American First Finance
“Can a proprietary underwriting algorithm become the default POS financing layer for credit-underserved consumers across 20,000+ U.S. retail locations?”
Founded in 2013, American First Finance started as a lease-to-own (rent-to-own) and retail installment sales contract provider targeting consumers with poor, fair, or no credit at brick-and-mortar retail. Over time, the company broadened into a multi-product POS financing platform — adding Retail Installment Sale Agreements, an eCommerce plugin, and, most significantly, an embedded bank loan program through FinWise Bank. The FinWise partnership is the key embedded finance inflection: AFF acts as servicer while FinWise originates, underwrites, and holds the paper, enabling AFF to offer bank-rate installment loans without holding a bank charter. The company now operates a proprietary AI-based underwriting decisioning engine and markets itself as the infrastructure layer for retailers serving the credit-underserved consumer segment.