New York, N.Y. (July 23, 2024) – Today, ideas42 announced the inaugural cohort of organizations participating in the Credit: Expanding Opportunity (C:EO) initiative. Supported by JPMorganChase, C:EO is bringing together organizations across the financial services industry to apply behavioral science principles to unlock and expand financial opportunity for consumers with sub- and near-prime credit scores, including those with low- to moderate-incomes.
The first cohort will bring together nonprofits SaverLife and Money Management International, Inc. (MMI), fintech companies Self and Arro, and data partner PrismData, to focus on solutions that help consumers build and protect their credit, enabling them to improve their financial health and better access wealth building opportunities.
The Role of Credit in Strengthening the Financial Health of Individuals
Credit and credit scores are essential elements of American financial life, allowing people to manage cash flows and financial shocks, and tap into wealth building opportunities such as homeownership or starting a small business. These opportunities can be out of reach for consumers with lower credit scores, creating a cycle where consumers lack access to the resources and opportunities they need to build or improve credit, improve their financial resilience, and build wealth.
Many organizations are tackling these challenges, and there has been notable progress on efforts to help unscored or credit invisible consumers. However, the credit system remains complex and its benefits inaccessible for many consumers, including those who stand to benefit the most from credit solutions. This is further exacerbated by the challenges organizations seeking to address inequities around credit access and use face in reaching and retaining consumers, leaving potentially helpful products and services underused.
ideas42 is leveraging 15 years of behavioral science expertise to provide actionable strategies to help cohort companies address these challenges and design products and services that meet the needs and behaviors of consumers. In addition to twelve months of tailored behavioral design support, the C:EO cohort will have access to the project’s advisory group of subject-matter experts from the nonprofit and private sectors, and meet as a group to learn from each other’s experiences.
“Leveraging behavioral design allows us to develop and tailor programs, products, and services to meet the needs of people living with low or damaged credit scores, allowing them to take advantage of credit as a means of improving their financial circumstances and ultimately building wealth,” says ideas42 Managing Director Evelyn Stark. “This holds promise for expanding who is able to benefit from the credit system and enabling individuals to lead lives of their own definitions.”
Highlighting the crucial role credit plays in the financial health journey from resilience to wealth, the first cohort of the C:EO initiative will focus on credit building solutions for consumers, with future cohorts building on the lessons learned in year one and exploring credit solutions for homeownership and entrepreneurship.
Support from JPMorganChase to Drive Impact at Scale
JPMorganChase’s support for the C:EO initiative is a part of the firm’s holistic approach to advancing financial health outcomes, particularly within underserved communities. Across products and services, and through support for innovative philanthropic solutions, the firm is committed to helping consumers access, build, manage, and protect their credit, and tap into wealth building opportunities.
“Financial health is connected to everything we do as individuals, and credit is a critical enabler,” said Nicole Sanchez, Managing Director, Consumer Banking, Growth Financial Products at JPMorganChase. “JPMorganChase is committed to supporting solutions that help consumers at all stages of their financial journey improve their financial health and build wealth. In addition to our own products and services, we’re excited to bring the full resources of the firm to support initiatives like C:EO, which will enable impact at scale for consumers with sub- and near-prime credit scores.”
More about C:EO’s Year 1 Partners
Nonprofit Partners:
SaverLife is a nonprofit and research organization using technology to improve the financial health of people living on low-to-moderate incomes. To improve the financial health of our members, SaverLife takes a holistic approach relying on both a well-designed financial product to support the individual actions of their members, and strategic policy work to reduce the systemic barriers that impede their financial health journeys.
Money Management International, Inc. (MMI) is one of the largest nonprofit credit counseling agencies in the United States, committed to serving individuals and families in financial crisis by providing financial counseling, coaching, and education services that address immediate issues and promote lasting financial wellness. MMI offers credit counseling and debt repayment plans to help thousands of people overcome their toughest financial challenges
FinTech Partners:
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. Self’s signature Credit Builder Account and secured 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.
Arro is a fintech company focused on fair credit for underserved, thin credit file, and new to credit consumers. Arro’s AI-powered behavior engine provides a credit card with a $50-200 limit alongside a gamified app experience where members control their own journey to a higher credit line. As Arro members complete financial goals, build their financial knowledge, and establish positive financial habits over time, they build their Arro Score which financial institutions use to expand fair credit access and drive long term financial health.
Learning and Data Partner:
PrismData offers cash flow underwriting infrastructure and analytics with robust capabilities and powerful predictive insights. Prism Data takes raw data from financial providers and transforms it into useful information that those providers can rely on, giving them greater insight into credit risk, identity, financial status, and more.
More about C:EO’s Advisory Group
Dara Duguay is the CEO of Credit Builders Alliance (CBA). Prior to her work at CBA, Duguay independently steered her own consulting practice, advising clients such as TD Bank, the World Bank Group, Experian, Visa, and SunTrust Bank. She was also Director of Citi’s Office of Financial Education and served as the Executive Director of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, which advocates for increased financial education for youth. Aside from her professional experience, Duguay is an established author of four books, including the critically acclaimed Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults.
Nicole A. Elam, Esq. is President and CEO of the National Bankers Association (NBA), the premier trade association for the nation’s minority depository institutions, and Executive Director of the National Bankers Association Foundation. Prior to this role, Elam was the Vice President of Government Relations at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she managed national engagement strategies and led efforts on the firm’s $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity and drive inclusive economic growth. Aside from her experience in the financial health space, Elam also has extensive knowledge and practice in policy work having been the Vice President of Government Relations and External Affairs for ITT Educational Services, Inc., and the Senior Director of Federal Affairs at Ice Miller LLP.
Alex Johnson is the founder and author behind FinTech Takes, a premier publication that continues to drive conversations around the dynamic intersection of banking and technology with insightful analysis of new trends and innovations. With an impressive career spanning over 20 years, Johnson has carved a niche in marketing, business development, and market research, contributing his expertise to renowned companies such as FICO, Cornerstone Advisors, and Mercator Advisory Group. His work has garnered attention from leading media outlets, including Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal, and NBC Nightly News.
Elisabeth Job Kozack is the Managing Director and Head of Lending Innovation within JP Morgan Chase Connected Commerce division, where she is responsible for unsecured installment lending solutions to support consumers’ cash flow management needs. Prior to this role, she was Managing Director and Head of Consumer Lending at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, where she led general management and product for personal loans, point of sale installments, and seller financing for small and medium-sized businesses. Previously she worked at American Express where she served as VP and general manager of a variety of credit card products in the consumer and small business space.
Vikas Raj is Managing Partner of ResilienceVC, an early-stage venture investor in fintech for resilience startups. Before co-founding the firm, Vikas played a pivotal role building and leading Accion Venture Lab as Managing Director, leading global investment efforts and serving on the boards of notable companies like Self Inc., Konfio, and Tienda Pago. Over the course of this career, he has invested in over 70 fintech startups with a particular focus on inclusive solutions for underserved consumers and small businesses, aiding them in raising over $1 billion and generating more than $4 billion in market value. He is also a professor of fintech and impact at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins SAIS.
Garry Reeder is the Founder and Managing Member of White Oak Advisors, a consultancy focused on the intersection of financial services and public policy. He also serves as a Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Company and as a member of the Financial Innovation Advisory Board for the New York State Department of Financial Services. Reeder served in the Obama Administration in the U.S. Treasury and at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he served as Chief of Staff. He has held leadership roles at BlackRock, the Financial Health Network, and the American Fintech Council.
Brent Reinhard is the General Manager of the Chase Freedom and Chase Slate credit card portfolios. He is responsible for the end-to-end leadership and success of two of the credit card industry’s flagship products. Brent leads a diverse organization of Marketing and Product experts who run Branding and Advertising, Product Development, Customer Communications, and Acquisitions for these two important brands. Prior to this role, he was the Chief Marketing Officer for Chase’s Business Banking organization, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s products targeted specifically at the Small Business population. Brent has been with Chase since 2003 and has held a variety of roles including on the Chase Ink team, Chase Sapphire team, as well as roles in eCustomer marketing, operations, and product development areas.
Dan Riner is the Managing Director of Consumer Risk Management at JPMorgan Chase (JPMC). His work includes overseeing contributions to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision for Risk Aggregation, Legal Entity Resolution & Recovery, as well as Consumer Risk Management deliverables for the Risk and Audit Committees of the JPMC Board of Directors. In addition to his role at JPMC, Riner has experience within the consumer credit industry including leadership positions in portfolio risk management, financial planning & analysis, portfolio & product profitability management, market analysis & modeling and mergers & acquisitions; and he is a member of the Risk Management Association (RMA), having previously served as Chairman of the RMA’s Consumer Risk Management Committee and member of the RMA’s Capital Management Working Group.
Nicole Sanchez currently serves as a Managing Director, Consumer Banking, Growth Financial Products at JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) and Head of Firmwide Financial Health. In her role, Nicole leads the Lower Mass segment, Secure Banking product and our efforts to help consumers build stability, resilience and sustainable wealth. She has led and delivered key initiatives including driving double digit growth for Secure Banking, launching Early Direct Deposit, and leading the Consumer Bank’s efforts to increase access to banking through affordable, low-cost banking as part of JPMC’s $30 Billion Racial Equity Commitment. Prior to this role, Nicole served as General Manager of the Youth and Student Segments. Previously, Nicole served as an Investment Partner at XFactor Ventures, a venture capital fund where she led fintech investments. She was also the Founder and CEO of Financial Health Network & JPMC Financial Solutions Lab backed fintech startup, Credit Hero.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Anthony Hernandez, ahernandez@ideas42.org
