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Happy Money

Fintech · Tustin, United States · Founded 2009

Happy Money operates as a financial technology company with a stated mission to blend psychology and money to help consumers improve their financial well-being. Founded in 2009 by Scott Saunders, the company aims to move people from the role of a borrower to that of a saver. Saunders' journey into creating Happy Money was influenced by both a personal experience of taking seven years to pay off college credit card debt and his professional background, including an executive role at Walz Group, a firm that provided compliance services to financial institutions during the financial crisis. This gave him a unique perspective on the systemic issues in lending and a desire to create a more sustainable model. He previously worked in venture capital after earning his MBA from Columbia University. The firm's core business revolves around a lending marketplace that connects consumers with community-focused lending partners, such as credit unions and banks. This model allows Happy Money to originate personal loans for its partners while providing them with a turnkey channel for customer acquisition, underwriting, and loan origination. The primary product is a personal loan, marketed as the Payoff Loan, specifically designed to help customers consolidate and pay off high-interest credit card debt more quickly and at a lower cost. The business generates revenue through this partnership model, which helps its partners diversify their balance sheets and drive growth. Happy Money's platform is entirely digital, aiming to provide a seamless experience for both borrowers and lending partners. A distinctive feature of its underwriting process is the use of proprietary models that consider cash flow and other behavioral data not typically captured in a traditional FICO score. This approach is designed to create a more complete picture of a person's financial behavior by incorporating psychological data. For consumers, the platform offers features like the Direct Card Payoff™, which facilitates the immediate settlement of outstanding credit card balances once a loan is approved, streamlining the debt consolidation process. This focus on combining technology with responsible underwriting practices has been recognized in the industry, with the company helping over 300,000 individuals by funding more than $6 billion in loans. Keywords: personal loans, debt consolidation, financial wellness, fintech, credit card debt, lending marketplace, credit unions, consumer finance, loan origination, digital lending, underwriting models, financial technology, borrower to saver, Payoff Loan, financial psychology, risk management, consumer lending, API lending, community banking partners, financial stress reduction