For friends, family, and anyone you trust

Give a hand up,
not a handout.

HandUp turns a handshake loan between friends or family into a proper agreement — agreed by both of you, repaid on a fixed monthly schedule, and documented in writing.

Start a loanSee how it works
$40
once per loan, plus a charge per extra lender
1.00%
a year, included in the borrower’s rate
0
public listings: invite only

Loan agreement

Sample

Five thousand & 00/100 dollars

Sarah M. promises to repay the Lenders below at a borrower’s rate of 6.00% a year, in 24 scheduled monthly payments of about $221.60.

Principal
$5,000.00
Borrower’s rate
6.00% a year
Term
24 months
Monthly
$221.60
  • Sarah M.

    Borrower

  • Daniel O.

    Lender · $1,500

  • Grace R.

    Lender · $1,350

  • Open · $2,150

A written recorda copy for everyone on the loan

Fig. 1 — A sample HandUp loan agreement, part-way to funded.

How it works

Lending shouldn’t cost a relationship.

Three steps turn a promise between two people into a loan that works for both sides.

  1. Agree on the terms together.

    Choose the amount, the interest rate and how long to repay. HandUp shows the IRS rate (AFR) for reference.

    About the IRS rate. The IRS publishes a reference rate for loans (the “AFR”). In plain words: below it, the IRS may treat the skipped interest as a gift. Whether that matters depends on your situation, so ask a tax advisor if you’re unsure.

  2. Share one private link.

    Invite the people you’d ask anyway. Several lenders can chip in to one loan, and no money moves until the loan is fully funded and activated.

  3. Payments follow the schedule.

    Each monthly bank payment is split between the lenders by share, with a receipt every time. Each on-time payment builds the borrower’s HandUp Reliability — the signal lenders see when they’re invited to fund.

Where things stand

Nobody has to ask how it’s going.

A handshake loan runs on memory. A HandUp loan has one record that the borrower and every lender can see: the same schedule, what’s been paid and what’s due next. Payment reminders come from HandUp, not from a friend.

  • How much is raised, and how much is left to raise
  • One schedule for everyone: what’s paid, what’s missed, what’s next
  • A missed payment shows on the loan, and the borrower and lenders are notified
  • Every loan you’re part of, borrowing or lending, in one place
Fig. 2 — Sample screens. Names and figures are illustrative.

The agreement

The paperwork is done. You keep the friendship.

So when your cousin asks for $3,000, you don’t have to choose between helping and protecting yourself.

Receipt · Payment 1 of 24

Sample

$221.60

Paid on time

Toward the $5,000
$196.60
Interest to lenders5.00% a year
$20.83
HandUp fee1.00% a year
$4.17
Still owed
$4,803.40

Every payment comes with a receipt: the borrower’s looks like this one, and each lender gets one for their share.

  • A written loan agreement: PDF for everyone on the loan
  • Scheduled bank payments: both directions, on the agreed dates
  • A receipt every cycle: for borrower and lenders
  • Year-end interest summary: ready at tax time
  • Identity verification: for everyone, before any money moves
  • HandUp Reliability: you can hide it any time

Real agreements, real people

A handshake you can actually hold to.

Behind every HandUp loan is a decision between people who trust each other — now backed by a written record you both keep.

Both sides

One agreement, two sides of the ledger.

If you’re borrowing

the borrower’s page

Borrow from people who root for you.

Fairer rates from family and friends, with the structure of a real loan — so asking feels less awkward and paying back follows a fixed schedule.

  • A written agreement you both keep
  • Payments follow the schedule you agreed
  • Every on-time payment builds your HandUp Reliability
Request a loan

If you’re lending

the lender’s page

Help someone you trust — and get paid back.

Earn interest on money you’d lend anyway. A fixed monthly schedule and a year-end summary for your records. No more “remind me in six months.”

  • Lend alone, or join others on someone’s request
  • A receipt every time a payment arrives
  • Everyone verifies their identity before money moves
Offer a loan

Pooled loans

Cover it together.

Asking one person for $5,000 is a lot. Share one request instead, and several people can each put in what they’re comfortable with. Everyone lends at the same rate, and each payment is split between them by share. Nothing is taken from anyone’s bank until the loan is activated.

  • Up to 8 lenders on one loan of $500 or more
  • Each lender picks their own amount, and can change it while the loan is raising
  • One rate, one schedule and one loan agreement for everyone
See a pool fill up
Raising funds

First month’s rent

$2,850raised of $5,000

  • Daniel O.$1,50030%
  • Grace R.$1,35027%
  • Still to raise$2,15043%
Fig. 3 — Sample pool. Names and figures are illustrative.

Fees

Honest fees, written down.

The fees pay for the software: the agreement, the schedule, the records. There are no other charges.

HandUp’s fees
WhatWhenAmount
Origination feeOnce per loan — taken from the money the borrower receives when the loan is activated, or added to the borrower’s first scheduled payment(s)$40.00
Platform feeAdded on top of the rate you agree, on the balance still owed1.00%a year
Each extra lenderPooled loans only; rises with the loan’s lengthfrom$5.00

HandUp’s 1.00% yearly platform fee is included in the borrower’s rate.

Questions

Answered plainly.

Is it a real loan agreement?
Yes. Every loan comes with a written loan agreement — amount, rate, schedule and payment terms — agreed to by both sides in HandUp, with a PDF you can each print and sign. We’re not your lawyer — if a question ever comes up, that written record is what you’d bring to one.
Can I lend to anyone, or only family?
Anyone you’d trust to pay you back — friends, family, mentors, colleagues. Loans are invitation-only; there are no public listings.
How does HandUp make money?
A $40 origination fee per loan, taken from the money the borrower receives or added to their first scheduled payment(s). Pooled loans add a charge for each extra lender, from $5, that rises with the loan’s length, so a pooled request’s final fee depends on how many lenders join. There’s also a 1.00% yearly platform fee on the balance still owed. The 1.00% is included in the borrower’s rate. There are no other charges.
What happens if the borrower stops paying?
If a scheduled payment fails, the borrower and lenders are notified and it shows on the loan. HandUp doesn’t collect on anyone’s behalf — the written agreement is your record.
Do I need to file anything with the IRS?
HandUp doesn’t issue 1099-INTs and we don’t report your loan activity to anyone. We’re a software platform, not a financial institution. What you get is a year-end interest summary in your profile — for your own records — so the numbers are easy to find when you sit down to do your taxes. How (or whether) you file is up to you and your tax advisor.

Identity verification and bank linking run through our identity-verification and bank-linking partner, and every connection to HandUp is encrypted in transit. We never store full account numbers — only tokenized references from our bank-linking and payments partners. HandUp is software — not a bank or a lender. Bank transfers are processed through our payments partner and its financial-institution partner. Money in transit isn’t FDIC-insured.

Read all questions

Make your next loan official.

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Signing up takes about two minutes. Nothing is taken from your bank until a loan is fully funded and activated.