Aura, a US-based fintech firm that offers affordable loans to low-income households, has received a $10m investment from Prudential Financial.

The fresh infusion will enable Aura to boost its lending capacity.

Aura, targeted at the underbanked and unbanked in the US, was launched in 2014.

Since its inception, the company lent around $500m in loans to more than 350,000 borrowers.

The firm has secured $100m in equity funding and over $403m in social bonds across 21 bond issuances till date.

Prudential director of strategic initiatives & impact investments Gerald Pambo-Awich said: “Our investment in Aura will help further accelerate our ongoing work to increase access to capital among those who might otherwise go without it and put more individuals and families on the path to financial wellness.”

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Unlike traditional lenders, Aura’s technology is said to go beyond the credit score to assess the repaying ability of people borrowing money.

Of Aura’s borrowers, two-thirds are said to have increased their credit score by 285 points on an average from their first to second loan.

Aura CEO James Gutierrez said: “At Aura, we harness data to provide affordable loans to borrowers with low or no credit.

“As borrowers pay back their loans, they build credit, which makes it easier to achieve their dreams.”