OnePay and Upgrade Team on Personal Loan Program

Walmart -backed OnePay has teamed with fellow FinTech Upgrade to launch a consumer loan program.

OnePay’s Personal Loans offering, announced Monday (July 20), is aimed at addressing what the company describes as rising consumer demand for credit amid increasing costs and a stricter lending environment.

“Getting access to credit in America today is harder than it should be,” Omer Ismail , CEO of OnePay, said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

“It’s never been more important to give consumers access to financing that’s simple, transparent, and meets them where they already are — and we’re excited to partner with Upgrade to introduce another financing option for our customers with OnePay Personal Loans.”

With this partnership, OnePay customers can apply for loans of $1,000 to $50,000 and receive/accept offers within the OnePay app, with approval and amount subject to eligibility. Customers who do their banking with OnePay can receive funds within the same day, the release added.

OnePay Personal Loans are powered by Upgrade, a consumer credit FinTech, allowing OnePay to offer larger-dollar lending within its app while taking advantage of Upgrade’s lending infrastructure and expertise.

“Our personal loans offer consumers the breathing room they need to get on the best financial path,” said Renaud Laplanche , Upgrade’s co-founder and CEO. “We’re proud that this partnership makes that resource more accessible to millions of OnePay customers.”

The new offering comes at a time when — as recent PYMNTS Intelligence research suggests — consumers increasingly think of credit as a source of cash flow management , rather than a tool for discretionary spending.

As covered here earlier this month, the research shows that many households still face pressure from higher living costs even as spending remains more or less steady.

“Households are reprioritizing expenses , drawing on savings less frequently than in the past and using credit selectively to bridge the timing gap between income and bills,” PYMNTS wrote.

“For younger consumers in particular, that role appears to be evolving rather than expanding.”

The research indicates that younger borrowers are still frequent credit users, but have become more deliberate about which products they employ, with credit card installment plans outpacing buy now, pay later ( BNPL ) products among Gen Z, millennials and bridge millennials by around a margin of 2 to 1.

“The broader PYMNTS research also indicates that credit is functioning less as a vehicle for discretionary purchases than as a financial management tool,” the report added. “Many households are using credit to smooth the timing mismatch between paychecks and expenses instead of financing impulse purchases.”