Sunlight Financial

What Sunlight Financial does

Sunlight Financial is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based point-of-sale financing platform that originates consumer loans for residential solar installations and home improvement projects (roofing, HVAC, windows, remodeling, decks, fencing, energy efficiency, and home automation). The company operates exclusively through a B2B2C channel model, partnering with a nationwide network of over 1,850 contractors and 15,000+ sales professionals who present Sunlight financing options to homeowners at the point of sale. Its technology stack consists of two proprietary platforms: Orange®, a full-featured portal with customizable loan configurations, soft credit pulls, Flex Approvals™, digital e-signature workflows, and API integrations; and Tangerine™, a mobile-first product offering 0% dealer fees and same-day approvals. Sunlight Maxx® (Prime Plus Lending) extends credit approval across the prime-to-subprime spectrum, differentiating Sunlight from competitors that waterfall applicants to multiple lending portals.

The business model is a transaction-fee/take-rate structure: Sunlight earns interest income and origination fees on consumer loans funded through its platform, with loans actually made through partner bank Cross River Bank. The company has cumulatively funded over $10 billion in loans across 240,000+ solar systems and processed more than 1 million automated credit requests. Sunlight went public in July 2021 via SPAC merger with Apollo-affiliated Spartan Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: SUNL) before being taken private in October 2023 by a consortium of Leading Solar Industry Investors. Under new CEO Timothy Parsons (appointed January 2024), the company is pursuing a managed-contraction strategy that includes asset-pool sales ($300M solar loan pool sold in January 2024) and product extensions into solar leases via a partnership with IGS Solar. The company faces active regulatory scrutiny: the Texas Attorney General has named Sunlight among ten solar firms under investigation for deceptive sales practices.

Name

Sunlight Financial

Legal name

Sunlight Financial LLC

Website

https://sunlightfinancial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sunlight Financial is a Charlotte-based point-of-sale financing platform that originates consumer loans for residential solar and home improvement projects through a B2B2C network of over 1,850 contractor partners nationwide, using proprietary Orange® and Tangerine™ technology platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Lending

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar Financing, Leasing & Ownership Platforms (Tax Equity, PPA, Securitization) (EUAMABAJ)

Keywords

• Point-of-sale financing
• Consumer lending
• Solar financing
• Home improvement loans
• Contractor financing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consumer Loan Interest and Fees: Sunlight Financial generates revenue primarily through interest income and origination fees on consumer loans made to homeowners for home improvement and solar projects. Contractors act as distribution channels, and Sunlight earns revenue from the spread between origination fees paid by contractors and interest paid by homeowners. The company also offers dealer fee options where contractors pay fees for certain loan products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sunlight Financial is a technology-enabled point-of-sale financing company that partners with home improvement and solar contractors nationwide to offer homeowners loans for residential projects. The company operates two proprietary platforms—Orange® for established contractors and Tangerine™ for growing contractors—enabling digital loan applications, instant credit decisions, and funding within 24 hours. Revenue is generated primarily through interest income and origination fees on consumer loans originated for projects such as roofing, HVAC, windows, solar panels, and interior remodeling.

Product overview

Sunlight Financial is a point-of-sale financing provider for home improvement and solar projects, offering a platform-plus-products architecture. The core technology consists of two proprietary financing platforms: Orange® (for established contractors with advanced customization, reporting, and control features) and Tangerine™ (for growing contractors with mobile-first simplicity and 0% dealer fees). Supporting products include Sunlight Maxx® (Prime Plus Lending) for expanded credit approval across credit tiers, a Solar Lease Program in partnership with IGS Solar, and specialized features like Flex Approvals™ and a Referral Administration Program. The company facilitates loans for diverse home improvement categories (roofing, HVAC, windows, fencing, decks, energy efficiency, automation) and residential solar systems through a network of contractor partners nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Orange®: Comprehensive point-of-sale financing platform for established contractors with advanced reporting, customizable loan configurations, and dashboard controls.
• Tangerine™
• Sunlight Maxx®
• Sunlight Maxx

Products and services

• Orange® Platform A comprehensive, proprietary point-of-sale financing platform for established home improvement and solar contractors, providing advanced reporting, customizable loan configurations, promotional terms, soft credit pulls, side-by-side payment comparisons, fully digital applications with e-signatures, and dashboard controls. Enables contractors to process financing for projects up to $100,000.
• Tangerine™ Platform A mobile-first point-of-sale financing platform for growing contractors, featuring 0% dealer fees on all fixed-term options, QR/text-enabled tools for instant customer applications, and funding as fast as 24 hours. Supports loan terms up to 15 years with approvals down to 600 FICO.
• Solar Financing Point-of-sale consumer loan financing for residential solar systems, including solar panels, batteries, and solar roofs. Features flexible terms at fixed interest rates with initial payments due 90 days after installation. Includes 30-year loan options launched in April 2022.
• Home Improvement Financing Consumer loan financing for home improvement projects including roofing, HVAC, windows, interior remodels, decks and patios, fencing, energy efficiency upgrades, and home automation. Supports loan amounts up to $100,000.
• Solar Lease Program Residential solar lease solutions offered in partnership with IGS Solar and distributed through Sunlight's Orange® portal, providing installers with lease options alongside traditional loan products. Includes lease quote comparisons and document signing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $10 billion in funded loans
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IGS SolarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2024Two solar industry leaders partnered to offer a comprehensive suite of solar financing solutions. Sunlight's seamless sales process was paired with lease options from IGS Solar to diversify installer selling options and meet growing lease needs. Installers access both loan and lease products through Sunlight's Orange® portal.
• Solar InsureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2023Partnership to offer a 30-year monitoring and warranty service for residential solar installations, providing comprehensive protection for homeowners and enhancing installer value proposition.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GoodLeap: GoodLeap is the largest U.S. point-of-sale residential solar and home improvement financing platform, with a near-identical B2B2C contractor-distribution model and a similar full-credit-spectrum offering. It is the closest direct competitor to Sunlight in the solar finance channel.
• Mosaic: Mosaic provides residential solar and home improvement financing through a contractor channel model closely comparable to Sunlight's Orange platform, with a similar focus on simplifying credit decisions and funding speed at the point of sale.
• Loanpal: Loanpal is a large residential solar loan originator that distributes financing through installer partners in a model structurally identical to Sunlight's, including broad credit-spectrum lending and forward-flow/whole-loan sale strategies.
• Dividend Finance: Dividend Finance originates residential solar and energy-efficiency loans through a national installer network, directly comparable to Sunlight's solar contractor channel and lease/loan product mix.
• EnerBank: EnerBank is a Utah-chartered industrial bank that funds home improvement contractor point-of-sale financing. While it is a bank rather than a fintech platform, its contractor-distributed home improvement loan model directly overlaps Sunlight's non-solar business.
• Service Finance: Service Finance is a home improvement financing provider focused on contractor point-of-sale lending across roofing, HVAC, and remodeling, directly competing with Sunlight for contractor partnerships and homeowner loans.
• GreenSky (Goldman Sachs): GreenSky was a public home improvement point-of-sale financing platform acquired by Goldman Sachs; it pioneered the contractor-distributed loan model that Sunlight operates and serves as a key historical reference point for the category's economics.

Broad incumbents

• LightStream (Truist): LightStream is a Truist-owned online consumer lender offering unsecured home improvement loans. It competes indirectly with Sunlight for the same end-borrower wallet but does not use the contractor channel model.
• Synchrony Financial: Synchrony is one of the largest U.S. private-label and point-of-sale credit providers, with deep home improvement contractor relationships via cards and installment products — a broad incumbent against which Sunlight competes for contractor shelf space.

Emerging players

• EnergySage: EnergySage is a solar marketplace that helps homeowners compare installers and increasingly supports financing flows. While not a direct lender, its Demand IQ-style pre-qualification functionality overlaps with Sunlight's contractor lead-conversion strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sunlightloans
• Facebookfacebook.com/SunlightFinancial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunlight-financial
• Instagraminstagram.com/sunlightfinancial

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunlight Financial