AWARD YEAR
2023
CATEGORY
Home
GOALS
Decent Work & Economic Growth, Innovative Financial System
KEYWORDS
Debt , loans, Payment, credit card, financial services
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Debbie
WEBSITE
https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickdaso/2022/05/26/debbie-raises-12m-to-incentivize-individuals-to-pay-off-their-debt/?sh=6359098177e8
Debbie
Get paid while paying off debts
How does it work?
Debbie is a "habit-shifting rewards platform" that leverages behaviour psychology to craft financial products that give users a path out of debt and towards a healthier financial future. Debbie offers its users a rewards platform for debt payoff, putting them on track to be net worth and cash flow positive. The startup encourages positive and constructive behaviour with financial incentives for users to build good financial habits.
Debbie relies on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and behavioural psychology to help users glean insights into the drivers behind their spending habits. By bringing these spending habit insights to the forefront of a user’s attention via the app, the startup is able to design real-time rewards actions to gradually shift the spender’s behaviour (Forbes)
Why is it needed?
Credit card usage has grown exponentially since first introduced in the 70s. While it enabled a consumption-driven economy to grow to new economic heights, the reliance on credit has left people stranded with poor financial habits.
Now, more than ever Americans are in debt, without a way to climb out of their financial hole. Consumer credit card debt clocked in at $841B in the first quarter of 2022. With such massive debt, it's unlikely that every user can pay off their balance promptly. (Forbes)
How does it improve life?
In May 2022, Debbie raised $1.2m from One Way Ventures, BDMI, TA Ventures, Village Global, Green Egg Ventures, Liquid2 Ventures, If Then Ventures, Dipanjan Bhattacharjee and several other angel investors (Forbes).