Fintech Startup, Qoins, Has Paid Over $20M In Consumer Debt
A fintech startup helping the Black community get financial freedom has reportedly reached its latest milestone of paying over $20 million in consumer debt.
Qoins is currently attacking the $1.3 trillion worth of student loan debt and $951 Billion of credit card debt in the US.
Users download the app from the iOS App Store or Google Play. You add your name, phone number, and email, then the accounts that you want Qoins to take change from and add to.
The app monitors your checking, or “funding” account, for regular charges and rounds them up to the nearest dollar. When you’ve made enough charges that add up to $5.00 worth of change, the app transfers it from the “funding” account, and stores it in your Qoins account.
At the end of the month, Qoins uses the accumulated change to pay your lender.
Co-founder Nate Washington told AfroTech: “People of color, we tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to interest rates.
“I can go into a whole spiel about how the credit score system is against us. For us, being able to see that impact and continue to get those testimonials where people tell us, ‘Hey, you really helped me pay off my student loans or my credit card and now I can actually do something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time,’ — it’s just humbling, and that’s one of the things that keeps us going for sure.”
As previously reported by AfroTech, Qoins’ first debit card, Qoins Card, is currently in the works — with the help of their $1.5 million funding round earlier this year — and is described as “the debit card that pays off your debt faster.”
Washington and fellow co-founder Christian Zimmerman have seen an influx of customer testimonials.
Who are the founders?
Qoins was founded in May of 2016 by Christian Zimmerman, an alumnus from Georgia State University. He was 23-years-old and working at Hirewire, another fast-growing startup when he first set up Qoins.
Nate Washington, the company’s co-founder previously worked as a criminal justice major turned programmer. His apps have won a few local competitions around Georgia.
