Writer: Eric Bank
Editor: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewer: Adam West
Key Takeaways
- Empower Finance has rebranded itself as Tilt with a new set of unsecured credit cards that replace the Petal brand.
- Tilt retains Petal's alt-data underwriting but takes on a rewards-and-fees structure typical of mainstream subprime offerings.
- Tilt’s changes may offer subprime lenders valuable lessons in positioning, customer segmentation, and product design.
Empower Finance has rebranded to Tilt and is launching three unsecured credit cards for nonprime consumers underwritten with real-time cash flow and alternative data instead of traditional credit scores.
The new brand direction means Empower is expanding its reach in the underserved consumer market but revising its brand messaging toward inclusivity and broader financial access.
The transition to Tilt goes beyond surface-level branding and reflects a shift in the company’s foundational approach to credit decisioning.
Petal built its brand on “credit building,” while Tilt’s rebrand to focus on fair credit accessibility broadens its appeal to more applicants — without abandoning the subprime-adjacent audience that defined Petal’s reach.
Tilt still bases its core model on cash flow and banking information rather than conventional scores. And it continues to evaluate applicants using indicators such as deposit activity, spending patterns, and bill payments — strategies designed to approve consumers with limited or impaired credit histories.
The company sees this approach as a scalable alternative to traditional underwriting.
A Closer Look at What’s on Offer
Tilt’s three cards — Engage, Motion, and Essentials — are issued by WebBank.
Engage has a $59 annual fee with tiered cash back of up to 10% at select merchants. Motion eliminates the annual fee but retains the same reward structure. And the Essentials card is centered around regular bills with 3% cash back for gas and grocery purchases (when set up for autopay), with no rewards outside these categories.
Interest rates range from around 28.99% to 33.99%, broadly mirroring the pricing seen across unsecured subprime cards. Though Petal initially gained attention for zero-fee offerings, it eventually incorporated monthly and annual fees on select products.
Tilt embraces that mixed-fee model from the outset, reflecting a measured approach to balancing consumer appeal with long-term revenue stability.
Current Petal cardholders will see their accounts rebranded as Tilt/Petal without new credit pulls or changes to their account lines. This reporting continuity preserves account tenure and minimizes credit profile disruption — an operational detail that matters in subprime and near-prime segments.
Tilt enters the market as subprime delinquency rates and credit card purchase volume decline — an indicator of either softer credit demand or stronger repayment discipline.
Tilt’s mix of cash back lures and behavioral targeting could draw even wary customers back into the fold.
Reading the Signals From a Brand Reset
In the end, Tilt’s launch marks more than a rebrand — it signals a shift in how nontraditional lenders position themselves and broaden their offerings.
With flexible underwriting, targeted incentives, and a sharper focus on credit accessibility, Tilt may prompt competitors to rethink how they balance risk management with borrower-centered product design.
