Atlanticus is a financial technology company that acts as a program manager helping bank partners — The Bank of Missouri, WebBank, and First Bank and Trust — offer credit cards and consumer loans to near-prime and subprime Americans (broadly, those with FICO scores below 700). Atlanticus does not originate loans directly; instead, it provides the technology platform, underwriting analytics, and servicing capabilities, while its bank partners originate the accounts. Atlanticus then purchases the resulting receivables and earns interest, fees, and merchant income on those receivables over time. The company operates two segments: Credit as a Service (CaaS) and Auto Finance. CaaS is the dominant segment and includes private label credit cards issued under the Fortiva and Curae brands — used at specific retail, electronics, furniture, and healthcare partners — as well as general purpose credit cards under the Aspire, Imagine, Fortiva, and Mercury brands, carrying APRs up to 36%. In September 2025, Atlanticus acquired Mercury, a near-prime credit card platform, for ~$166.5M, adding ~$3.2B in gross receivables and 1.3 million customers. The smaller Auto Finance segment, run through its CAR subsidiary, purchases and services used auto loans from independent buy-here, pay-here dealers at a discount, and provides floor-plan financing to dealers across 33 states. Atlanticus grows by expanding its managed receivables portfolio — adding retail and healthcare partners, growing general purpose card accounts, and acquiring receivable portfolios from third parties.