Upgrade

About Upgrade

Upgrade was founded in 2016 and is based in San Francisco with operations in Phoenix and engineering in Montreal. The company was founded by Renaud Laplanche, the co-founder of Lending Club (a peer to peer lender). As of August 2018, the company had over 100,000 customers, and originated over $1B in loans. The company has raised $162M over three rounds.

Upgrade is not a bank. Instead, Upgrade partners with banks to provide loans originated through Upgrade. Blue Ridge Bank, Member FDIC, provides the personal loans obtained through Upgrade. Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC is the lender for the personal credit lines offered. Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, issues the Upgrade Card which allows you to access the personal credit line. Partnering with banks is a common practice and requires the originators like Upgrade to be in compliance with bank, state, and federal regulations. Possible downsides are the originator does not always have full control of their underwriting and they function as a middle person. This means there might be more strict lending requirements and higher costs than a direct lender.

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