PurposeMint: The $280 Billion Opportunity

Across the U.S., millions of families are living one emergency away from financial crisis. For many in underserved communities—especially single-income households—the issue isn’t a lack of desire to save, it’s that existing tools weren’t built with them in mind. During our 2025 Blue Ridge Labs focus group, participants shared that mainstream savings apps feel “too technical,” “out of touch,” and “not made for people like us.” This gap keeps communities locked in cycles of financial insecurity and vulnerability.

Meanwhile, a $11 billion predatory lending industry thrives on this instability. Payday loans, rent-to-own schemes, and high-interest credit traps extract wealth from the very people who can least afford it. Nearly 37% of Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency, and for Black and Latino households, 64% have less than a month of savings. This isn’t just a statistic—it’s a systemic barrier to upward mobility.

PurposeMint is a behavior-based, culturally grounded savings app that helps heads of households and caregivers  build emergency funds, develop strong financial habits, and reduce dependency on predatory lending—all while aligning their goals with their values. 

PurposeMint proactively improves a borrower’s financial health before they seek credit. By guiding users to build $500–$1,000 emergency funds at minimum and maintain consistent savings behaviors, we help lower default risk and improve repayment readiness—key metrics for CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) making small-dollar or credit-building loans.

The app collects valuable behavioral insights—such as savings frequency, goal completion, financial stress points, and consistency—that can serve as alternative indicators of financial discipline and borrower reliability. CDFIs can use these insights to better assess and support applicants who may lack traditional credit histories.

Instead of placing the financial burden on our users, we acquire them through partnerships with banks, credit unions, and CDFIs. These institutions currently spend about $300 per account to attract new customers. For a fraction of that cost, PurposeMint delivers high-quality, financially resilient account holders who are more likely to repay loans, remain engaged, and grow into long-term clients.

Through this dual model, we keep PurposeMint affordable and accessible for the people who need it most—while creating tangible value for the institutions that serve them.

Our pilot program, funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Louisiana State University, helped 30 participants save over $500 each in just 6 weeks—proving both impact and need. We also collected insights from 300+ survey responses and a NYC-based focus group during the Blue Ridge Labs fellowship. The consistent feedback? People love PurposeMint’s nonjudgmental tone, behavior-based design, and reward-driven features—because it actually reflects how they live and what they need.

As part of our next phase, we’re pursuing acceptance into FinTech Sandbox to accelerate product development. This program provides early-stage fintech ventures with free access to premium data and APIs, removing one of the biggest barriers to building a strong MVP. If accepted, PurposeMint will gain access to tools and integrations from partners like Plaid, Equifax, and TransUnion. This will allow us to build smarter savings features, offer real-time insights, and strengthen our partnerships with CDFIs and credit unions. By leveraging Sandbox resources, we can speed up prototype development, reduce costs, and focus on co-creating a trusted, culturally grounded financial tool for underserved communities.