his investment led by IA Ventures will drive new product development, market expansion, and further January’s mission to facilitate the empathetic resolution of all written off and past-due debt.

December 04, 2023 06:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–January Technologies, Inc. (“January”) announced that it has raised $12 million in Series B financing, preempted and led by existing investor IA Ventures. Existing investors Brewer Lane Ventures, Third Prime, and Reciprocal Ventures, along with new investors such as Upper90, Shrug Capital, and numerous strategic angel investors, joined IA Ventures in the current round. The current round follows January’s $10 million Series A fundraise in 2022.

“January’s continued investment in our relationship has paid dividends operationally, in driving greater recoveries, and in creating a more positive borrower experience.”

January is a fintech company humanizing debt collection, helping borrowers regain financial stability while driving creditors to modernize collections. January’s debt resolution platform rehabilitates relationships with borrowers, drives net recoveries, and reduces risk. January works with leading banks, credit unions, debt buyers, and fintech lenders. Ultimately, January is building the single platform for creditors to address all of their collection and recovery needs.

January has exhibited meaningful growth and established itself as a leader in the debt collection industry. Since their Series A, January has helped hundreds of thousands of Americans resolve their debt and has helped millions more move forward on their paths to financial freedom.

During the same period, they quadrupled their revenues as well as their client count. January’s client portfolio includes some of the nation’s largest lenders — ranging from top-20 card issuers and banks, to publicly-traded fintechs, top-10 credit unions, and debt buyers. As they’ve signed new clients and expanded relationships with existing ones since their Series A, they’ve experienced a 5x increase in monthly accounts.

The status quo in the debt collection industry creates worse outcomes for both consumers and creditors. This industry has historically been rife with harassment, trauma, and legal implications for creditors and borrowers. 70 million Americans are directly impacted by debt collection annually. More than one in four borrowers experience threatening tactics from collectors. Unsurprisingly, debt collection ranks as one of the top three most complained about sectors in consumer finance.

Data is at the root of so many of the challenges that affect consumers and creditors. Poor data integrity — from outdated technology systems — introduces risk and inefficiency for creditors, while provoking poor experiences for borrowers. All of this leads to poor recoveries, inadequate compliance (e.g. lawsuits), harmed brands (e.g. complaints), and ineffective oversight for creditors. Creditors risk regulatory fines, their margins, and reputations when using traditional collection practices.

As consumers increasingly struggle to pay their bills, delinquencies continue to rise, reinforcing the need for a humane solution in this space. Over the past two years, delinquencies have risen by 35% and savings rates have dropped by 54%.

January envisions a world where financial recovery is a possibility for all, where the common experience of being behind on ones’ payments doesn’t lead to shame, harassment, and undue pressure. January is shaping a future in which individuals who fall behind on payments are no longer treated like criminals, because debt isn’t going away. In a field long avoided by innovation due to its reputation, January is boldly stepping forward to redefine the narrative around debt.

“IA is excited to triple-down and lead January’s Series B, bringing a customer-centric collections experience to every borrower in the country and funding the business to profitability. January has proven that industry-leading recovery rates and happy borrowers is not only possible, but reliable at scale, across millions of borrowers served.

We’ve worked with January for six years since leading their seed round, and have seen them outperform every expectation of the most demanding financial services brands in the country. People expect their banks to offer complete transparency, intuitive mobile and web access, and empathetic customer support available 24/7 across digital channels, and debt collection should be an extension of that experience. Legacy collections agencies treat borrowers like criminals, and January has shown that treating borrowers like customers works better. The platform is poised to scale to every creditor in the US and beyond and fix this historically broken relationship.” – Jesse Beyroutey, Managing Partner, IA Ventures.

Higher quality, real time, and extensive data fuels more personalized borrower engagement and outreach, streamlines internal operations, and allows for codified rules and regulations — resulting in efficient, compassionate, and compliant collections practices.

January’s third-party collection service is 150x more efficient than traditional methods and is the #1 source of debt recovery for 90% of their clients. January receives industry-leading ratings and reviews from borrowers — earning 4.8/5 Stars on Google Reviews, redefining industry standards.

“January’s continued investment in our relationship has paid dividends operationally, in driving greater recoveries, and in creating a more positive borrower experience.” – Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union

“For a long time, we toiled away with the belief that treating consumers in a more compassionate manner would achieve better outcomes for consumers and creditors alike. The desire to create a better system drove our team, while we lacked statistical significance to substantiate our conviction. As our approach has touched millions of consumers’ lives, we hear weekly from borrowers expressing profound gratitude for resolving their financial challenges in a manner that upholds their dignity. The latest round empowers us to scale a new standard of compassionate collections to tens of millions more. Together with leading financial institutions, we’re not just dreaming of a more empathetic financial ecosystem. We’re actively building it.” – Jake Cahan, Founder and CEO, January

From their product, to their client base, to their team, January has scaled significantly since their Series A fundraise, and the team is excited about what’s to come in 2024. Since their Series A fundraise in 2022, January has created a compassionate, effective debt resolution experience for millions of borrowers, signed leading financial institutions in the banking, credit union, fintech lending (including BNPL space), and doubled the size of their team. With this new funding round, January is focused on scaling their core product line to the largest financial institutions in the country and launching a solution to address creditors’ needs around delinquent accounts before reaching the point of charge-off.

January will continue to level up the standard in debt collection, demonstrating that empathy and innovation can indeed reshape an entire industry.

About January

January is setting a new standard for humanized debt collection. January helps borrowers get out of debt, while helping creditors improve their collections, preserve relationships with borrowers, and ensure compliance. January’s digital-first, empathetic approach to collections and recoveries increases performance, decreases risk, and creates better borrower experiences. By establishing a platform built on trust and transparency, creditors and borrowers both look to January for a better collection and recovery experience. As consumers increasingly struggle to pay their bills, delinquencies will continue to rise, reinforcing the need for a humane solution in this space.

January partners with leading banks, fintechs, credit unions, and debt buyers to optimize their existing debt collection strategies — enabling them to increase collections efficiency, improve recoveries, and create happier borrowers. January is 150x more efficient than traditional collections agencies and is the top performing agency for over 90% of their clients, all the while achieving industry-leading reviews from borrowers on Google Reviews and Better Business Bureau. Learn more at https://www.january.com/

Contacts

Caroline Boyland
Marketing Lead, January
caroline.boyland@january.com