Case Study: KEMBA Financial Credit Union expands access to affordable credit with Upstart's AI lending platform

Our Goal Is to Lend Responsibly KEMBA Expands Member Reach Through Upstart’s AI Lending Platform

KEMBA Financial Credit Union, a Columbus-based credit union, wanted to expand its digital footprint to give more community members access to affordable credit while maintaining strong risk controls. To move faster to market and broaden lending to borrowers with lower scores, KEMBA partnered with Upstart and adopted Upstart’s AI lending platform and AI-enabled underwriting model.

Upstart implemented an automated, data-driven underwriting solution that analyzes over 1,600 variables to better assess risk, enabling quicker approvals, higher unsecured personal loan amounts, and fairer pricing across credit bands. The partnership let KEMBA serve more members without increasing risk, delivered member NPS scores equal to or slightly higher than KEMBA’s overall experience, and benefited from Upstart’s due diligence (including a CFPB no-action letter) to reassure stakeholders.

KEMBA Financial Credit Union

Brent McCoy

Chief Credit Officer