How Petal founder Andrew Endicott proved alternative credit works, and what he's betting on next

The credit industry is shifting how it evaluates borrowers. Traditional credit scoring has left over a billion people without access to financial services, but lenders are increasingly turning to alternative data—bank transactions, spending patterns, real-time financial behavior—to make more informed decisions about creditworthiness. Andrew Endicott has been at the center of this shift. As co-founder of Petal, he pioneered what they called “cash flow underwriting”—using real-time bank data alongside traditional credit reports to approve people for credit cards who would otherwise be turned away. The approach worked: Petal raised nearly $1 billion, proving that alternative underwriting isn’t just better for consumers—it’s good business.