RISE Credit (from Elevate)

The Good

• Typically a better rate than payday or installment lenders
• Accepts borrowers with poor credit or no credit history at all
• Payback terms up to 26 months
• Shows customers their actual Transunion credit scores for free

Rather than using your credit score (aka FICO score), RISE conducts its own “affordability analysis” and uses data from the National Consumer Reporting Association, Clarity, and Teletrak (non-prime credit bureaus) to lend to those who might have very poor credit or no credit history at all.  Consumers with no credit history at all are sometimes referred to as “credit invisibles,” and those with a very weak credit history are referred to as “borrowers with a thin file.”  Most lenders simply decline these borrowers, but RISE gets around this by using metrics such as the length of time a consumer has used the same mobile phone number or email address.

This means that borrowers who previously only had payday loans as an option, now have a more cost-effective option in RISE.

The Bad

• May have origination fees, depending on your state
• Still an expensive option
• Paying down the loan does not necessarily improve your credit score

While RISE is available in a large number of states, it only acts as a direct lender in a handful of these states.  In the other states, RISE is acting as an intermediary, and this means it charges a “CSO” fee on top of your payments.  This may be as much as $20 per $1,000 borrowed.  In states such as Missouri, RISE is the direct lender and there is no fee.  So when applying, please take note of this and make sure the added fee does not make RISE an unaffordable option for you.

At this time, RISE is only availabe in 15 states: Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin)

The Summary

RISE is not going to be a great solution for everyone, as it is still expensive.  But for those borrowers looking at expense options such as payday loans anyway – it is very good.

RISE is a good product for borrowers who have poor credit history in their past, but it’s just a step above payday.  It still has a very high interest rates and should be used in the case of emergencies.   But it’s a nice transitional loan to Elevate’s Elastic product, which has a lower interest rate they are working to rebuild their credit and can do better than a payday loan.  It’s a good entry-level