Gerald Technologies, Inc

Gerald Technologies, Inc, operating as Gerald (joingerald.com), is a consumer fintech company based in New York City that combines an in-app store for recurring household essentials with buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing and cash advances. The mobile app, available on iOS and Android, lets users purchase everyday items, cover monthly bills, fund mobile phone plans, and transfer cash advances to their bank accounts.

The company positions its products around the absence of fees: it states there are no service fees, transfer fees, interest, late fees, or subscriptions, and no credit checks for cash advances. Cash advance transfers are unlocked after a portion of the advance is used for a BNPL purchase in Gerald's in-app store, Cornerstore, and instant transfers are provided at no cost to eligible users. Additional features include a mobile plan advance, store rewards that do not have to be repaid, and a "play to earn" mechanic in which users complete games and in-app tasks to collect coins redeemable for store rewards.

Gerald was part of Y Combinator's Winter 2021 batch and is listed under the fintech, payments, and consumer categories. Its founders are Ola Okeshola, previously CEO of quick.me and conduet-med.com and a former Wall Street executive who served as a VP at Neuberger Berman, with education at Yale and Georgetown, and Nikos Karamolegkos, who holds a PhD from Columbia University and was previously a data scientist and project leader at Philips.

Founding story

The company was co-founded by Ola Okeshola, formerly CEO of quick.me and conduet-med.com and a VP at Neuberger Berman, and Nikos Karamolegkos, a Columbia University PhD and former data scientist and project leader at Philips.

Business model

Gerald provides consumer credit products — BNPL for purchases in its own store and cash advances — without charging users interest, service fees, transfer fees, late fees, or subscription fees. Cash advance transfers are gated on the user first making a BNPL purchase within Gerald's Cornerstore, tying the lending product to retail activity on the platform.

Revenue is not charged to users through fees or interest; the company links free cash advance transfers to BNPL purchases made in its own in-app store, Cornerstore.

Traction

Y Combinator lists the company as active with a team size of 12 as of its company profile.

Latest developments

Gerald's product set spans buy now, pay later, free cash advance bank transfers, mobile plan advances, store rewards, and play-to-earn in-app rewards.