Propel celebrates 10 year anniversary by pioneering new AI-powered technology to help families navigate the safety net

Over the last decade, Propel has put more than $500 million into the pockets of low-income Americans. Now with a rebranded app, it will build new technology to modernize the safety net, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Aug. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Propel, the leading consumer technology company focused on low-income Americans, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by introducing new technology to accelerate its vision: helping every American make it through the month with dignity and abundance. Among its new initiatives, Propel is building AI-powered tools to improve navigation of the safety net through a grant funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The daily act of navigating the safety net – i.e. government programs, such as SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), designed to provide support in a time of need – is cumbersome. Before Propel, the 41 million people in the U.S. who receive SNAP benefits on EBT cards typically checked their balances by calling a 1-800 number. Propel revolutionized this process by launching America's first free, nationwide mobile app for checking EBT balances. Over the last 10 years, Propel has enabled 15 million people to check their EBT balances a remarkable 5.5 billion times.

Funded by a $3.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation, Propel is now prototyping and scaling new AI-powered technologies to continue modernizing the safety net. With its dedicated focus on low-income Americans who use the safety net, Propel has become the most widely used mobile app for this demographic, trusted by more than 5 million households each month. That makes Propel the ideal platform to provide answers to questions about public benefits–answers that were once buried in hundred-page PDFs are now accessible and intuitive through Propel's data, reach, and AI.

In addition to building new AI-powered tools, Propel is also launching several new security features that make its app the most secure way to manage EBT benefits. In original research conducted by Propel, theft of SNAP benefits has become increasingly prominent, with 87% of EBT cardholders actively seeking ways to protect their benefits. Propel is the first in the market to offer suspicious transaction monitoring, which automatically scans and flags transactions that reflect an elevated risk of fraud. In select states, users will also be able to lock their cards and block out-of-state transactions.

"Protecting people from benefits theft requires a cross-sector collaborative approach. Propel is a trusted source for millions of EBT cardholders by providing additional tools and information to promote card security," said Reggie Bicha, President & CEO of the American Public Human Services Association.

"Over its 10 years, Propel has been a clear example that business leaders can develop products for low-income Americans that support, not obstruct, people's financial security," said Ida Rademacher, Vice President of the Aspen Institute and Co-Executive Director of the Financial Security Program. "I look forward to many more years of Propel innovating on how to serve people's financial security and its continued leadership in the field."

Alongside these changes, Propel is renaming its flagship app from 'Providers' to 'Propel'. Unifying its company and product names aims to increase clarity and transparency for both Propel's millions of active users and its partners.

Propel was founded in August 2014 by Jimmy Chen, Ram Mehta, and Jeff Kaiser through Blue Ridge Labs @ Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit fellowship program that enables tech entrepreneurs to launch new poverty-fighting technology ventures. The program prioritizes individuals with lived experiences of poverty, ensuring that the solutions built are tailored to address real problems faced by the community.

About Propel

Propel builds modern, respectful, and effective technology that helps low-income Americans improve their financial lives. The free Propel app is used by over 5 million Americans across the country each month to manage their food stamp (SNAP) benefits and money. A Harvard study showed that using Propel helped stretch food stamps by an average of two days per month. Propel is a mission-driven for-profit company, with support from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Nyca Partners, Kleiner Perkins, JPMorganChase, Kevin Durant, and Serena Williams. Propel has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and WIRED Magazine. To learn more, visit propel.app.

Propel measures its impact in a number of ways:

• Over 5 million people use the Propel each app month. Over the history of the company, over 15 million people have used Propel's products.
• Propel has helped its users put over $500 million back into their pockets - by helping people save money on everyday expenses, avoid fees, and receive cash grants and government benefits.
• Propel's users have submitted 2.8 million job applications from roles they found through Propel.
• Propel's users have deposited over $1.4 billion onto the Providers Card, a no-monthly-fee debit card built specifically for people who use the safety net.
• Prior to the Propel app, most people with EBT cards called a 1-800 number to check their balance. By using the Propel app instead, Propel's users save about 30 seconds each time they check their balance. Propel's 5 million users save a collective 923 years of time every year through the app. Saving time for low-income families is an underappreciated way to provide more slack and respect for families dealing with financial hardship.

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SOURCE Propel