Oportun, a mission-driven financial services company that provides small dollar credit to Latinos and others with limited credit history, opened its first location in Phoenix.

Oportun’s proprietary system – which leverages alternative data, advanced analytics, and ten years of insights gained from serving customers – determines every loan applicant’s ability to repay and then approves loans for those it calculates are likely to repay on time.

The company also sets loan amounts and terms to fit individual budgets, giving borrowers several months to pay back their loan. Equally important, Oportun reports customer accounts to credit bureaus to help customers establish or build credit history. Founded in 2005, the company currently operates more than 190 locations in California, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and now Arizona.

According to a study conducted in California, Illinois and Texas on Oportun’s behalf by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), a leading authority on consumer financial health, the alternatives typically available to people with limited credit history – including payday, auto-title, and pawn loans –  are on average more than three times more expensive than Oportun loans but can be up to seven times more expensive.

“Individuals with limited credit history don’t have a lot of options if they need to borrow money for an unexpected expense,” said Oportun CEO Raul Vazquez. “We know there are many responsible, hard-working Arizonans who are both willing and able to repay a loan on time, despite their lack of credit history. We look forward to lending them the money they need while giving them the opportunity to establish their credit history.”