Fortiva Retail Credit

What Fortiva Retail Credit does

Fortiva Retail Credit is a technology-enabled second-look point-of-sale consumer credit program operated by Atlanticus Services Corporation (a subsidiary of publicly traded Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, NASDAQ: ATLC) and issued by The Bank of Missouri under a managed-services arrangement. The program targets near-prime US consumers — primarily FICO 550-700 applicants declined by prime lenders — through three product lines: store-branded private label credit cards, Visa/Mastercard co-branded credit cards, and closed-end installment loans, with credit limits reported between $1,000 and $40,000. Backed by Atlanticus's roughly 30-year operating history, Fortiva serves large national and regional retailers across furniture, home improvement, automotive, specialty retail, jewelry, and elective healthcare verticals, with named anchor customers including American Signature Furniture, Daniel's Jewelers, Mor Furniture for Less, Jerome's Furniture, Transform Home Improvements (formerly Sears), and Byte (Dentsply Sirona).

The core platform is cloud-based (AWS), mobile-first, and API-first, featuring 100% automated decisioning that returns second-look credit approvals in seconds. Underwriting is driven by 40+ proprietary machine-learning models trained on 40 billion cells of data accumulated across Atlanticus's 20 million-customer servicing history and $40 billion in cumulative consumer loan originations. Fortiva distributes through direct enterprise sales, a Synchrony waterfall integration that automatically reroutes declined prime applicants, and pre-built platform connectors with 10+ technology partners including ServiceTitan, Storis, LendPro, VersatileCredit, CareCredit, ChargeAfter, and Jifiti. Back-office operations are supported from Atlanta (HQ), Perryville, MO (issuing bank), Panama City, London, India, and the Philippines.

Fortiva monetizes through merchant transaction and program-management fees (custom-priced per merchant, structured as multi-year contracts), consumer interest income on revolving and installment balances, and Atlanticus's program-management and servicing fees earned on behalf of The Bank of Missouri. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is tailored to each merchant's approval and cost objectives, with merchants reporting up to 30% ticket-size uplift, up to 35% approval on prime declines, and up to 50% incremental credit approvals at top-performing partners. The program was recognized as Fortune's #1 Fastest-Growing Company in 2021 and remained in the top 5 in 2022, and was named to IBD's Best Companies of 2021.

Name

Fortiva Retail Credit

Legal name

Atlanticus Services Corporation

Website

https://fortivaretailcredit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Fortiva Retail Credit is a second-look point-of-sale consumer credit program for near-prime US consumers (FICO 550-700), offering private label, co-branded, and installment financing to retailers through AI/ML underwriting backed by Atlanticus's 30-year data history.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Lending

NAICS

Sales Financing (52222), Credit Card Issuing (52221), Credit Card Issuing (522210), Sales Financing (522220)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Label / Store Credit Cards (FSAKABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Checkout POS Financing) (FSAGAIAA), BNPL Card / Virtual Card Programs (FSAKACAC), Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Online Checkout) (FSAKACAA), Retail Credit (Closed-End) & Promotional Financing (0%/Deferred Interest) (FSAKAFAF), Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) (CRAFALAD)

Keywords

• Second look financing
• Consumer credit
• Private label cards
• Point-of-sale lending
• Near-prime underwriting

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction/Fees from Merchants: Fortiva Retail Credit charges merchants a fee for providing financing services. The business development team tailors fee structures to meet merchant objectives. This includes fees for second look financing approvals that help merchants convert otherwise lost sales.
2. Consumer Credit Interest: Interest income generated from revolving lines of credit issued to consumers. Credit limits range from $1,000 to $40,000 with competitive APR. Interest amortizes over two years.
3. Program Management Fees: Atlanticus Services Corporation manages and services the Fortiva Retail Credit program on behalf of The Bank of Missouri, generating revenue through program management and servicing fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fortiva Retail Credit is a technology-enabled second look point-of-sale consumer credit program that provides alternative financing to consumers declined by prime lenders. Issued by The Bank of Missouri and managed by Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, it offers private label credit cards, co-branded credit cards, and installment loans through retail merchant partners. The platform uses 100% automated AI/ML decisioning with 40+ models trained on 40 billion cells of proprietary data to approve near-prime consumers (FICO 550-700) in seconds.

Product overview

Fortiva Retail Credit is a technology-enabled second look point-of-sale consumer credit program platform offered through a partnership with The Bank of Missouri and managed by Atlanticus Holdings Corporation. The platform provides three core financing products: Private Label Credit Cards (store-branded), Co-branded Credit Cards (Visa/Mastercard accepted), and Installment Loans. All products are powered by the same underlying Second Look Financing Program infrastructure, which features automated instant decisioning, proprietary underwriting analytics trained on 40 billion data cells, and seamless omnichannel integration capabilities for in-store, online, and mobile environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Second Look Financing Program A technology-enabled second look point-of-sale consumer credit program providing alternative financing to consumers declined by prime lenders, leveraging instant automated decisioning and deep underwriting analytics trained on 40 billion cells of data.
• Private Label Credit Cards Store-branded credit cards that encourage repeat purchases and brand loyalty, exclusively usable at partner retail locations.
• Co-branded Credit Cards Jointly offered credit cards accepted anywhere Visa or Mastercard is accepted while promoting partner brand affiliation and earning rewards.
• Installment Loans Closed-end debt products repaid by borrowers with equal payments over a set period, ideal for high-ticket items or services where affordability is a barrier. Credit limits range from $1,000 to $40,000 with interest amortized over two years.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 30% increase in average ticket size for merchant partners
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered merchant partner, core, key account, strategic and integration partner.

• Jerome's Furnituremerchant partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 January 2025Second look merchant partnership announced January 2025. Fortiva provides financing solutions to help Jerome's Furniture approve and retain more consumers at point of sale.
• Mor Furniture for Lessmerchant partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 October 2024New partnership with premier furniture retailer on the West Coast. Mor Furniture ranks among top 100 furniture retailers in the US. Partnership expands consumer financing options for home furnishings purchases.
• Synchrony FinancialcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 26 June 2024Enhanced multi-year partnership where Fortiva Retail Credit (via Atlanticus) is the preferred second look financing solution for Synchrony's private label credit cards and installment loan products. Streamlined enrollment process and favorable merchant pricing. Partnership enables customers declined by Synchrony to receive instant second look for credit products.
• Bytemerchant partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 April 2024Multi-year program with Byte, a leading at-home clear aligner provider owned by Dentsply Sirona. Partnership provides second look financing to help more people access oral healthcare financing.
• Daniel's Jewelerskey accountChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 21 March 2023Multi-year exclusive partnership with family-operated specialty jeweler with 100+ stores across California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, and Florida. Fortiva helps Daniel's approve more consumers with seamless point-of-sale application process.
• ChargeAfterstrategicTechnology or Integration · 23 June 2022ChargeAfter extended and expanded strategic relationship with Fortiva Retail Credit to expand reach of its industry-leading second look program through ChargeAfter's multi-lender platform.
• American Signature Furniturekey accountChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 May 2022Multi-year partnership renewal. American Signature Inc. (Value City Furniture, American Signature Furniture) operates 125 stores nationwide. Partnership since 2012 provides customers critical financing options at point of sale.
• ServiceTitanintegration partnerTechnology or IntegrationPre-built integration with ServiceTitan's field service management platform, enabling seamless financing for home improvement and HVAC service contractors.
• JifitistrategicTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Jifiti expands Fortiva's multi-lender white-label BNPL solution. Jifiti's smart-routing waterfall technology automatically passes declined customers to Fortiva for second look evaluation, increasing acceptance rates.
• LendProintegration partnerTechnology or IntegrationPlatform integration enabling Fortiva Retail Credit financing through LendPro's lending platform for retailers.
• VersatileCreditintegration partnerTechnology or IntegrationPlatform integration partner for point-of-sale financing solutions.
• Storisintegration partnerTechnology or IntegrationPlatform integration partner for retail financing solutions.
• Retail Architectsintegration partnerTechnology or IntegrationPlatform integration partner for retail financing solutions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Concora Credit: Concora Credit (operated by Genesis Financial Solutions, formerly known as Genesis Bankcard Services) specializes in subprime and near-prime private label and general purpose credit cards. Closest direct competitor in the near-prime credit card product niche.
• Progressive Leasing: Progressive Leasing (a subsidiary of PROG Holdings) is the largest U.S. lease-to-own provider, serving furniture, appliance, electronics, and specialty retail. Competes for the same near-prime point-of-sale financing opportunity at the same merchant verticals.
• Snap Finance: Snap Finance provides lease-to-own and financing solutions for near-prime and credit-challenged consumers at furniture, mattress, and home improvement retailers. Directly competes for the same merchant relationships and near-prime customer base.
• CareCredit (Synchrony): CareCredit is the dominant healthcare financing card, serving dental, vision, veterinary, and elective medical providers. Fortiva actually integrates with CareCredit, but CareCredit itself is a direct competitor for healthcare and dental merchant partnerships.
• Bread Financial (formerly Alliance Data Systems): Bread Financial is one of the largest private label and co-branded credit card issuers in the U.S., serving major retailers with branded credit programs. Direct competitor in the merchant-integrated store credit card space and a logical alternative for retailers shopping for financing partners.
• Comenity Capital Bank: Comenity issues private label and co-branded credit cards for hundreds of retail brands across apparel, home, and specialty. Directly competes with Fortiva for retail credit card programs and overlapping vertical exposure.
• American First Finance: American First Finance provides lease-purchase and financing programs for near-prime consumers at furniture, mattress, tire, and home improvement retailers. Direct competitor in the second look point-of-sale financing category.

Broad incumbents

• Affirm: Affirm is a major public BNPL platform expanding from prime into near-prime consumer credit, integrated at merchant checkout. Overlapping merchant network and point-of-sale distribution model; threat of encroachment into Fortiva's niche.
• Synchrony Financial: Synchrony is the dominant U.S. private label credit card issuer and Fortiva's primary waterfall partner. Operates across virtually every retail vertical Fortiva serves but focuses on prime consumers; Fortiva exists in part to absorb Synchrony's declines.

Emerging players

• Sunbit: Sunbit provides point-of-sale financing for near-prime consumers in automotive, healthcare, and home services. Emerging competitor in the second look / near-prime POS financing category with overlapping vertical focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fortiva_rc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Fortiva Retail Credit