Candidly, the category leader in student debt and savings solutions, today announced the launch of Onward, a revolutionary consumer debt optimization solution designed to help financial institutions empower their end-customers to better manage their financial futures. Initially available as an API-only offering, with a full front-end experience coming in early 2025, Onward is poised to reshape how American workers allocate their hard-earned money across debt, savings, and investing.

As household debt reaches unprecedented levels and rising cost of living continues to burden American workers, many find it difficult to move beyond debt and save for the future. Onward addresses this pervasive challenge for most households by offering real-time, personalized decision support, which can be coupled with actionability, enabling users to realize savings on their consumer debt and then devote those savings into interest-bearing deposits.

A Game-Changer for the Industry

Onward is available to workplace financial solution providers like 401(k) and 403(b) recordkeepers, retirement plan advisors, and others seeking to enhance their financial wellness offering while increasing deposits and assets under management. Onward assists users in optimizing their liabilities and freeing up cash flow tied up in debt payments and then intelligently redirecting those dollars across the suite of financial services and benefits offering that is the user’s next best action. The Onward API is highly configurable and can plug-and-play into a company’s existing product suite, such as HSA’s, FSA’s, brokerage accounts, IRA and retirement accounts.

“Onward aims to ensure that wealth is not just for the wealthy. Our steadfast mission is to enable hard working Americans to move beyond exclusively playing the game of compounding interest on debt, and into compounding interest on wealth. Lowering consumer cost of debt, and directing those dollars into first time deposits, savings, and retirement savings, transforms financial outcomes today and tomorrow,” said Laurel Taylor, CEO of Candidly.

Grounded in Behavioral Economics

Onward’s patent-pending technology is rooted in the principles of behavioral economics, ensuring that it accounts for the real-world challenges people face when managing money. By leveraging data and behavioral insights, the solution tailors its recommendations to meet the unique financial needs of each user, providing personalized support that encourages sustainable financial habits.

“Onward’s foundation in behavioral economics allows us to not only consider what is mathematically optimal but also what is behaviorally feasible for the end user,” explained Ben Levine, Chief Data Officer at Candidly. “Our algorithm is designed to help users make better financial decisions without overwhelming them with complexity. This makes debt optimization and wealth building accessible and achievable for everyone.”

With Onward, Candidly continues to push the boundaries of innovation in the financial wellness space, offering a powerful tool that helps both users and financial institutions achieve their financial goals. To learn more, visit our product page here.

About Candidly

Candidly is an AI-driven student debt and savings optimization platform that addresses the full lifecycle of education expenses and empowers people to make simultaneous progress on paying down student debt and building wealth. Candidly partners with leading employers and financial services companies serving the workplace like 401(k) and 403(b) recordkeepers, retirement plan advisors, and more, creating a holistic and inclusive workplace benefit and embedded finance solution.

Candidly is backed by leading venture capital and strategic investors including Altos Ventures, Breton Capital, Cercano Management, Impact Engine, Rethink Impact, Salesforce Ventures, UBS, and Unum. For more information, visit www.getcandidly.com.

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