Propel

42 million Americans receive government benefits for programs like food stamps on an EBT card. They spend a combined $66 billion every year through EBT cards, making it one of the most important payment methods in the United States. But the EBT card isn't very user-friendly - in order to check your balance, you have to call a phone hotline or save your old grocery receipt. As a result, poverty-fighting programs like food stamps aren't nearly as effective as they could be.

We build Fresh EBT, a free smartphone app that allows EBT cardholders to see their balance and transaction history, in seconds, for free. Fresh EBT provides much more than EBT card services: we aim to build a platform for financial health by helping our users save money on groceries, set a budget, and find jobs. Fresh EBT has over a million monthly active users across the country and is one of the top finance apps on Android and iOS.