Propel Holdings Named "Personal Finance Company of the Year" in 2026 FinTech Breakthrough Awards Program

Recognition Highlights Propel's Role in Expanding Credit Access for Underserved Consumers Through AI-Driven Innovation

TORONTO, March 19, 2026 /CNW/ - Propel Holdings Inc. ("Propel") (TSX: PRL), the fintech facilitating access to credit for underserved consumers, today announced it has been named "Personal Finance Company of the Year" in the 10th annual FinTech Breakthrough Awards program, conducted by FinTech Breakthrough, an independent market intelligence organization that identifies top companies, technologies, and products in the global fintech market.

For a decade, the FinTech Breakthrough Awards have highlighted the creativity, performance, and impact of the most innovative companies across the global financial technology ecosystem. This year's program attracted thousands of nominations from around the world, with Propel recognized for its AI-powered platform and commitment to expanding access to credit.

"This recognition reflects the strength of Propel's disciplined execution and innovation as a fintech leader," said Noah Buchman, President & Chief Revenue Officer of Propel Holdings. "We have built a scalable, AI-powered lending platform that allows us to responsibly expand access to credit while delivering strong results for our partners and shareholders. As we continue to grow across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., our focus remains steadfast on building better credit solutions for consumers who have historically been underserved by mainstream financial institutions."

"Millions of people are underserved by traditional financial institutions. Lenders usually only consider credit scores based on just a few basic data points to determine if applicants are worthy of credit," said Steve Johansson, Managing Director at FinTech Breakthrough. "Propel is a trailblazer in using AI in personal lending, and its success over the last 14 years shows that it has built a platform that can scale and deliver."

Propel brings the best of finance and technology together, through its consumer brands that include CreditFresh, MoneyKey, Fora Credit, and QuidMarket. To date, Propel has facilitated approximately two million loans and nearly three billion dollars in credit, expanding access for consumers underserved by traditional financial institutions.

In addition to its established operating brands, Propel recently launched FreshLine, an unsecured personal line of credit developed in partnership with Column, N.A. This product expands Propel's reach into the large U.S. near-prime segment, enabling the Company to serve new consumers and geographies while continuing to responsibly broaden access to credit.

The FinTech Breakthrough Awards is a leading awards program that recognizes innovators, leaders, and visionaries across key categories, including Digital Banking, Personal Finance, Lending, Payments, Investments, RegTech, and InsurTech. The 2026 program marks a milestone year, celebrating a decade of recognizing companies driving meaningful innovation in financial services.

About Propel

Propel Holdings (TSX: PRL) the fintech building a new world of financial opportunity for consumers, partners, and investors. Propel's operating brands -- Fora Credit, CreditFresh, MoneyKey and QuidMarket -- together with Propel Bank facilitate access to credit for consumers underserved by traditional financial institutions. Through its AI-powered platform, Propel evaluates customers in a more comprehensive way than traditional credit scores can. The result is better products and an expanded credit market for consumers while creating sustainable, profitable growth for Propel. The revolutionary fintech platform has already helped consumers access almost 2 million loans and lines of credit and almost three billion dollars in credit. At Propel, we are here to change the way customers, partners and investors succeed together.

Learn more at www.propelholdings.com.

About FinTech Breakthrough

Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for technology innovation and leadership around the globe, the FinTech Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring breakthrough innovation in Financial Technologies and Services companies and products. The FinTech Breakthrough Awards provide public recognition for the standout achievements of FinTech companies and products in categories that include Payments, Personal Finance, Cryptocurrency, Wealth Management, Fraud Protection, Banking, Lending, RegTech, InsurTech and more. For more information visit FinTechBreakthrough.com.

Tech Breakthrough LLC does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our recognition programs, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with award designations. Tech Breakthrough LLC recognition consists of the opinions of the Tech Breakthrough LLC organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Tech Breakthrough LLC disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this recognition program, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

SOURCE Propel Holdings Inc.

For further information, please contact: Lindsay Finneran-Gingras, Vice President, Communications, [email protected]; Devon Ghelani, Vice President, Capital Markets & Investor Relations, [email protected]