Offered in response to the financial strain of the pandemic, payment deferral options will remain as a feature of Elevate’s consumer-friendly platform

Elevate Credit, Inc. (“Elevate”), a leading tech-enabled provider of innovative and responsible online credit solutions for non-prime consumers, today announced that it, along with the banks that license its technology, will permanently offer payment assistance tools in an effort to help non-prime consumers achieve long-term financial health. These tools include payment grace periods, deferment options, zero late fees, interest-rate reductions, and principal and interest rate forgiveness.

“While the economic impact of the pandemic was unfolding, we listened to non-prime Americans and took action by providing payment flexibility almost immediately,” said Jason Harvison, CEO of Elevate. “Payment deferral options enabled more than 80,000 consumers to modify their payment plans in our self-service portal. By quickly adapting to a rapidly changing situation, we were better able to serve our customers, and those of the banks we support, during the challenges of the past year and now well into the future.”

A December 2020 report from the Center for the New Middle Class, Elevate’s internal thinktank, showed that in the prior three months, 44% of nonprime Americans (those with credit scores below 700) and 53% of prime Americans, up from 34% pre-pandemic, experienced an extraordinary event that disrupted their finances.

Elevate’s payment assistance tools were used by nearly 20% of brand customers at the peak, amounting to more than $100 million dollars in loans. Current usage is well below 5% with similar rates expected going forward.

While average credit scores have risen slightly due to government stimulus, The Pew Research Center reported that about half of lower-income Americans in households that lost income during the pandemic have taken on debt to stay afloat. Further, about three in 10 adults say they worry every day or almost every day about their level of debt.

“Emergencies and income volatility are not limited to pandemics and recessions. Even after this period of economic uncertainty ends, many Americans will still struggle financially. We have the power to help and we see it as our responsibility to do so,” Harvison said.

About Elevate

Elevate (NYSE: ELVT), together with the banks that license its marketing and technology services, has originated $9.0 billion in non-prime credit to more than 2.5 million non-prime consumers to date and has saved its customers more than $8.2 billion versus the cost of payday loans. Its responsible, tech-enabled online credit solutions provide immediate relief to customers today and help them build a brighter financial future. The company is committed to rewarding borrowers’ good financial behavior with features like interest rates that can go down over time, free financial training and free credit monitoring. Elevate’s suite of groundbreaking credit products includes RISE, Elastic and Today Card. For more information, please visit http://www.elevate.com.

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