Edly, Inc. Partners with FinWise Bank to Offer Income Based Repayment Loans for Students

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Edly, an education funding platform, today announced its partnership with FinWise Bank to introduce Income Based Repayment (IBR) Loans providing affordable college access for students who have high potential but limited access to traditional credit. Driven by historical data, not credit scores, Edly provides credit to students based on the likelihood of future success in their chosen careers.

"Edly created the IBR Loan program to address what we see as the main problems of traditional private student loans: limited access for lower-income families, prohibitively expensive debt payments, and a lack of rationalization of education and funding choices," said Christopher Ricciardi, CEO of Edly. "Edly's solution seeks to provide students with greater access to higher education while offering a more affordable repayment option."

Edly uses historical data about student outcomes from sources such as the Department of Education, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private databases, and Edly's proprietary data to underwrite the likely success of student borrowers. Edly does not underwrite using traditional credit scores because the firm believes that most students have not had sufficient time to establish a meaningful credit score. Edly also does not require co-signers because many students do not have access to a co-signer. In this way, Edly provides greater access to higher education for promising students who lack funding access.

"FinWise has a history of providing innovative financing solutions that enable borrowers to take control of their financial lives," said David Tilis, Chief Strategy Officer, FinWise Bank. "Together with Edly, we are excited to now bring student borrowers a new solution that we expect will help remove a significant barrier to education faced by many Americans."

Edly asks student borrowers to pay only a small percentage of their gross monthly salary and payments are paused if they cannot find a job. The total amount a student will pay is capped both in absolute terms and as an APR cap. Edly's IBR Student Loans are private student loans offered by FinWise Bank. They are currently offered in 46 states.

For more information on the goals of the Edly IBR Loan program, please see our Impact Statement and our Guiding Principles. Students looking to check IBR Loan terms & eligibility should go to https://student.edly.co/student. Investors looking to support investments in student IBR Loans should go to https://www.edly.co/

About Edly

Edly is a platform which connects students looking to fund college tuition with investors looking to support social impact investments in education. Edly focuses on a type of tuition funding known as Income Based Repayment Loans ("IBR Loans"). IBR Loans have been used successfully in many countries throughout the world to finance higher education. They are also used to restructure US Federal student loans into more affordable payment plans for students who find themselves with unaffordable debt. Edly is the first and only provider of this product as a primary tuition funding method in the U.S. 

About FinWise Bank

FinWise Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of FinWise Bancorp headquartered in Murray, Utah and is a Utah state-charted non-member bank. Founded in 2000, as Utah Community Bank, FinWise is an online bank focused on using technology to deliver a range of products and services, especially for the "unbanked" and consumers who have limited access to credit. FinWise currently operates one full-service banking location in Sandy, Utah and a loan production office in Rockville Centre, New York. FinWise is a nationwide lender and takes deposits from consumers and small businesses. For more information, please visit www.finwisebank.com.

SOURCE Edly, Inc.