Public Benefit Corporation and Leading Fintech Crosses 10 Million Customers and Over $2 Billion Lent
SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PayJoy, the leading lender to the underserved in emerging markets, today announces it has helped 10 million customers enter the modern financial system, build credit, achieve economic freedom, and access digital connectivity since launching in 2015. PayJoy reaches this milestone less than a year after becoming a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to responsible financing, with a sharp focus on ensuring a positive impact on its customers’ financial well-being.
“Every day, people around the world look to PayJoy as their entry point to credit. Customers know they can expect absolute transparency from us with clear terms, competitive pricing, and no debt traps,” said Doug Ricket, Founder & CEO at PayJoy. “Our proprietary smartphone technology and machine-learning based underwriting has given 10 million people access to affordable credit. PayJoy’s mission-first orientation on customer welfare, and our ability to grow profitably, proves that ethical practices and financial success can go hand in hand.”
“Every day, people around the world look to PayJoy as their entry point to credit. Customers know they can expect absolute transparency from us with clear terms, competitive pricing, and no debt traps,” said Doug Ricket, Founder & CEO at PayJoy.”
Operating in seven countries (and growing) and financing over $2 billion to date to the underserved, PayJoy’s global impact is profound. Empirical academic research has found that access to a PayJoy loan delivers benefits to consumers equal to an overall 6% increase in income.* PayJoy ensures a positive impact by making sure customers never get trapped in debt and monitors customers’ financial outcomes to be sure that the vast majority improve their credit scores and financial well-being as a result of using PayJoy’s financial products.
PayJoy’s 10 Millionth Customer
PayJoy’s 10 millionth customer, Lareto Motloung, is a mother of two who works in a supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa. After getting her phone stolen unexpectedly, she was unable to afford a new phone for nine months and knew of no options to finance one. Then, in February 2024, she saw a sign for PayJoy, was approved, and was able to afford her first smartphone.
“I am so grateful for PayJoy! The job market in South Africa is very challenging so I live many hours away from my kids to earn money to send back. After my last phone was stolen, I had to pay to borrow a phone from my friends to call my family.” said Motloung. “PayJoy helped me get a new phone and it is the first smartphone I ever had. Now I can even see my 1-year-old daughter face to face when I finish my shifts.”
“Billions of people around the world lack access to credit,” said Ricket. “I’m grateful for the work of our employees who have worked tirelessly to serve Lareto and 10 million others, opening the door to the modern financial system so people everywhere can access credit and improve their financial well-being and resiliency. Credit allows our customers to get through tough times when they encounter a financial shock from bad luck, as well as to take advantage of opportunities to get ahead. Many of our customers are micro-entrepreneurs who accelerate their businesses when PayJoy becomes the first company to offer them credit.”
How PayJoy Works
PayJoy’s original smartphone security technology allows smartphones to serve as collateral for lending or financing – drastically reducing default rates, enabling cheaper credit, and massively expanding the pool of customers who can qualify for credit at affordable rates. PayJoy also harnesses the power of modern data science and machine learning for best-in-class underwriting of new-to-credit customers to offer industry-lowest prices while helping customers learn to use credit successfully.
Unlike predatory lenders, PayJoy customers always see the total fixed amount they have to pay before agreeing to a contract – no late or hidden fees, surprises, debt traps, or loan stacking. PayJoy customers who start by buying a smartphone always have a “get out of jail free card” where they can return the phone and walk away debt-free at any time if the deal is not favorable to them. Additionally, PayJoy audits its pricing annually to ensure lower prices and better terms than competitors, while generating enough profit to grow sustainably.
For more information about PayJoy, visit https://www.payjoy.com/.
*According to empirical research by economists from UC Berkeley and Washington University in St. Louis
About PayJoy
PayJoy is a Public Benefit Corporation that provides a fair and responsible entry point for individuals in emerging markets to enter the modern financial system, build credit, achieve economic freedom, and access digital connectivity. Founded in 2015, PayJoy has provided over $2 billion of credit to more than 10 million customers across Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Colombia. PayJoy runs profitably and employs over 1,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.payjoy.com/.
Media Contact
Tisha Ferraro, PayJoy, 9255881610, payjoy@thekeypr.com, https://www.payjoy.com/