Uils

Market position

Uils operates in a crowded rideshare vehicle lending market alongside Uber and Lyft vehicle rental marketplaces, Uber's short-term driver credit pilot, Didi's driver lending in China, and lenders such as Giggle Finance. Related behavior-based models exist in adjacent categories, including Zendrive's driving-habit data and Root Insurance's driving-pattern premiums. The company positions itself on integration with the mobility applications available in Latin America, which the CEO describes as providing a "360-degree" view of a driver's work activity.

Management cites a matching-fund strategy in which installment amounts mirror what drivers already pay to rent a car in the informal market, and claims to be the only fintech in Latin America offering major consumer loans and rent-to-own loans without consulting credit bureaus or requiring a credit card or other guarantees. The rent-to-own structure as a lease allows vehicle repossession on delinquency.

Technology

The core of the product is a behavioral scoring engine that ingests more than 200 data points per driver, including work schedule, trips per day, number of mobility apps used and number of cars driven. A machine learning model processes this driving and work history to produce a score from 1 to 1,000, which sets the maximum loan a driver can receive under the company's lending policies. A second underwriting layer is based on earnings, allowing drivers to allocate up to 30% of income to loan repayment. Data is obtained through API integrations with Latin American mobility applications, and the company states that customers must reauthorize these connections monthly so tracking does not continue indefinitely; identity verification is required to receive loans.

Go-to-market

Direct-to-driver acquisition through a mobile app, with onboarding that connects drivers' ridesharing platform accounts by API; visibility from participation in the Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022.

Rideshare and mobility gig-economy drivers in Latin America, particularly those without access to traditional bank credit or credit bureau records.

Geography

Headquartered in Buenos Aires; first launched in Argentina, with integrations across mobility applications available in Latin America.

Risks & controversies

Coverage notes surveillance and bias concerns arising from drivers sharing driving histories that are used to build risk profiles, and the possibility that model flaws could unfairly disadvantage drivers, for example where local traffic conditions produce driving patterns that appear reckless. It also flags repayment risk in a downturn as interest rates and fuel prices rise, citing a poll finding that nearly half of rideshare workers quit or drove less in April 2022 because of gas price spikes. The company has not disclosed details of its algorithm or its delinquency figures.