Propel Holdings (TSX: PRL) is a fintech on a mission to build a new world of financial opportunity. With a portfolio that includes CreditFresh, MoneyKey, Fora Credit, and QuidMarket, Propel has helped over one million consumers access more than $2 billion in credit.
With record-breaking financial results, and a rapidly expanding international footprint, Propel Holdings is redefining what financial inclusion looks like in fintech. At the heart of this momentum is Noah Buchman, Chief Revenue Officer, who is responsible for driving growth, partnerships, and platform expansion.
In this exclusive conversation with Fintech.ca, Noah shares his perspective on how Propel is leveraging AI, strategic acquisitions, and partnerships to scale impact and performance in underserved markets across the U.S., Canada, and the UK.
What does Propel do in the market and what makes it unique?
NB: When we started Propel, we saw an opportunity to serve the consumers traditional banks overlook, so we built an end-to-end fintech platform designed to move fast, scale seamlessly, and make smarter decisions using AI. The technology that we built is what sets us apart, enables us to process up to 66,000 applications daily, and growing, and deliver lending decisions in under six seconds.
Our AI-driven infrastructure powers everything we do, supporting over $2 billion in credit across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Whether through our own consumer brands or in partnership with banks, we’ve created a high-performance infrastructure that is built for speed, scale, and sustainable profitable growth, all while expanding access to credit for more people.
How does Propel approach partnerships, and what role do they play in your mission to expand financial access?
NB: We pursue partnerships that align with our mission of credit inclusion and support our long-term growth strategy. With our bank partners in particular, the growth is mutual, built on shared values, complementary strengths, and a commitment to expanding access to credit for underserved consumers. Every partnership must make both financial and strategic sense. We focus on opportunities that offer distinct advantages, whether through unique distribution channels, access to new consumer segments, or geographic expansion. Partners turn to Propel to power credit products that reach more consumers and expand credit access responsibly by ensuring the right product for the right customer.
What makes a successful partnership and how does Propel ensure values alignment?
NB: A successful partnership starts with mission aligned companies and a clear view and understanding of the partnership’s objectives and road map. It is critical that both partners know what they want to achieve out of the partnership, and they are both incentivized for its success. Post launch, that is followed by consistent and clear communication between the parties. Mutual trust and mutual success are the foundation of our longest-lasting partnerships.
What is LAAS and what role does Lending-as-a-Service play in Propel’s strategy?
NB: Lending as a Service (LaaS) is a core part of our growth strategy. Through this offering, we leverage our proven infrastructure, technology, and servicing expertise to support banks and other partners in expanding their online lending capabilities. In essence, we provide the full end-to-end platform that enables partners to offer a lending product while we earn revenue on a fee-for-service basis.
LaaS allows us to scale efficiently, generate recurring service revenue, and deepen our presence in the financial ecosystem by helping partners serve more consumers.
In Canada, you announced a partnership with KOHO last year. How is that going and are you looking at building other partnerships like that?
NB: The partnership with KOHO is going extremely well. We are both focused on the consumers in Canada locked out of the mainstream banking system. We know that Canada is a market that is ripe for fintech success, and we believe companies like KOHO are making great progress in providing real options to Canadians. Mission aligned partnerships are the key ingredient to our mutual success. But we won’t stop there. We are always engaged in conversations with other companies that can help us further our mission of credit inclusion.
How has Propel adapted to the economic uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs? Are you worried about the impact on your consumers and Propel’s growth?
NB: Propel’s products and services are not directly affected by the recent US tariffs. In fact, as our CEO Clive has said, some uncertainty is an opportunity for Propel. The consumers we serve, by definition, are used to financial volatility and thus have adapted to uncertainty in their day-to-day lives, which diminishes the impact of tariffs. If anything, we’ve seen a greater demand for our products from a wider range of consumers as larger financial institutions tighten their risk posture. These consumers find that the products offered through our platform have fast funding and can meet their immediate need for credit. We’re more confident than ever in our vision.
Since you have gone public, you have had consecutive quarters of growth. What is driving that? What can other Canadians fintech’s learn from Propel’s success?
NB: We’re incredibly proud of our performance, from the business growth by enabling fair and responsible access to credit, now in excess of $2B, to the strong returns we’ve delivered to our shareholders. When we look at our industry peers who went public around the same time on the TSX, Propel stands out as one of the top-performing stocks. That level of consistency and outperformance comes down to three core factors.
First is our leadership. We’ve built a team that is deeply aligned, committed, and laser focused on executing our strategy. Everyone is rowing in the same direction, and that clarity of purpose is reflected in our results. One of the most unique aspects of Propel is the stability of our leadership team. While many of our peers have experienced turnover, we have maintained consistency with only one executive leaving in 14 years, and that person was with us for 7 years. That continuity has allowed us to stay focused on long-term goals and build momentum.
Second is our approach to partnerships. Across every area of our business, from technology and distribution to bank lending partners and capital providers, we have built strong and productive relationships that extend our reach and strengthen our capabilities. We invest significant time, resources, and energy to ensure our partners see us as their most valuable and trusted partners. In the parts of our business where we serve consumers directly, we bring that same focus to delivering outstanding service and support.
Third is the scale of the market opportunity. Globally, the demand for the kinds of credit access and financial solutions we provide is enormous. We serve consumers who have been overlooked by traditional financial institutions and we do it with speed, precision, and a model built for sustainable profitable growth. That gives us a real advantage as we scale. We believe this is just the beginning and we remain steadfast on becoming the global leader in our category.
We saw you expand globally in the UK last year, what is next for Propel?
NB: The global market for underserved consumers is massive. Our acquisition in the UK has been a big success for us. The central mission of Propel is credit inclusion and a key pillar of our growth strategy is global expansion. Credit exclusion from mainstream financial institutions is a global problem, so Propel will continue to enter new markets where we can facilitate access to safe and transparent credit products for those underserved.
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