Stilt, the leading provider of financial services for immigrants, today announced it has raised a $100 million warehouse facility from Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and their investors.
To date, Stilt has raised a total of $225 million in total debt facilities for lending to its customers.
The company also announced the launch of its new checking account offering. Since the launch in September, the number of active checking accounts is growing 50 percent month over month, and most customers are setting up direct deposit to make Stilt their primary account. Powered by Evolve Bank & Trust, Stilt’s checking accounts are the first that are specifically designed to meet the needs of immigrants and people without Social Security numbers.
Stilt checking account has powerful features for immigrants including spot-rate remittance, the ability to build credit, and cashback on services that immigrants love. Customers can also get a pre-approved loan transferred to their account in less than a minute — a first in the industry. The debt facility will be used for lending to borrowers and checking account holders.
“This debt facility will be instrumental in helping Stilt reach north of $350 million in annualized loan volume,” said Rohit Mittal, co-founder and CEO of Stilt. “We are seeing a significant increase in loan applications from immigrants and thin-file customers who are facing even more financial difficulty and uncertainty due to COVID-19. So it is vital that we provide a holistic set of products — from bank accounts, to loans, and remittance — to meet the growing needs of some of our most important, yet underserved populations.”
As the global pandemic continues to make life difficult for everybody, immigrants are being negatively impacted in particular. Families of immigrants and international students are impacted back in their home countries due to lockdowns and reduced work hours, so they need financial assistance to put food on the table. Stilt allows immigrants to instantly remit money back to family in their home countries, all while building credit in the US.
“We are pleased to support Stilt as the team expands its portfolio of financial services products for immigrants and individuals without credit,” said Nick Christian, Head of Specialty Finance at Silicon Valley Bank. “Stilt is in a strong financial position and we have been impressed with the company’s organic customer acquisition. We look forward to expanding our relationship as the company matures to its next phase of growth.”