How PayJoy Turns Smartphones Into a Path to Credit

In this sponsored episode of This Week in Fintech Partnered, Katie Perry sits down with Doug Ricket, founder and CEO of PayJoy, to talk about how the company is expanding access to credit for people who have historically been left out of the formal financial system.

PayJoy began with a simple idea: use the smartphone itself as collateral. Customers can finance a device, build a repayment history, and then use that relationship as a stepping stone toward broader access to credit. Today, PayJoy has served more than 20 million customers across emerging markets, helping people finance everything from smartphones to everyday expenses and small business needs.

Doug shares how his time in the Peace Corps, his work in emerging markets, and his experience with pay-as-you-go solar shaped the company’s approach. He also explains why PayJoy avoids compounding interest, how the business tries to align its economics with customer success, and why giving someone their first real access to credit can be far more valuable than simply giving them another bank account.

The conversation also looks at what happens after that first smartphone loan, from digital payments and credit cards to financing for appliances and small businesses. Doug explains why PayJoy is choosing to stay focused on credit rather than becoming a super app, and why he believes the opportunity could ultimately extend to hundreds of millions, or even billions, of people across the Global South.

This is a sponsored episode of This Week in Fintech Partnered, produced in partnership with PayJoy.