Upward Financial

Upward Financial Inc., which operates under the Upwardli brand, is a Seattle-based fintech infrastructure company. It provides software that lets other businesses launch credit products quickly, including a Credit Builder that turns recurring payments and spending into reported credit activity, credit builder card programs, and bill or rent reporting. Client integrations are offered either through embedded components for fast launch or through flexible APIs for deeper customization, with the stated aims of reducing development cost, maintaining compliance and protecting user data.

The Credit Builder functions similarly to a store card: an approved consumer receives a credit limit usable with a specific merchant, and each use is reported to Experian and Equifax. Approval uses a soft credit inquiry and requires U.S. residence, age 18 or older, a valid email and phone number, a government-issued ID, and an SSN or an ITIN accompanied by supporting immigration or work-authorization documentation. Applicants may be declined for failed identity verification, incomplete applications, an existing account with the same merchant, or underwriting criteria. Repayment is collected by the merchant, which then reports the repayment to Upward, and credit insights are surfaced in the merchant's app.

The company has also been described as offering a broader fintech infrastructure platform consolidating payments, virtual and physical cards, banking services and compliance into a single API-driven system, aimed at platforms serving independent and hourly workers. Its earlier consumer product, the Upwardli app, matched immigrants, international students, visa holders and other newcomers to U.S. financial services with credit cards, bank accounts, credit builders and money transfer services, and offered a personalized credit action plan and free credit reporting.

Founding story

Upward Financial was founded in 2021 in Seattle by CEO Aaron Gregory, COO Danielle Hill and CTO Chris Hasz. Gregory previously served as General Counsel and Hill as Head of Global Operations at Remitly, the Seattle cross-border payments company that went public in 2021. The original consumer premise was that financial services in the U.S. confuse and exclude newcomers such as immigrants, international students and visa holders, who face rejection risk and opaque terms when seeking credit cards and bank accounts.

Business model

Upward sells embedded credit-building infrastructure to other businesses, which integrate its products into their own apps and brands. Client platforms embed credit builder accounts, credit builder cards and bill/rent reporting via embedded components or APIs; Upward positions these as new revenue streams and retention drivers for the partner, while the partner handles the end-customer relationship and collects payment from the consumer. Upward does not charge the consumer additional fees or interest on the Credit Builder, though the merchant offering it may. A consumer-facing subscription platform has also been described at $6 per month.

Revenue is generated from business clients that embed Upward's credit builder, card and reporting products, which are presented as creating new revenue streams and improved unit economics for the partner; card programs in particular are described as adding revenue streams. A consumer-facing platform has been reported at $6 per month. Upward states it charges no additional fees or interest on the Credit Builder itself.

Traction

As of the November 2025 funding announcement, Upward processed more than $10 million in monthly payment volume with a 20-person team and was described as having reached product-market fit. Named clients include TipHaus, Avibra and Solo. The Upwardli Android app has recorded more than 1,000 downloads; the iOS app holds a 2.5 out of 5 rating across 17 ratings.

Latest developments

In November 2025 Upward announced an $8 million Series Seed+ round co-led by Dundee Venture Capital and Breakwater Ventures, with participation from Techstars, Altari Ventures, Cascade Seed Fund, Milwaukee Venture Partners and Outside Ventures, bringing reported total funding to $12 million. The round combined new capital with conversions from prior convertible equity. Announced alongside it was a Mastercard partnership giving clients access to Mastercard-branded card issuance, Easy Savings rebates and the Business Builder suite. Stated uses of proceeds include enhancing financial infrastructure for faster product launches, expanding the technical team, supporting compliance integrations and extending services to additional business partners.