Grain Technology
Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.
Summary
Grain Technology, Inc. is an Oakland, California fintech startup, founded in 2017, that offers a mobile app linking users' existing debit cards to a revolving line of credit underwritten from cash-flow data rather than traditional credit scores. In 2022 its banking partner, Ponce Financial Group (Ponce Bank), disclosed that tens of millions of dollars in Grain-originated microloans had been compromised by synthetic-identity fraud, resulting in an $8.1 million pre-tax loss for the bank and a suspension of new loan originations through the partnership. No independently verifiable public reporting on Grain's operations or financial condition after 2023 was found.
Connected Entities
1 entityNo connected entities recorded yet — this investigation is not currently linked to any other page in the index.
Timeline(9 events)
2017
Grain Technology, Inc. is founded in Oakland, California, offering a cash-flow-based revolving credit product linked to users' existing debit cards.
Y Combinator company profile2020
Grain becomes aware, according to its COO, of the growing scale of synthetic-identity fraud affecting its loan originations.
American BankerNovember 2021
Grain completes rollout of a five-tier fraud-defense system (including IP/device tracking, knowledge-based authentication, and biometrics) that it began deploying in the first quarter of 2021.
American Banker31 December 2021
Ponce Bank reports 59,180 Grain-originated microloans outstanding, totaling approximately $33.9 million.
Ponce Financial Group Form 8-K31 March 2022
Ponce Bank reports 54,247 Grain-originated microloans outstanding, totaling approximately $31.0 million; a cumulative $17.0 million across 24,719 loans has by this point been deemed fraudulent and put back to Grain since the relationship began.
Ponce Financial Group Form 8-K5 May 2022
Ponce Financial Group files a Form 8-K with the SEC disclosing an estimated $8.1 million pre-tax first-quarter 2022 loss tied to fraudulent loans originated through its partnership with Grain.
SEC EDGAR filing31 May 2022
Ponce Bank discontinues originating new microloans through Grain pending further fraud review.
Ponce Financial Group SEC filing, cited via S&P Global Market Intelligence coverageJanuary 2023
Grain reportedly closes a funding round of approximately $13.65 million, per aggregator data; this has not been corroborated by a primary source.
CB Insights company profileDecision Log
- #1publishNot recorded (failed)10/8/2026, 4:27:25 AMhash 4AYpiQizeGu7UaAngRQEgPSkvSDPuNWJGqjUKuUDfcVj
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 10/8/2026, 4:27:21 AM
last updated: 10/8/2026, 6:14:01 AM
avoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world