Hey Toaster Readers,
This week is sponsored by our friends at Spinwheel.
It’s been a minute. Our last news edition went out September 3, and the Summit consumed most of our attention between then and now. So this one catches up on the stories we flagged over the past few weeks.
The two we’ll start with: Experian announced a new FCRA-regulated consumer reporting agency built on consumer-permissioned bank data, and Mission Lane received conditional OCC approval for a credit card bank charter.
Charter season continues with Upgrade‘s ILC application, Citizens is back in unsecured personal loans with Pagaya, FICO is cutting about 15% of staff while UWM recommits to FICO Scores, and Capital One relaunches the Discover it Secured card with rewards.
Additionally, Chase and IHG rebuilt the IHG One Rewards card portfolio around a new $350 card, SoFi moved its card program to stablecoin settlement on Mastercard‘s network, Vera launched a Mastercard with three switchable rewards modes, Kroger launched a no-fee World Elite Mastercard with Imprint, Branch added high-yield savings to the Uber Pro Card, and Alaska Airlines announced a debit card for 2027.
Back on the weekly cadence from here. Let’s get toasting!
Founders of The Free Toaster
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Experian Unveils Cashflow Data Bureau
A New FCRA-Regulated CRA for Consumer-Permissioned Bank Data
On October 6th, Experian announced Experian Cashflow Data Bureau, Inc. It’s a new consumer reporting agency that operates under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The entity is built to let financial institutions use consumer-permissioned cash flow insights at scale in underwriting. Experian unveiled it at its annual Vision conference in San Antonio.
Experian cites two numbers behind the launch: nearly 1 in 5 consumers lacks access to credit or has damaged credit (per a New York Fed publication), and 60% of consumers who were previously denied credit or received worse terms than expected believe the outcome would have been different if lenders had considered their recent income and banking activity alongside their credit history (per an Experian-commissioned Atomik Research survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, fielded July 16 to 21, 2026).
According to Experian’s analysis, pairing cash flow insights with credit data produces a predictive performance increase of up to 40%, and lenders can increase approvals by up to 25% without adjusting risk tolerance. The footnote says the comparison is against conventional credit scores, tailored to targeted risk tiers, with predictability measured by GINI.
Experian says lenders have asked for a single provider to simplify and operationalize cash flow insights, and describes the bureau as the foundation for an end-to-end ecosystem. The suite includes:
Consumer consent and connectivity: consumers connect and permission bank accounts through Experian when applying for credit.
Cashflow consumer report: bank transaction and balance data organized into a standardized, FCRA-regulated consumer report.
Cashflow Categories: machine learning models that convert transaction data into decision-ready intelligence, processing tens of millions of transactions each day.
Cashflow Attributes and Cashflow Score: predictive insights into a consumer’s financial capacity. Through Experian Activate, Cashflow Attributes can also connect consumers with new financial offers from participating lenders.
Credit and Cashflow Score: described as the industry’s first score combining consumer-permissioned cash flow insights with traditional credit, trended data from Experian Information Services, and Clarity Services information.
Custom analytics and consulting through the Ascend Analytical Sandbox and Experian Decisioning.
Cashflow Attributes for commercial lenders, built from business bank transaction data.
“We’ve spent decades building the trusted data, analytics, technology and expertise financial institutions depend on every day,” said Jeff Softley, CEO of Experian North America. “With Experian Cashflow Data Bureau, we’re applying that experience to cash flow and making it easier for our clients to adopt these insights with confidence and at scale.”
Craig Focardi, Principal Analyst at Celent, said cash flow data and score usage “has been growing steadily” and is expanding credit approvals, but that “lenders’ cash flow underwriting businesses are still scaling, and integrating multiple vendor solutions can increase implementation time and costs.” [Experian]
Toaster’s Take: Two years ago we asked where the demand for cash flow underwriting was; this month alone it has shown up at the marketing stage and now as a bureau. We’ll watch whether Cashflow Score gets a FICO-style adoption path with the big issuers.
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Mission Lane Gets Conditional OCC Approval for a Credit Card Bank Charter
Mission Lane received conditional approval from the OCC on Friday, September 25 to establish Mission Lane Bank, National Association, a credit card bank under the Competitive Equality in Banking Act of 1987. The decision came about five months after the application was submitted. Michele Alt, co-founder at Klaros Group, which assisted on the application, told Banking Dive it is the first new OCC-regulated credit card bank in more than 20 years.
The conditions: Mission Lane must raise $35 million in initial paid-in capital within 12 months and maintain a tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 11% through its first three years. FDIC deposit insurance and other pre-opening requirements are still pending; Mission Lane’s own status tracker shows the OCC step complete and three steps remaining. A CEBA charter covers credit card operations only: no demand deposits, no savings or time deposits under $100,000 unless they secure card loans, no commercial loans except small-business cards, and no Federal Reserve oversight.
Mission Lane says it serves almost 3 million customers in 45 states, currently issues through TAB Bank and WebBank, and expects no change to customer accounts, rates, or terms during the transition. It says the charter could support expansion beyond its current footprint. [Banking Dive] [Mission Lane]
Toaster’s Take: We covered the application in April and the broader charter wave in July. Five months to a conditional yes is one of the fastest turnarounds we’ve seen.
Upgrade Applies for an Industrial Loan Company Charter
Upgrade has applied for an industrial loan company charter with the FDIC and the Nevada Financial Institutions Division, the company said on October 12. If approved, Upgrade Bank would operate as “a wholly owned, Nevada-chartered, FDIC-insured subsidiary of Upgrade, Inc. with independent governance and internal controls, adding to Upgrade’s existing business and bank partnerships.” Upgrade says the charter would complement its relationships with partner banks and loan purchasers and let it fund credit products more effectively. Since its 2016 founding, the company says it has delivered “over $53 billion in credit to more than 8.5 million customers.”
Virginia Varela, previously an officer at SoFi Bank, is CEO of Upgrade Bank: “We are excited at the prospect of establishing a new bank that will advance Upgrade’s mission of bringing responsible and affordable credit to consumers.”
American Banker notes the application lands as regulators have approved nearly two dozen national trust charters since 2025, with a comparatively modest uptick in ILC applications (Flex Rent applied in July; Stellantis, General Motors, Ford, and Edward Jones were approved this year). The banking industry’s opposition to ILCs has been “relatively muted in recent years,” in part because of pressure from crypto companies holding national trust charters. [American Banker]
Toaster’s Take: Upgrade joins the list we started tracking in July, and takes the ILC route Affirm chose rather than the national charter Upstart and Mission Lane went for. We last had Upgrade in the IPO-timing conversation in August 2025.
Citizens Returns to Unsecured Personal Loans With Pagaya
Citizens is re-entering unsecured personal lending through a partnership with Pagaya Technologies, American Banker reported on October 8th. The Providence, Rhode Island bank, which decommissioned its previous personal loan platform in 2019, is rolling out direct-to-consumer loans in its app, starting with a targeted in-app marketing program and marketing emails to follow in early November. Loans cap at $35,000. Citizens will originate and service the loans, keep some on its balance sheet, and split the origination fee with Pagaya. “We’re going to continue to evaluate what that mix is, but there will be a mix of [on- and off-balance sheet lending],” said Courtney Mitchell, Citizens head of credit card and unsecured personal lending.
Personal loans are Pagaya’s largest origination pipeline and securitization shelf, per co-founder and president Sanjiv Das: “It is our estimate that we currently have about two and a half percent market share in personal loans.” Citizens is already a frequent investor in Pagaya’s ABS deals. Mitchell said personal loans were “one product that we have not been able to offer our customers,” and that demand showed up both in what customers hold elsewhere and in direct requests. [American Banker]
FICO Cuts About 15% of Staff; UWM Reaffirms FICO Scores on Broker Pulls
Fair Isaac disclosed in an October 6th 8-K that leadership approved a plan on October 1st to eliminate approximately 15% of positions across the company. The filing cites “reducing the number of layers in the organization,” simplifying the operating structure, and “integrating AI-driven product development,” with completion expected by the end of fiscal Q3 2027. FICO expects about $27 million in pre-tax charges in fiscal Q4 2026, mostly severance. Reuters estimated roughly 570 jobs based on 3,811 employees at the end of September 2025. Shares are down about 58% this year, which Reuters tied to the FHFA’s September directive letting lenders deliver loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac using VantageScore, with a single pricing grid for both scores.
The same day, FICO announced that United Wholesale Mortgage is reaffirming its commitment to using FICO Scores on all credit pulls across its broker lending operations, “alongside other eligible scoring models.” Mat Ishbia, UWM president and CEO: “No one should have to worry about which credit model wins.” Under the FICO Score 10T Free Access Program, participating lenders receive FICO Score 10T alongside Classic FICO through dual processing “at no additional fee from FICO.” [SEC 8-K] [Reuters] [FICO]
Toaster’s Take: UWM seems to be taking a Switzerland-like independent stance, not a move away from FICO. We covered FICO’s mortgage pricing move last October and the fee hike in April.
Capital One Relaunches the Discover it Secured Card
Capital One has relaunched the Discover it Secured card as the Discover it Secured Cash Back Credit Card, after applications were halted on June 2 during the transition to Capital One. The card requires no credit score to apply, carries no annual fee, and takes a refundable security deposit of $49, $99, or $200 based on creditworthiness, with a credit line of at least $200 and maximums from $1,000 to $3,000. Rewards: 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories up to a quarterly maximum, 1% on everything else, and Discover’s Cashback Match on all cash back earned in the first 365 days. Credit activity is reported to the three major bureaus, and with a positive track record cardholders can get the deposit back as a statement credit and upgrade to the Discover it Cash Back card. The Discover product page now carries a “You are now on a Capital One webpage” notice and routes applications to Capital One. [Discover] [Doctor of Credit]
Toaster’s Take: The biggest subprime card issuer now has a rewards secured card on its own network. Context from our Capital One Q2 takeaways, where the Discover brand’s role was still an open question.
Chase Introduces IHG One Rewards Premier Select Card and Updates the Full IHG Portfolio
Chase and IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card on October 1 and updated the three other cards in the portfolio. Premier Select carries a $350 annual fee, earns up to 28X points at IHG stays, 6X on dining and other travel, and 3X on everything else, and includes automatic Platinum Elite status, up to $300 a year in food and beverage rewards at IHG properties, a $200 annual airline statement credit, and an anniversary free night with a 60,000-point cap. The launch offer is 200,000 bonus points after $5,000 in purchases within three months.
The updated Premier card ($150 annual fee) adds up to $100 in annual food and beverage rewards and a $100 airline credit, with 180,000 bonus points after $3,000 in spend. The no-fee IHG One Rewards card (formerly the Traveler card) offers 125,000 points after $2,000, and the Business card ($200 annual fee) offers 190,000 after $5,000. Every card now earns elite night credits, with the paid cards adding 2 per $5,000 spent, and all run on Mastercard. Launch offers run through November 18; annual fees on existing cards adjust in 2027. [Business Wire]
SoFi Goes Live With Stablecoin Settlement Across Mastercard’s Network
SoFi and Mastercard announced on September 22 that stablecoin settlement is live across SoFi Bank’s debit and credit card program, which SoFi expects to process more than $25 billion in annualized volume. Settlement uses SoFiUSD, issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., which SoFi describes as the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered bank. It is redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, backed mainly by cash reserves, and available to institutional clients and SoFi’s 15.8 million members. The launch follows a partnership announced in March 2026.
Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, said: “Merchants do not need to hold stablecoins, build new infrastructure or change how they operate.” Per the release, merchants can receive settlement funds instantly in a SoFi Bank account and withdraw to cash at any time at no cost. SoFi says it is in discussions with large U.S. merchants, and the companies plan to explore additional SoFiUSD use cases on Mastercard’s network, including cross-border payments and remittances. Sherri Haymond, Global Head of Digital Commercialization at Mastercard: “With SoFi, we’re moving beyond exploration to implementation.” SoFiUSD is not FDIC insured. [SoFi]
Toaster’s Take: We noted the March partnership as a one-liner; six months later it’s in production on what’s expected to be a $25 billion card book.
Vera Launches a Mastercard With Three Switchable Rewards Modes
Vera, a fintech founded in 2025 and headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, launched the Vera World Mastercard on September 29. Cardholders choose one of three rewards modes and can switch at any time, effective after the next billing cycle: Omni (2 points per dollar on all categories), Nova (3 points per dollar on Apple Pay and Google Pay transactions), and Vita (5 points per dollar on curated categories). The card targets near-prime and prime consumers and includes real-time spending visibility, instant card controls, and smart alerts. It is issued by Cottonwood Payments, a DBA of FinWise Bank, under license from Mastercard, and runs on Zeta‘s processing platform, on which customers have issued more than 25 million cards globally. The release does not disclose the APR, annual fee, or credit limits. Sandeep Sachdeva, CEO of Vera: “Financial products should adapt to customers, not force customers to adapt to them.” [Business Wire]
Toaster’s Take: We first saw Vera in April, when FinWise announced the issuing partnership.
Kroger & Imprint Launch Rewards World Elite Mastercard
Kroger introduced the Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard on September 30, issued by First Bank & Trust and operated by Imprint. The card earns up to 5X points on Kroger.com and app purchases, 4X at participating Kroger fuel pumps, up to 3X in store, 2X on dining, utilities, and travel, and 1X elsewhere, with no annual fee, no spending caps, and points that don’t expire while the account is active. New cardholders get a $100 Kroger reward after $750 in spend outside Kroger within 90 days, a complimentary Boost Essential membership with free next-day delivery on a minimum purchase, and a $10 birthday reward. Megan Shaffer, Group Vice President of Customer Growth and Strategy at Kroger: “It is one more way we’re rewarding customers for the shopping they’re already doing.” [PR Newswire] [Digital Commerce 360]
Toaster’s Take: Same three-party structure as the Fanatics AmEx card and the loyalty-platform pitch from Imprint’s Series D: brand owns the relationship, bank issues, fintech runs it.
See you next week,
Founders of The Free Toaster
P.S.: If you’d like to sponsor or host an event in the consumer lending community in 2027, we’d like to hear from you. Reply to this email or write us at info@thefreetoaster.com.