OppFi Combines With SPAC; Begins Trading On NYSE

Opportunity Financial, LLC and FG New America Acquisition Corp. have joined forces. The combined new company, now officially known as OppFi, Inc., began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols OPFI (Class A common stock) and OPFI (warrants) on Wednesday (July 21).

OppFi, which will ring the NYSE closing bell on Tuesday (July 27), will continue to be led by CEO Jared Kaplan and CFO Shiven Shah.

“We are tremendously proud of the financial technology platform we have built and our commitment to serving consumers excluded from the traditional banking system through fair, transparent products and an extraordinary customer experience,” said Kaplan in the joint announcement. “We are very excited to move into the public markets and strengthen our position as the financial champion for the nearly 150 million everyday consumers in the United States.”

Kaplan told PYMNTS earlier this year that OppFi offers banks an alternative in credit risk evaluation beyond the traditional FICO score that allows them to extend their services to more customers. The company’s technology product is centered on credit decisioning that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with alternative data streams to “see through what we don’t think is a very predictive metric to determine someone’s creditworthiness,” he said.

“The community banks and regional banks are looking for ways to compete with the much larger banks,” Kaplan told PYMNTS. “This is a massively underserved market, and by getting into it, they can gain some market share.” Part of OppFi’s offering is educational modules designed to teach people how to budget and take better care of their finances. That education content must be connected to its bank products, he said.

“We continue to be very impressed by the significant growth the OppFi team has achieved,” said FGNA Chairman Joe Moglia in the joint announcement. “We look forward to their ongoing expansion as the company builds out its digital and data-driven platform to reach the millions of consumers who could benefit from expanded access to financial products.”