In the words of Jay-Z, “I won’t buy it until I can buy it twice.”

The Hip-Hop mastermind turned business mogul has been dropping gems for Black people to get their finances in order for quite some time now. So, it’s only right that he does his part to help the community do so by investing in Altro, a platform that helps build credit and provides education on financial literacy.

Altro — formerly known as Perch — has just secured the funding needed to further democratize credit building “through recurring payment forms like digital subscriptions” — think Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and more.

With approximately 63 million Americans who are either unbanked or underbanked, Altro is on a mission to use streaming service payments to help people not only build their credit but improve it. According to a press release, the Series A funding round, led by Pendulum, totaled $18 million thanks to other companies like Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, Black Capital Fund, Concrete Rose Fund, and a host of others.

The new funding will be used to fuel company growth, geared toward credit-building and its financial literacy education program with an aim to provide underrepresented individuals with financial power.

How it Works

“With all the other available data to demonstrate a person’s fiscal responsibility, there’s no excuse to continue to rely on outdated methods like credit cards and loan payments, which are predatory and exclusionary at best,” said Altro co-founder and CEO Michael Broughton in an official press release shared with AfroTech. “Perch has proven the demand for more accessible forms of credit building, and now as Altro, we’re creating a movement, bringing financial empowerment to all.”

The app even allows users to see a quicker shift in their credit scores. However, what makes this fintech stand apart is its commitment to financial literacy education. Through over 350 snippets, people can learn more about cryptocurrency, trading, and investing.

“Contemporary fintech has traditionally been designed by and for individuals with strong financial health, a thinking that leaves many behind. Created by a team who experienced this problem firsthand, Altro has developed a financial empowerment platform that unlocks economic opportunity for those that the credit building system hasn’t been built for,” said Rish Sinha, Managing Director at Pendulum.

How to Participate

When launched in 2020 under the name Perch, the app saw massive success with a waitlist to sign up, made up of 200,000 people.

Now, Altro users will have the chance to build credit and have options through their existing spending habits with participating subscription services that include but are not limited to:

  • Netflix
  • Youtube Premium
  • Dollar Shave Club
  • Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Nintendo Online
  • Apple Music
  • SoundCloud
  • Chegg
  • Crunchyroll
  • Audible
  • Sun Basket
  • Hulu,
  • Spotify
  • Home Chef
  • Xbox Live
  • HelloFresh
  • Barkbox
  • Amazon Prime
  • CBS All Access
  • LinkedIn Premium
  • Coursera
  • PlayStation Live
  • HBO Max
  • Disney Plus
  • Blue Apron
  • Curology
  • FabFitFun
  • ESPN Plus
  • LeetCode
  • Birchbox
  • Ipsy and Billie

Click here to learn more about Altro.