NerdWallet

NerdWallet is a personal finance company whose stated mission is to provide clarity for life’s financial decisions. Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, the company began with credit-card information and comparisons and expanded its coverage across multiple areas of personal finance. NerdWallet describes its platform as serving consumers and small and mid-sized businesses with financial information, comparison tools and a data-driven app.

The company publishes educational content and research to help people understand money topics and evaluate financial products. Its coverage includes credit cards, banking, insurance, mortgages, personal and student loans, small-business financing, investing and financial advisors. The website also provides reviews, calculators and other tools intended to help users compare options and make informed choices.

NerdWallet’s comparison experience connects users with products and providers, including lenders and financial institutions. The company describes itself as a matching platform: users can compare products and, where available, explore potential offers or prequalification. NerdWallet says it does not issue the loans featured in its matching tools or process applications on a user’s behalf; applications are made directly with the provider a user selects.

The NerdWallet app and account experience are designed to help users follow their finances in one place. According to the company’s help materials, registered users can view a credit score, link financial accounts to track spending, monitor upcoming bills and follow net worth. The app is available through mobile and desktop experiences, while much of the company’s educational content and product-comparison material can be accessed without signing in.

NerdWallet’s audiences include individual consumers making decisions about everyday financial products and major life events, as well as small and mid-sized businesses seeking financial information and financing options. The company says its platform combines learning resources, product shopping, connected financial data and personalized insights. It operates in a financial-services marketplace where some products are supplied by third parties, and its disclosures explain that offers and terms may differ from information shown on the site.

The company’s public materials emphasize consumer-first decision-making and its ambition to build a trusted financial ecosystem. NerdWallet says its values include putting consumers, the company, the team and the individual in view; continuous self-improvement; open and constructive communication; informed risk-taking; and ownership. Its company page presents a culture of collaboration, learning and candid feedback, while describing its employees as a team working to help people make financial decisions with confidence.