Aura is a small dollar lender which focuses on borrowers who have little or no credit history; the $10 million round from Prudential will allow the company to expand operations and lending; James Gutierrez, CEO of Aura stated that they are also working on launching partnerships with banks which will help banks offer alternatives to payday lenders; Aura is unique in that they are a CDFI or Community Development Financial Institution; so far they have lent $500 million to over 350,000 borrowers through their partner locations which are often supermarkets or auto parts retailers. Source
