The subprime fintech lender LendUp is spinning its credit card business off into a new standalone company.
The credit card business, including its intellectual property, technology and team in addition to the card portfolio, will be known as Mission Lane, the San Francisco firm announced Thursday. The company said that an undisclosed investment led by LL Funds LLC and Invus Opportunities had allowed it to scale up its credit card business.
LendUp said that it will continue to focus on personal loans, gamified education and savings. The company said it expects no immediate impact to customers as a result of the change. LendUp pitches itself as an alternative to payday lenders and promises a mobile-friendly experience and speedy borrower decisions.
The company also announced two executive changes on Thursday, naming Anu Shultes the new CEO of LendUp and Vijesh Iyer as interim CEO of Mission Lane.
Shultes succeeds founder Sasha Orloff as CEO. Orloff will remain a board member at LendUp and will work with Mission Lane as an adviser.
“We’re on track to profitably expand into new consumer segments and geographies, launch new loan products, double new customer originations, and carry on our mission to help anyone get on a path to better financial health,” Shultes said in a press release.
Shultes joined LendUp over a year ago as general manager of loans. Before that, she was chief operating officer at Swych, a mobile gift card platform. She has also held a number of roles pertaining to subprime credit cards, subprime loans and gift cards for other companies including Blackhawk Network, National City Bank and Providian.
Iyer was previously LendUp’s COO. He joined LendUp in 2015 and has previously worked at Capital One, Cerberus Capital and PayPal. Mission Lane is currently searching for a permanent CEO and has also added Raj Mundy of LL Funds and Ben Tsai of Invus Opportunities to its board.
