Press release

Aura Crosses Major Milestone, Disbursing More Than $500 Million to Borrowers Since 2014

0
Sponsored by Businesswire

Aura, a mission-driven financial technology company that offers
affordable loans to hard-working families, announced today that it has
disbursed more than $500 million to hardworking people in America since
it was founded five years ago.

“At Aura, we’re proud to have crossed this significant threshold,”
said Aura CEO James Gutierrez. “It’s a clear indication that there is
strong and growing demand for affordable loans that help people meet
their financial needs and escape the cycle of debt.
We look
forward to making the next $500 million in loans and helping our
borrowers achieve their dreams.”

Since its launch in 2014, Aura has provided more than 387,000
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,
and the company has received more than 1 million applications for loans
from potential borrowers.

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 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.