PayPal Helps Launch Program for Entrepreneurs bringing Financial Services to “Underbanked”

According to a 2013 FDIC study, more than a quarter of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked, meaning that they have limited or no access to traditional financial services. In other words, these individuals cannot afford the services that allow them to save their earnings and borrow at reasonable credit rates. And even worse, an unexpected car accident, hospitalization or a disability can cause severe economic distress. 

We believe entrepreneurs can help address these challenges by developing more affordable and accessible financial technologies. That’s why Village Capital and eBay Foundation teamed up to launch this year’s US Financial Technology, or “FinTech,” Accelerator and PayPal employees helped support the participating entrepreneurs by serving as subject matter experts in the first of three in-person workshops. PayPal employees will remain engaged in the program until its conclusion in July, when two of the participating entrepreneurs and their companies will be selected to win $100,000 total in funding.

The 12 companies selected to participate in this year’s program are:

• Crediyo – A patient centric revenue cycle management company that brings a consumer finance approach to healthcare payments.
• FinVoice – Matches small businesses with investors, creating a new way for businesses to raise cash – faster and cheaper than banks.

• Indivisible – Provides working capital financing to small, underbanked businesses that primarily sell their products and services via local or online channels.
• Lendable – Provides risk analytics for debt in East Africa.
• Livewire – Provides cloud-based practice management tools and a marketplace platform to acquire new customers for financial professionals.
• PayJoy – Turns upfront purchases into pay-as-you-go monthly installments.
• PYT Funds – An online financial services company that combines the art of crowdfunding and traditional bank funding to provide a socially responsible and transparent private student loan.
• Quotanda – Sells turnkey student loan solutions for schools and banks globally.
• RemitRight – Compares fees and exchange rates from dozens of companies to help users save money when sending money.
• Student Loan Benefits – A modern benefit that lets companies help their employees address their student debt.

• Sweep – A mobile savings application that helps consumers plan for the future, manage cash flow, and build savings.
• Waleteros – A mobile wallet solution serving the 20M+ unbanked and underbanked US-based Latino consumers.

Over the next three months, the entrepreneurs behind these solutions will participate in three intensive, multi-day workshops run by Village Capital, with the aim of scaling their companies through critical business development training, mentorship from local business leaders and investors, and face-to-face interaction with potential customers. The program will conclude with a Venture Forum on July 23 in San Francisco, during which each participating company will have the opportunity to present their business plans to a group of angel investors and venture capitalists, potential partners, customers, and community members.

We’re pleased to be supporting this year’s FinTech Accelerator program and the innovators bringing financial services to low-income individuals around the country. And we look forward to all the great impact to come. Stay tuned for updates!