Mar 1, 2013, 3:52pm

LendUp has been named as a finalist for a 2013 Innovator Award in the category of Best Newcomer. One of five finalists in the category, LendUp is being recognized as a leader in the payments industry. Voting is open now through March 7 on PYMNTS.com with the winners being announced during a live ceremony hosted by The Office’s B.J. Novak on March 21 from The Innovation Project, a two-day program that will challenge the way that the payments and broader commerce ecosystem thinks, develops, and ignites innovation. LendUp is being recognized for disrupting payday lending.

“It is incredibly inspiring to see such support by both the banking and payments communities to solve one of the most controversial financial issues of our day – short term credit,” said Co-founder & CEO Sasha Orloff. “We're not just encouraged, but honored to be nominated as innovators with the potential to affect not just business but social opportunity as well.”

The Innovation Project 2013 delegates include senior executives and elite innovators from every aspect of the payments and broader commerce ecosystem, worldwide. The Innovation Project is hosted by PYMNTS.com, the leading source of news and content on “what’s next” in payments innovation, and is taking place on March 20-21 at Harvard University. One of its five modules includes pairing industry CEOs with external thought leaders such as Al Gore (former U.S. VP), Steve Levitt (Freakonomics), Eric Reis (The Lean Startup), Rosie Rios (U.S. Treasurer), Russell Simmons (Rush Card), Raj Date (CFPB), and Josh Lerner (Architecture of Innovation) to challenge the conventional wisdom around what it will take to get merchants and consumers to adopt new ways to shop and pay. Warren Buffett is the program’s keynote.

For more information on LendUp and its innovative lending platform visit http://www.lendup.com. To see the list of other finalists and to vote, click here, and to request an invitation to participate as a delegate please visit theinnovationproject2013.com.

About LendUp

LendUp is a socially responsible lender dedicated to helping people meeting their short and long term financial needs. LendUp loans are a stepping-stone towards better credit, and all the products we offer are a commitment to getting our customers to a better financial state. We do this through integrated transparency, financial education, and credit building opportunities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the convenience of any computer or smart phone. LendUp is proudly based in San Francisco, California and is backed by prestigious Silicon Valley venture capitalists including Kleiner Perkins, Startfund, Y-Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, Thomvest Ventures, Kapor Capital, Bronze Investments, Data Collective and many prominent angels.

About The Innovation Project

Over 2 days, 100 speakers and 500 senior members of the payments industry will change the way that the payments and its broader commerce ecosystem thinks, talks, delivers and ignites innovation. On March 20^th and 21^st the greatest minds in commerce and payments will assemble at Harvard University near Boston to kick the conversation about innovation up to an entirely different level at a program called The Innovation Project. Speakers and delegates are among the most senior executives and elite innovators from literally every established payments company worldwide, along with the CEOs of the most innovative startups in the space. One of its five modules includes pairing industry CEOs with external thought leaders such as Al Gore (former U.S. VP), Steve Levitt (Freakonomics), Eric Reis (The Lean Startup), Rosie Rios (U.S. Treasurer), Russell Simmons (Rush Card), Raj Date (CFPB), and Josh Lerner (The Architecture of Innovation) to challenge the conventional wisdom around what it will take to get merchants and consumers to adopt new ways to shop and pay. Warren Buffett is the program’s keynote. The Innovation Project also hosts the industry’s 2013 PYMNTS.com Innovator Awards, given to 15 of the industry’s top innovators over dinner, which this year will be emceed by B.J. Novak of The Office and will introduce delegates to 40 of the hottest “next generation” payments innovators.

About PYMNTS.com

PYMNTS.com is reinventing the way in which companies in payments share relevant information about the initiatives that shape the future of commerce and make news. This powerful B2B platform is the #1 site for the payments industry by traffic and the premier source of information about “what’s next” in payments. C-suite and VP level executives read it daily for these insights, making the PYMNTS.com audience the most valuable in the industry. It provides an interactive platform for companies to demonstrate thought leadership, popularize products and, most importantly, capture the mindshare of global decision-makers. It’s where the best minds and best content meet on the web.