Fifth Third Bank Helps Customers Pay Down $1 Million in Student Loan Debt
July 24 2018 - 11:51AM
Business Wire
Fifth Third Momentum App Rounds Up Purchases
to Pay Loans Off Faster
Fifth Third MomentumTM hit a milestone this month: It has now
helped customers pay down $1 million in student loan debt. The
Fifth Third Momentum app, which launched last summer, allows
customers to round up their debit card purchases to apply to a
student loan.
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R.J. Leppert (pictured with his
girlfriend Jenna Pierce and dog, Tucker) uses the Fifth Third
Momentum app to help pay down his student loan debt. He says making
an extra payment each month gets him closer to paying his loans off
earlier. (Photo: Business Wire)
“We understand how student loan debt is affecting recent
graduates as well as our communities and the economy overall,” Greg
Carmichael, chairman, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp,
said. “It’s great to see how Fifth Third Momentum helps our
customers pay down their student loans and make a difference in
their lives.”
The app allows users either to round up debit card purchases to
the next dollar or to add $1 to every purchase. The extra amount is
then applied to the balance of a designated student loan. Payments
are made on a weekly basis once a minimum of $5 is rounded up.
Fifth Third estimates that customers who round up $25 a month
using the Fifth Third Momentum app could pay off a 20-year loan
three years sooner and pay 8 percent less in total by avoiding
interest that would have accumulated.*
“All the little purchases I make are adding up,” R.J. Leppert,
25, said. The financial analyst has about $45,000 in student loan
debt, and he started using the Fifth Third Momentum app last fall.
After graduating from Wilmington College with a math degree in
2015, he moved back in with his father in West Chester Township,
Ohio, in his old room in the house where he grew up.
“I wanted to save money and pay off my debt,” said Leppert, who
worked two jobs during college, received grants and took out
student loans. He pays $650 a month toward his loans, plus about
$20 to $25 through the app.
“It’s such a great surprise when I go to make my loan payment
and see that I’ve chipped away at my principal,” Leppert said. “I
don’t even think about that extra money.”
Even though the product was designed with millennials in mind,
it’s clear the app has appeal across multiple generations.
“Our customers tell us that they love how using the app is
actually fun. They get badges as encouragement when they hit
certain milestones or payments as they make extra payments toward
their loans,” said Melissa Stevens, Fifth Third Bank’s chief
digital officer. “It feels great to create a solution that’s
integrated into our customers’ lives, and we’re so happy to have
helped our customers already pay down $1 million in student loan
debt.”
Because student loan debt affects more people than just the
borrower, Fifth Third Momentum allows graduates’ family members to
use the app, too. They can sign up with their own Fifth Third debit
cards and connect their purchases to help their loved ones pay down
their student debt.
How to use Fifth Third Momentum
Fifth Third Momentum is available to any Fifth Third debit card
user and can be used with more than 30 major student-loan servicers
– public and private. Because the app is easy to set up and doesn’t
require much daily thought, the bank hopes the automated
micropayments platform will make reducing debt something as easy
and inexpensive day-to-day as buying a cup of coffee.
To get started, customers download the app (Android or iOS) and
enter the name of the institution servicing the student loan. The
app gives tips to help locate the loan number. Customers then
decide on their preferences, including whether to round up
purchases or contribute $1 for every debit-card transaction. Once
$5 in payments is accumulated, the money is automatically sent to
the student-loan account at the end of the week. To keep our
customers motivated, they earn badges, called #Wins, for continuing
to stick with this new habit.
* Example is based on a loan amount of $37,172 – the average
debt for a 2017 college graduate – with a fixed interest rate of
6.80 percent.
About Fifth Third
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company
headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of June 30, 2018, the Company
had $141 billion in assets and operated 1,158 full-service Banking
Centers and 2,458 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky,
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia,
Georgia and North Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its
customers with access to approximately 54,000 fee-free ATMs across
the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses:
Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth
& Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money
managers in the Midwest and, as of June 30, 2018, had $368 billion
in assets under care, of which it managed $37 billion for
individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through
its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor
information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth
Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market
under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858.
Deposit and Credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank. Member
FDIC.
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Fifth Third BankLaura Trujillo, 513-534-NEWS
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