20 Things You Didn’t Know about Petal
What do you know about the french fintech company called Petal? You may already know that they claim to have a number of credit solutions for people from all walks of life, but what else is there to know? As it turns out, there is quite a bit. The story hasn’t been full of roses for this company. In fact, there have been a few thorns in their way, too. If you want to know more about their story, here are 20 things about them.
1. They’re a French company, but they’re also FDIC insured
You might think that since it’s a French company, but they’re not insured by the FDIC, as that is something that’s typically seen with banks based in the United States. However, they are indeed insured by the FDIC because they do business on a global scale. That should provide consumers with some level of comfort, knowing that their investments are insured to a certain extent. However, the company has been embroiled in some legal conflict, as will be discussed later.
2. They offer a variety of options to help people build their credit
The company claims to provide numerous options to help people build credit. As such, they offer a number of different credit cards that are designed specifically for that purpose. People that have excellent credit can apply for a card and they often get approved with plenty of advantages that make those cars appealing. However, the company also frequently grants credit to individuals who either have no credit history or who have previously had very poor credit history and are in the rebuilding stages. In fact, they have specific cards that are designed just for these types of situations.
3. They have interest rates as low as 12.99%
Individuals who have good credit can qualify for cards with an interest rate as low as 12.99%. It’s not the best interest rate in the industry, but it certainly isn’t the worst, either. As a matter of fact, the company tends to reevaluate individuals who have one of their cards on an annual basis, all with the hopes of providing them with a card that has more perks and a lower interest rate as their credit improves, especially for those individuals who have made all of their monthly payments on time.
4. They also have higher interest rates, sometimes as much as 29.49%
Of course, they also grant cards to individuals who don’t have excellent credit and that almost always means that they’re going to pay a higher interest rate. That is indeed the case here. The highest interest rate on any of the cards utilized by the company is 29.49%. That’s a significant amount, but it’s not any higher than most of the other credit cards out there that cater to individuals with poor credit history. In fact, it’s actually lower than an overwhelming majority of them because it doesn’t break into the 30% and up category.
5. They offer credit limits from $300 to $5,000 for those building credit
Most people who are building their credit are lucky to get a credit card that offers a $300 credit limit. In this particular case, the company offers credit limits that range from $300 all the way up to $5,000, even for those individuals who have struggled with their credit in the past. This provides individuals who have shown some effort to make payments on time an opportunity to get more credit, something that can often be extremely helpful when trying to pay for unexpected expenses. In short, there’s a possibility that good people who have struggled with financial issues that occurred as a result of something beyond their control could potentially benefit from using one of these cards in order to get back on their feet.
6. Some of their cards offer anywhere from 2%-10% cashback on many purchases
One of the more interesting things to note is that the company actually provides more cash back on purchases for people who are in the rebuilding phases of their credit than they do for those who have better credit ratings. This might seem a bit odd, as it typically works the other way around. However, the company says that they want to provide financial incentives to those individuals who are struggling with their credit in order to help them get back in control. Furthermore, they offer a number of other advantages to those individuals who have better credit ratings, so this particular advantage is reduced significantly. As opposed to the same 2% to 10% that’s listed here, individuals who have better credit and therefore get a higher credit limit often see that number reduced down to anywhere from 1% to 1.5% cash back.
7. They don’t charge annual fees on their cards
One of the most interesting things about this particular company is that they don’t charge an annual fee on any of their cards. That’s a definite plus, as some companies tend to charge exorbitant annual fees that card holders often forget about and don’t see coming. For some reason, these fees are often worse for individuals who don’t have excellent credit, meaning that they can often find themselves in a situation where they’ve gone over their credit limit because of something that they completely forgot about. When something only comes around once a year, it’s easy to forget that it’s coming and that can get people into a lot of trouble. The fact that this company doesn’t charge an annual fee is a definite plus.
8. They offer $10,000 credit limits in some cases
For people who have a card with the company for some time and demonstrate an ability to pay their monthly fees on time, there is always an opportunity for a credit limit increase. Once they improve their credit to a certain extent, they can potentially increase their limit from $5,000 all the way up to $10,000 or even more, in some cases.
9. You can download their app on your smartphone
It’s easy to see exactly what’s happening with your card because you can download their app on your smartphone and get everything on your dashboard in a matter of seconds. In fact, you can keep track of all of your bank account information, your credit score and everything else in one place.
10. They don’t just look at your current credit score
One of the things that really makes this company different is that they don’t just look at your credit score when deciding whether or not you are approved for a card. In fact, they look at your bank account information in addition to your credit score. For those individuals who have never had any credit, it’s still possible to get a card because the company does look at your bank account information. They get information regarding deposits, expenditures and savings so that they can determine how you manage your money, even if you don’t have any formal credit history to speak of. As long as you can prove that you have income and that you are relatively responsible with your money, there is every chance that you will be granted a card which will then allow you to further increase your credit options, especially if you continue to pay for your card on time every month and you eventually develop a good credit history. The fact that they look at more than just your credit score is vitally important because it can sometimes make all the difference between being approved for a card or being rejected. The truth of the matter is that even if you’ve been rejected by other companies in the past, there’s still a chance that you can get approved by this company and start either building or rebuilding your credit.
11. They just raised $140 million in funding
The company just completed their fourth round of funding, in which they raised $140 million. That’s definitely a significant amount of money, although there have been other fintech companies in the past that have raised far more. Nevertheless, the company plans to use this money for further technological advancements as well as hiring some additional staff.
12. They claim that roughly 40% of their customers have been denied credit
The company claims that they are essentially there for the individuals who have not been able to get credit in the past. As a matter of fact, they say that roughly 40% of their customers had previously applied for credit with someone else and were denied. Of course, that means that approximately 60% of their customers have not had this issue, but they still claim that they exist mainly to help individuals who have either had issues with their credit or have very little credit history to speak of to get the credit they need.
13. The company is also embroiled in a bitter lawsuit
It seems like the company is doing great things and they seem to be making money, but they’re also right in the middle of a bitter lawsuit, one that could mean the future is not quite as certain as most people might think it is. The lawsuit contends that someone else actually came up with the idea for the company, someone who was a partner of the current CEO when the company was still very much in its infancy. That particular individual claims that the current CEO stole the idea, forced her out and then grew the company in her absence. She is suing the company because she wants credit for the idea and she wants to be compensated accordingly.
14. The company claims that the traditional financial system is broken
Executives at the company claim that the traditional financial system is broken and has been for quite some time. They also say that they worked diligently to find a way to gauge someone’s ability to pay back money owed that didn’t utilize their traditional credit rating. For them, it’s about giving options to people when they might not have otherwise had any.
15. People have tried and failed to do this same thing in the past
It’s also worth noting that other companies have tried to do the same thing in the past and they have failed spectacularly. So far, things seem to be going differently with this particular company, but it might be too early to tell. In addition, the fact that they are in the middle of the aforementioned lawsuit also means that there is some uncertainty surrounding the company, at least in the immediate future. It remains to be seen what will be decided in the courts concerning this lawsuit, but it could have a major impact on how the company does business. Some even believe it could determine whether or not they remain in business at all.
16. They’re currently valued at $800 million
So far, the company seems to be doing better than its predecessors. In fact, they have just received a valuation of $800 million. That comes after they received their latest round of funding, something that was discussed earlier.
17. They’ve managed to survive in business for a while now
The company has been in business since 2016. That gives some investors hope that they will remain in the game for the long haul. Clearly they have enough investors who believe in them to continue raising funds.
18. People who need credit often depend on them
There are plenty of individuals who are genuinely counting on this company to survive in the long-term. That’s because they need them to build their credit. There is a fairly significant number of individuals who haven’t been able to get credit through any other means.
19. The company has three times as many clients in the last year alone
Compared to this same time last year, they have roughly three times as many card holders. That just goes to show how popular the company has become. It also proves how many people are struggling with their credit and looking for someone who will simply give them a chance.
20. They’re definitely making a profit
There is no doubt about it, the company is making a solid profit. In fact, they are currently making four times the amount of money they were making for this same quarter last year. That’s impressive, to say the least. Hopefully, it’s something they will be able to continue in the future.
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