers with targeted financial health resources, ultimately increasing payment performance, enhancing brand trust, improving bottom lines, and powering consumers’ financial health and capability.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data, aggregate household debt balances increased by $228 billion in the third quarter of 2023, with $386 billion in newly originated mortgage debt and an increase of $30 billion in outstanding student loan debt. This challenging economic climate makes access to financial health resources increasingly important for American families. A SpringFour survey of low- and moderate-income families showed that, while 83% of households are interested in receiving resources from financial institutions, only 17% of respondents were aware of where to go to access such resources.
“The economy is challenging right now, particularly for consumers who are also trying to build their credit. Our partnership with SpringFour enables us to provide resources in addition to credit building to more customers so they can be more financially resilient and reach their goals,” said Julie Szudarek, CEO of Self Financial.
Over the past four years of the partnership, SpringFour and Self have delivered millions of referrals to Self customers in areas such as food savings, rental resources, heating and utility costs, healthcare savings, financial counseling, and more, helping consumers reduce household expenses and empowering them on their financial health journeys. SpringFour has helped Self meet its customers’ changing needs. In fact, in Q3 2023, Self customers’ demand for student loan counseling resources increased 10% compared to Q2 2023. With access to SpringFour’s robust database of resources, hundreds of thousands of customers have been connected to nonprofit and government resources to aid in the progress of their financial health journey.
“We are proud to bring SpringFour’s resources to Self customers,” said SpringFour CEO Rochelle Gorey. “Especially in such a challenging economic climate, SpringFour and Self’s shared commitment to empathy-first financial health strategies is helping consumers build credit, increase their options, and power their financial capability. In order for people to improve their overall financial health, comprehensive strategies are needed and our partnership is core to that, helping people access existing resources to reduce their costs and mitigate hardships.”
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About SpringFour
SpringFour, the first-of-its-kind, leading social impact fintech, empowers banks, credit unions, fintech lenders, employers, mortgage servicers, nonprofits, and more to connect consumers with vetted, local nonprofit and government financial health resources — increasing payment performance, adding brand value, driving social impact, supporting financial health, and powering bottom lines. Trusted by Capital One, BMO, M&T Bank, OppFi, KeyBank, Avant, Enova, Oportun, Mission Lane, and more, SpringFour is a Certified B Corporation, WBE, and the only woman-led, social impact fintech creating opportunities for enterprise-wide innovation. SpringFour’s product suite includes an innovative contact center tool, digital self-service models, and API. SpringFour delivered 4.4 million financial health referrals to consumers in 2022 in categories including food assistance, rental resources, heat/utility savings, affordable childcare, employment resources, prescription savings, and more. SpringFour is an award-winning fintech, recently recognized with Fast Company’s 2023 Brands that Matter and Finovate’s 2023 Innovator of the Year. To learn how SpringFour can benefit your organization, visit www.springfour.com.
About Self Financial
Self Financial is a credit-building platform that works to increase economic inclusion and financial resilience through easy-to-use products that make building credit accessible. With no hard credit check to get started, Self's signature Credit Builder Account and secured Self Visa® Credit Card issued by its partner banks are designed to enable people to build credit and savings simultaneously. The company also offers free rent reporting to the three major credit bureaus, and utility payment reporting to TransUnion. Download the Self app at the Apple App Store (250,000+ reviews and an average 4.9 rating) or Google Play or visit Self.inc for more information.
