Better.com’s AI-Driven HELOC Underwriting Makes Approval with “Bank Statements Only” Possible for 36.2M Self-Employed or Small Business Owner Americans

Better.com (NASDAQ: BETR) has launched an innovative AI-driven Bank Statement HELOC program targeting the 36.2 million self-employed Americans and small business owners who traditionally struggle with HELOC approvals.

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09/30/2025 - 09:00 AM EDT

New Bank Statement HELOC program gives millions of small business owners, freelancers, and gig workers a fair chance to access cash or consolidate their debts through home equity

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ: BETR) (“Better.com,” “Better,” “we” or “our”), the leading AI-native home finance company, today announced the launch of its new Bank Statement Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) program, built for self-employed borrowers and small business owners that don’t fit the traditional W2 mold for HELOC underwriting. This home equity program launch reinforces Better’s position as one of the fastest-growing AI-native home equity lenders in the US.

Graph showing Before and after HELOC/HELOAN Credit Score by Original FICO Band.

The Bank Statement HELOC program strengthens Better’s home equity product suite, offering its team another tool to serve over 36.2 MM small business owners in America who traditionally fail the underwriting process with banks that fund home equity products. The program expands access to self-employed borrowers, making it possible to access their home equity as cash without needing tax returns, P&Ls, or W2s.

Borrowers can now verify their income using 12 or 24 months of personal and/or business bank statements, which our AI platform instantly analyzes to determine income and P&L trends; providing an underwritten approval nearly instantly. Furthermore, the program will not require a physical appraisal and streamlines title insurance for loan amounts up to $400,000.

“Better’s HELOC customers consolidated $193 million in high-interest debt, generating an average monthly savings of $1,120 in Q2 2025,” said Vishal Garg, CEO & Founder of Better.com. “Unlike traditional home equity lenders who operate on multiple fragmented and outdated point solutions, Tinman® AI has been trained to detect alternative sources of data and automate verification without the need to review endless stacks of PDFs. Now that we’ve established the processes with our AI to deliver a seamless customer experience to small business owners across America, we’ve brought the Better Bank Statement HELOC to market.”

American household debt continues to climb, with credit card rates topping 27% and personal loan rates over 17%. In contrast, HELOCs average around 8%, making them a powerful tool for borrowers who want to consolidate multiple high-interest payments into a single, lower-cost monthly payment. Data shows that debt consolidation through HELOC funds has also helped Better customers improve their credit score. The largest lifts are seen among those in lower FICO bands, averaging an increase of 37 points, with gains ranging from 25 to 60 points. Better’s Bank Statement HELOC will extend these benefits to millions of self-employed households who have historically been unable to qualify despite having strong credit and cash flow.

“With Better’s new Bank Statement HELOC, we believe we would have been able to capture over 6,000 customers that were previously denied — that translates to $600MM in home equity loans we could’ve helped fund had this program been in place. This point of pain is why we developed a new product, that will allow us to lean forward, help more customers, and continue to catalyze our growth as one of the fastest growing AI native home equity lenders in the country, growing over 150% year over year,” added Chad Smith, President and Chief Operating Officer of Better Mortgage Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Better.

Bank Statement HELOC Highlights:

Accepts 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements for income qualification
No tax returns, P&Ls, or W2s required for income verification
Streamlined pre-application experience powered by Better’s AI-driven Tinman® platform
The program is designed for:
- Small business owners, freelancers, independent contractors, and gig economy workers
- Professionals with significant business expenses that reduce taxable income
- Borrowers whose income has grown recently and isn't yet reflected on their latest filed returns
- Clients with complex income patterns who would benefit from a more flexible approach to qualification

Customers can also access the program directly through Betsy™, Better’s AI loan assistant, by asking “Can I qualify using only my bank statements?” — making it simple, fast, and available 24/7.

To learn more about Better’s Bank Statement HELOC, and get approved in as little as 3 minutes with Better’s Tinman® AI platform to receive cash in as little as 7 days, apply online on better.com/heloc

Disclaimer

Fastest-growing claim based on internal analysis of year-over-year HELOC growth compared to available market data from Q2 2024 to Q2 2025. All savings figures are based on internal Better customer data as of Q2 2025. Savings reflect debt consolidation outcomes, not mortgage payment reductions. Better does not guarantee specific savings outcomes.

About Better Home & Finance Holding Company

Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ: BETR; BETRW) is the first AI native mortgage lender and first fintech to fund more than $100 billion in loan volume. Since 2016, Better has leveraged its industry-leading AI platform, Tinman®, to achieve a singular mission of making homeownership cheaper, faster, and easier for all Americans. Tinman® allows customers to see their rate options in seconds, get pre-approved in minutes, lock in rates, and close their loan in as little as three weeks. In addition, Betsy™, the first voice-based AI loan assistant built exclusively for the mortgage industry, revolutionizes the homebuying journey by delivering timely application status updates to consumers, answering questions, and moving their loan application along 24/7/365. Better's mortgage offerings include GSE-conforming mortgage loans, FHA and VA loans, and jumbo mortgage loans. In January 2023, Better launched "One Day Mortgage," allowing eligible customers to go from click to Commitment Letter within 24 hours. Better won the 2025 Fintech Breakthrough Awards for Digital Mortgage Innovation, the 2025 Banking Tech Award for Digital Mortgage Innovation, and was named Best Online Mortgage Lender by Forbes and Best Mortgage Lender for Affordability by WSJ in 2023, ranked #1 on LinkedIn's Top Startups List for 2021 and 2020, #1 on Fortune's Best Small and Medium Workplaces in New York, #15 on CNBC's Disruptor 50 2020 list, and was listed on Forbes FinTech 50 for 2020. Better serves customers in all 50 US states and the United Kingdom.

For more information, follow @betterdotcom on Instagram and TikTok.