Payoff Secures $3M, Launches Social Game For Achieving Financial Goals

Announcing its procurement of $3 million in funding, Payoff has launched an interactive site with a social gaming approach that is designed to help users take control of their financial lives and support their financial goals. The round of funding was led by RedOctane's (Guitar Hero) former CEO and founder Kai Huang, American Express' former president Phillip Riese, Innovate Partners CEO Bob Allison, PIMCO former CEO Bill Cvengros, Firstmark Capital, and several other angel investors. Payoff's social game promises to help users "decrease debt, save for the future, create an enterprise, give to others, and build a meaningful legacy". After players sign up on the site and set financial goals, the site offers badges, cash sur-prizes, and educational tools to motivate them. Those tools include videos and infographics, as well as links to consumer cost savings site, small business funding communities, alternative loan sites, and honeymoon gift registries. Its partners so far include AirBNB, LegalZoom, BillShrink, Lending Club, Profounder, and Honeyfund. Payoff says it recommends those tools based on "their value to the consumer, the company's honesty and transparency, fair pricing approach, and Payoff team members' direct experience with the tool." The company earns money when users choose to do business with one of the site's partners. "Payoff helps people take more ownership of their finances, engaging them in a more culturally relevant and rewarding approach to money unlike anything in the marketplace today," says Payoff CEO and founder Scott Saunders. "At this critical crossroads in our nation's history, Payoff hopes to inspire a deeper level of engagement in the game of real life."