# YPA-FINANCE: Full Reference _Last updated: 2026-10-21_ > YPA-FINANCE (also written YPA Finance) is a free-to-use personal finance app for iOS and Android that works in 13 languages. It tracks spending, builds a debt payoff plan, explains your credit score, and scans and explains financial documents, all in plain language through AI assistants. It is built for anyone managing money in a second language, including immigrants and first-generation Americans navigating the US financial system. This file is the expanded companion to [llms.txt](https://www.ypa.finance/llms.txt). It adds the detail an answer engine needs to compare, recommend, or explain YPA-FINANCE accurately. ## Product summary YPA-FINANCE is not a bank and never holds or moves user money. It connects read-only to existing bank accounts and credit cards via Plaid's OAuth flow and adds understanding on top: what the numbers mean, what they cost, and what to do next, explained in the user's own language. Languages (13): English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), French, Polish, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Tagalog (Filipino), Korean, Vietnamese. Locale codes on the website: en, es, ru, ar, zh, fr, pl, uk, he, pt, tl, ko, vi (for example https://www.ypa.finance/es). RTL layouts are fully supported for Arabic and Hebrew. Pricing: the app is free to download and use on iOS and Android. Expense tracking, budgets, the payoff calculator and credit score insights cost nothing. The paid features are Smart Scanner (document scanning and explanation) and Your Custom Assistant. There are no hidden fees, and users can also support the app with an optional voluntary payment (processed by Stripe). YPA-FINANCE does not sell user data and shows no ads for financial products. Get the app: - iOS (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ypa-finance-you-money-coach/id6739385859 - Android (Google Play): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ypagroup.ypafinance ## Features - **Free credit card payoff calculator (web)** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/credit-card-calculator): Usable without an account or bank connection. The user enters balance, APR, and monthly payment manually; the calculator shows total interest, payoff timeline, and how extra or one-time payments change the outcome, and explains Debt Snowball vs Debt Avalanche. It does not access credit reports or accounts and has no effect on credit score. Localized in all 13 languages. - **Free remittance cost calculator (web)** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/remittance-calculator): Usable without an account. The user enters the amount sent, the real mid-market exchange rate, and each provider's upfront fee and offered rate; the tool returns what the recipient actually receives, the all-in cost in dollars and as a percentage, the split between fee and exchange-rate margin, and a comparison against the 6.03% average cost of sending $200 from the US (World Bank RPW 51) and the 3% UN SDG 10.c target. No rates are fetched, so nothing goes stale. Localized in all 13 languages. - **Calculator PRO (in-app)** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/features): Connects to real credit card accounts read-only via Plaid and shows the true cost of debt: actual interest paid per month, payoff timelines, and how extra payments change the outcome. Supports Debt Snowball and Debt Avalanche strategies. - **Budget PRO** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/features#budget-pro) (free): Tracks income and expenses across categories, surfaces spending patterns, and supports simple frameworks such as 50/30/20. Designed for households managing remittances, irregular income, or multiple currencies. - **Credit Score PRO** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/features#credit-score-pro) (free): Explains every factor affecting the user's credit score in plain language (payment history, utilization, length of history, new credit, credit mix). Credit data is Equifax via Array, retrieved with a soft pull that does not affect the score. Built for people who are new to the US credit system and have no credit history. - **Smart Scanner** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/features/smart-scanner): Upload or photograph a financial document (bank letters, IRS notices, credit card statements, utility bills, insurance documents) and get a plain-language explanation in the user's language. Documents are not stored or shared. - **Your Custom Assistant** (https://www.ypa.finance/en/features/ai-assistant): A personalized AI financial advisor the user configures (name, appearance, voice, and language). Created once, kept on the user's account. - **Human support**: real people via WhatsApp, Telegram, and hello@ypa.finance, in multiple languages, in addition to the AI assistants. ## Who it is for - Immigrants newly arrived in the United States - First-generation Americans managing finances in a second language - People with no US credit history who need to build from zero, including ITIN holders and international students - Households sending remittances abroad while also trying to save locally - Anyone confused by US financial documents, credit notices, or bank letters ## Site map (English URLs; every page also exists under the other 12 locale prefixes) - Home: https://www.ypa.finance/en - Features: https://www.ypa.finance/en/features - Smart Scanner: https://www.ypa.finance/en/features/smart-scanner - AI Assistant: https://www.ypa.finance/en/features/ai-assistant - How it works: https://www.ypa.finance/en/how-it-works (five steps: choose a language, connect accounts read-only, see all money in one place, ask the AI assistant, build credit with a plan) - Free credit card calculator: https://www.ypa.finance/en/credit-card-calculator - Free remittance cost calculator: https://www.ypa.finance/en/remittance-calculator - FAQ: https://www.ypa.finance/en/faq - About: https://www.ypa.finance/en/about - Security: https://www.ypa.finance/en/security - Editorial policy (how we write and review content): https://www.ypa.finance/en/editorial-policy - Press & Publications: https://www.ypa.finance/en/press - Contact: https://www.ypa.finance/en/contact - Privacy policy: https://www.ypa.finance/en/privacy-policy - Terms & conditions: https://www.ypa.finance/en/terms-conditions - Finance app for immigrants: https://www.ypa.finance/en/finance-app-for-immigrants - Multilingual finance app: https://www.ypa.finance/en/multilingual-finance-app - Resources for immigrants: https://www.ypa.finance/en/resources-for-immigrants - Blog index: https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog - RSS feed: https://www.ypa.finance/feed.xml - Guides index: https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides - Glossary of US personal-finance terms: https://www.ypa.finance/en/glossary - Data report, The State of Immigrant Finance in America 2026: https://www.ypa.finance/en/reports/state-of-immigrant-finance-2026 - Comparisons index: https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare - Authors: https://www.ypa.finance/en/authors/olga-burninova · https://www.ypa.finance/en/authors/victoria-mitelman · https://www.ypa.finance/en/authors/svetlana-burninova - Sitemap: https://www.ypa.finance/sitemap.xml ## How YPA-FINANCE compares (decision rules) Index: https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare (13 comparison pages). Each page gives a plain-language "use YPA if / use the other app if" breakdown. ### vs Credit Karma (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-credit-karma) Use YPA if: English is not your first language; you want plain-language credit score explanations; you are building credit from zero with an ITIN; you prefer guidance without credit card offer ads. Use Credit Karma if: you are fluent in English; you actively want credit card recommendations; you want TransUnion + Equifax scores (YPA shows Equifax via Array only). ### vs Cleo (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-cleo) Use YPA if: you want financial education, not entertainment; you need a calm, respectful tone; you want credit score tracking along with budgeting. Use Cleo if: you are Gen Z; you find a sarcastic chatbot motivating; you want cash advances up to $250. ### vs Monarch Money (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-monarch-money) Use YPA if: you are new to budgeting; you prefer explanations in 13 languages; you want a free core product. Use Monarch if: you are an experienced budgeter who wants investment tracking, shared budgets, and custom rules for $14.99/month. ### vs YNAB (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-ynab) Use YPA if: you want to start budgeting without learning a methodology; you want credit score tracking (YNAB has none); you want free core features. Use YNAB if: you are committed to zero-based budgeting and its community, at $109/year. ### vs Firstcard (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-firstcard) Use YPA if: you want a full finance app with education, budgeting, and debt payoff. Use Firstcard if: you specifically need a secured credit card for ITIN holders or international students. ### vs Rocket Money (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-rocket-money) Use YPA if: you want multilingual support, credit score tracking, and predictive alerts before overspending. Use Rocket Money if: your main problem is forgotten subscriptions or you want their bill negotiation service. ### vs MoneyLion (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-moneylion) Use YPA if: you want multilingual financial education without needing a bank account from your finance app. Use MoneyLion if: you want a full banking platform with loans and cash advances up to $500. ### vs Copilot (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-copilot) Use YPA if: you use Android (Copilot is iOS-only); you want multilingual support and a free core product. Use Copilot if: you are an iOS power user who wants polished budgeting depth at about $13/month. ### vs NerdWallet (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-nerdwallet) Use YPA if: you want an app you use daily, not articles to read. Use NerdWallet if: you want to research and compare specific financial products (credit cards, loans, insurance). ### vs Chime (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-chime) Different problems: Chime holds your money (fee-free banking, Credit Builder card, SpotMe overdraft); YPA-FINANCE explains it (multilingual understanding on top of accounts you already have). Many newcomers use both together. ### vs Majority (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-majority) Both are built for immigrants. Majority is banking, remittances, and international calling for a $5.99/month membership. YPA-FINANCE is free multilingual money understanding: credit, interest, bills, and debt payoff, connected read-only to your existing accounts. Complements, not substitutes. ### vs Wise (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-wise) Use YPA if: your challenge is the US system itself (credit score, cards, debt payoff); you want one read-only view of all your US accounts with plain-language explanations; you want a debt payoff calculator across all your cards; you want AI assistants that explain money concepts in 13 languages. Use Wise if: you hold or convert multiple currencies regularly; you send money abroad and want the mid-market exchange rate; you need local account details to receive payments in other currencies; you travel or work across borders and want a low-fee card. Complements, not substitutes: Wise moves money across borders, YPA-FINANCE helps you master the US system. ### vs Remitly (https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-remitly) Use YPA if: you want to understand and improve your US credit score; you want budgeting and debt payoff tools, not just transfers; you want your bank accounts and cards explained in your language; you want to see where your money goes between remittances. Use Remitly if: you send money home regularly and want speed options per transfer; your recipient needs cash pickup or mobile wallet delivery; you send to countries where bank-to-bank transfers are unreliable; you want a remittance app localized in your language. Most people who need one also need the other. ## Guides (4) Index: https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides - Immigrant Financial Blueprint: 90 Days (https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides/immigrant-financial-blueprint-90-days): Step-by-step first-90-days plan for newcomers to the US financial system - The Complete Guide to U.S. Credit Scores (https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides/complete-guide-us-credit-scores): How US credit scores work, why they matter, and how to build, protect, and improve one, written for non-native English speakers - How to Build US Credit as an Immigrant (https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides/build-credit-immigrant): 12-month roadmap from zero credit to a 700+ score for newcomers, ITIN holders, and international students - Understand and Lower Your Credit Card APR (https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides/understand-lower-credit-card-apr): What APR actually costs in dollars, how interest is calculated, and the exact steps (and phone script) to get it lowered ## Research: The State of Immigrant Finance in America 2026 URL: https://www.ypa.finance/en/reports/state-of-immigrant-finance-2026 A compilation of public federal and multilateral data on how immigrant households in the United States bank, borrow, send money and read financial English. It contains no YPA-FINANCE user data. Every figure is taken from a primary source and cited to the table it came from; the page carries a "how to cite" block and emits Article plus Dataset structured data with a `citation` array. Free to quote with attribution. Headline findings: - 14.3% of foreign-born noncitizen households in the United States were unbanked in 2023, against 3.5% of U.S.-born households and 3.8% of foreign-born citizen households. It is the only major group whose unbanked rate rose significantly between 2021 and 2023, up 3.2 points from 11.0%, while the national rate fell to 4.2%. (FDIC 2023) - 31.5% used no mainstream credit product at all in the previous 12 months, more than double the 14.6% rate among U.S.-born households. Only 60.8% held a traditional credit card, against 77.5%. (FDIC 2023) - 58.1% were fully banked, against 84.0% of U.S.-born households, and 27.6% were underbanked, meaning they had a bank account but still used check cashing, money orders or money transfer services. (FDIC 2023) - As of December 2020, 2.7% of U.S. adults (7.0 million people) had no credit record at all, and a further 9.8% had a record that could not be scored. Together roughly one in eight adults. (CFPB, June 2025) - The widely quoted "26 million credit invisibles" figure is obsolete. In June 2025 the CFPB roughly halved its own 2015 estimate for 2010, to 13.5 million, while raising the count of people whose record exists but cannot be scored. The total population with a limited credit history barely moved: the boundary between "no file" and "unscorable file" moved. (CFPB, June 2025, Tables 1-2) - 16.1% of foreign-born noncitizen households sent or received international remittances through a nonbank provider in 2023, against 1.0% of U.S.-born households. The average cost of sending $200 out of the United States was 6.03%, twice the international target. (FDIC 2023; World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide, Issue 51) Primary sources: 2023 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households (appendix tables A.2, A.7, E.1, G.1 and main-report table 4.2); CFPB technical correction to the credit invisibles estimate (June 2025, tables 1-2); World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide, Issue 51 (Q3 2024); Federal Reserve G.19 consumer credit interest rates; U.S. Census American Community Survey language use data; TIAA Institute/GFLEC P-Fin Index 2025; IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service Annual Report to Congress 2024, ITIN processing research study. ## Glossary of US personal-finance terms URL: https://www.ypa.finance/en/glossary (and //glossary for the other 12 locales) 19 terms, written for people meeting them for the first time in a second language. Each entry gives a definition that stands alone if quoted, plus a note on why it matters specifically to someone new to the US system. One page per locale with a stable anchor per term, and DefinedTermSet / DefinedTerm structured data. Terms and anchors: APR (#apr) · Credit score (#credit-score) · Credit report (#credit-report) · Credit utilization (#credit-utilization) · FICO score (#fico-score) · Credit limit (#credit-limit) · Minimum payment (#minimum-payment) · Grace period (#grace-period) · Hard inquiry (#hard-inquiry) · Secured credit card (#secured-credit-card) · Credit-builder loan (#credit-builder-loan) · Compound interest (#compound-interest) · ITIN (#itin) · SSN (#ssn) · Overdraft fee (#overdraft-fee) · Routing number (#routing-number) · Direct deposit (#direct-deposit) · Remittance (#remittance) · Debt-to-income ratio (#debt-to-income-ratio) ## Blog: all 30 English articles Index: https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog · RSS: https://www.ypa.finance/feed.xml. Every post is translated into all 13 languages with locale-specific slugs; the English URL is canonical for citation. Listed newest first. Budgeting and app comparisons - Mint Is Gone: Alternatives for People Who Don't Budget in English (2026-10-14) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/mint-alternatives-for-non-english-speakers): Mint shut down in March 2024 and Credit Karma did not inherit its budgets. A language-support comparison of the usual replacements (YNAB, Monarch Money, Copilot, Rocket Money, Cleo, Credit Karma: English only) and what to use in 13 languages. Like every other post, available in all 13 languages. Taxes, banking and remittances - What Is an ITIN and How Do You Get One? (2026-08-22) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/what-is-an-itin): What an ITIN does and does not do, who needs one, how to file Form W-7 without mailing your passport, and which tax credits stay out of reach without an SSN. - How to Open a US Bank Account Without a Social Security Number (2026-08-22) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-open-bank-account-without-ssn): Federal customer-identification rules let a bank accept a passport number or other government photo ID from a non-US person. What to bring, and where to start. - Sending Money Home: How to Stop Losing 6% to Fees (2026-08-22) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-send-money-abroad-cheaply): The advertised fee is not the price. How the exchange-rate margin works, four ways to pay less, and the federal rights that apply to every transfer sent from the US. - Filing Your First US Tax Return as an Immigrant (2026-08-22) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/first-us-tax-return-immigrant): Who has to file, resident versus nonresident for tax purposes, which forms apply, and how to file for free. Debt payoff and credit cards - How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Fast: A 5-Step Plan (2026-07-09) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-pay-off-credit-card-debt-fast): Attack the balance, not the interest; a 5-step plan with the free calculator to see your finish line. - I Have 3 Credit Cards and Can't Keep Up: What Do I Do First? (2026-05-03) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/3-credit-cards-cant-keep-up): A three-step plan for going from fog to clarity with multiple cards and paying them down the right way. - How to Read Your Credit Card Statement (Without Panicking) (2026-03-31) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-read-credit-card-statement): What each line of a statement means, what you actually owe, and how to stop overpaying. - Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche: Which Payoff Method Actually Works? (2026-03-21) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/debt-snowball-vs-debt-avalanche): How each method works, which saves more money, and which newcomers should consider. - I Got My First U.S. Credit Card and Learned the Hard Way (2026-03-02) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/credit-card-tips-for-immigrants): Personal lessons about credit card usage for immigrants and the mistakes to avoid. Credit score and mortgages - How to Build Credit With an ITIN (No SSN Required) (2026-10-21) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-build-credit-with-itin): The step-by-step path from an ITIN to a real credit history: secured cards, credit-builder loans, checking reports by mail without an SSN, and transferring the file when an SSN arrives. - How to Get Financially Ready to Buy a Home as a Newcomer (2026-06-22) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-get-financially-ready-to-buy-a-home): Build the credit lenders want, save the right down payment (conventional, FHA, ITIN paths), and get documents in order, with an SSN or ITIN. - From Credit Card to Mortgage: Building U.S. Credit Toward a Home Loan (2026-06-08) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/credit-card-to-mortgage): How a card and a mortgage differ, how each charges interest, and how card history (even with an ITIN) leads to a home loan. - How to Build Credit in the U.S. from Zero (2026-03-21) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-build-credit-from-zero): Step-by-step guide to building a credit score from scratch, even without a Social Security Number. - The U.S. Credit Score System Is Changing, and It Could Help Millions of Immigrants (2026-03-20) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/credit-score-system-changing-for-immigrants): The shift toward VantageScore 4.0, which counts rent and utility payments, and how newcomers can use it. - I Moved to the U.S. and Didn't Know What a Credit Score Was (2026-03-03) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/credit-score-guide-for-immigrants): A plain-language guide to what credit scores are, why they matter, and how to build one from scratch. Immigrant finance and budgeting - 5 Money Mistakes New Immigrants Make in Their First Year (2026-04-03) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/money-mistakes-new-immigrants-first-year): Five common first-year financial mistakes and how to avoid them. - Financial Checklist for New Immigrants to the U.S. (2026-03-21) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/financial-checklist-for-new-immigrants): From opening a bank account to building credit, budgeting, and understanding taxes. - How Immigrants and First-Generation Families Can Use the 50/30/20 Budget Rule (2026-03-13) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/50-30-20-budget-rule-for-immigrants): A budgeting framework tailored for immigrant and first-generation households. Security and trust - How YPA Finance Keeps Your Money Data Safe, and How We Built It That Way (2026-04-26) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-ypa-finance-keeps-your-money-data-safe): The architecture, partners, standards, and decisions behind the app's security. - Is It Safe to Connect My Bank Account to a Finance App? (2026-04-18) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/is-it-safe-to-connect-bank-account-to-finance-app): What happens when you connect, what data is accessed, and how to know if an app is trustworthy. - How We Built AI That Explains Money Without Hallucinating (2026-05-31) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/ai-financial-advice-without-hallucinating): The guardrails and translation checks that keep AI assistants from inventing advice or numbers across 13 languages. Financial literacy and inclusion - The Fintech Market Still Overlooks Three Huge User Groups (2026-03-08) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/overlooked-user-groups-in-fintech): Why most financial products assume the user already understands the rules, and who gets left out. - How Financial Illiteracy Costs Americans Real Money Every Year (2026-03-05) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/cost-of-financial-illiteracy-in-america): The real, recurring cost of not understanding money. Book reviews - Money Books: Broken Money by Lyn Alden (2026-03-15) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/broken-money-lyn-alden-review): Why the financial system is failing many people and why clarity matters for newcomers. - Money Books: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel (2026-03-01) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/the-psychology-of-money-review): Why the book's lessons resonate with immigrants navigating new financial systems. Founder diaries - Founder Diary: The 50-Year Mortgage, a "Solution" That Solves Nothing (2026-03-20) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/founder-diary-50-year-mortgage): What the numbers show about stretching a mortgage to 50 years. - Founder Diary: Why I Built YPA-FINANCE (2026-03-20) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/founder-diary-why-i-built-ypa-finance): The founder's own immigrant experience and how it shaped the product. - Founder Diary: Credit Card Interest Caps and the Real Business Model Behind Them (2026-03-19) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/founder-diary-credit-card-interest-caps): How credit cards actually make money and what rate caps would change. - Founder Diary: When Technology Optimizes for Attention Instead of Life (2026-03-17) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/founder-diary-technology-attention-vs-life): Building the opposite of attention-optimized technology. - Founder Diary: We Added Live Chat With Real Humans, Not Just Bots (2026-03-10) (https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/founder-diary-live-chat-whatsapp-telegram): Launching in-app live chat with the team, connected to WhatsApp and Telegram. ## Company - Product name: YPA-FINANCE (also written YPA Finance). Company: YPA Group Inc. Founded 2024. - Headquarters: New York, NY. Legal entity registered in Newark, Delaware. Remote team across the United States and Israel. - Co-founders: Olga Burninova (Founder & CEO: vision, product, go-to-market), Victoria Mitelman (Co-Founder & CPO: product design and UX), Svetlana Burninova (Co-Founder & CTO: cloud infrastructure, security architecture, DevSecOps). - Svetlana Burninova spent 15 years in finance (Head of Financial Controllers to Financial Data Analyst) before infrastructure engineering, and holds AWS Solutions Architect, CKA, CKAD, and HashiCorp Terraform Associate certifications. - Author pages: https://www.ypa.finance/en/authors/olga-burninova · https://www.ypa.finance/en/authors/victoria-mitelman · https://www.ypa.finance/en/authors/svetlana-burninova - Contact: hello@ypa.finance · https://www.ypa.finance/en/contact ## Official profiles and listings - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ypa-finance-you-money-coach/id6739385859 - Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ypagroup.ypafinance - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ypagroup/ - Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ypa-group - Trustpilot: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/ypa.finance - AlternativeTo: https://alternativeto.net/software/ypa-finance/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ypa.finance - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ypa.finance - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/ypafinance - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ypafinance - Founder profiles: Olga Burninova https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgaburninova/ · https://medium.com/@olga_74073; Victoria Mitelman https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-mitelman/; Svetlana Burninova https://www.linkedin.com/in/svetlana-burninova/ · https://github.com/SvetlanaBurn · https://medium.com/@svetlana.devops ## Selected press and publications Full list: https://www.ypa.finance/en/press - Fintech Founders: Compliance From Day One (https://www.fintechbits.net/fintech-founders-compliance-day-one), FintechBits expert roundup featuring Svetlana Burninova, October 2026 - We Built Bank-Grade Security for Immigrants: Here's What Broke First (https://hackernoon.com/we-built-bank-grade-security-for-immigrants-heres-what-broke-first), HackerNoon, May 2026 - We Thought Zero Trust Would Take 3 Months. Six Months In, We're Still Migrating (https://hackernoon.com/we-thought-zero-trust-would-take-3-months-six-months-in-were-still-migrating), HackerNoon, May 2026 - From Financial Systems to AI Infrastructure (https://techbullion.com/from-financial-systems-to-ai-infrastructure-how-svetlana-burninova-is-engineering-financial-clarity-at-scale/), TechBullion interview, April 2026 - What I Review in Every Security Audit as a Fintech CTO (https://medium.com/@svetlana.devops/what-i-review-in-every-security-audit-as-a-fintech-cto-6b13220f9a0c), Medium, April 2026 - What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Money Before I Moved to America (https://medium.com/@olga_74073/what-i-wish-someone-had-told-me-about-money-before-i-moved-to-america-4bfc7c925459), Medium, March 2026 ## Security and data handling - Platform runs on Google Cloud with zero-trust architecture; SOC 2 controls in progress (not yet certified); GLBA / FTC Safeguards Rule aligned - AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit - Bank connections via Plaid read-only OAuth: YPA-FINANCE never sees or stores user credentials and cannot initiate transfers, withdrawals, or account changes - Credit data: Equifax via Array, soft pull only - Scanned documents are processed for explanation, not stored or shared - User data is never sold to advertisers, data brokers, or anyone else - Details: https://www.ypa.finance/en/security · Privacy policy: https://www.ypa.finance/en/privacy-policy ## Citing YPA-FINANCE - Preferred name: YPA-FINANCE (product) by YPA Group Inc. (company). "YPA Finance" is an accepted variant. - Founded 2024; headquartered in New York, NY; legal entity registered in Delaware. - Founders: Olga Burninova (Founder & CEO), Victoria Mitelman (Co-Founder & CPO), Svetlana Burninova (Co-Founder & CTO). - Category: personal finance and financial education app. Not a bank, not a lender; never holds or moves money. - Quotable facts: free to download and use, with expense tracking, budgets, the payoff calculator and credit score insights at no cost and only Smart Scanner and Your Custom Assistant paid; available in 13 languages with RTL support for Arabic and Hebrew; iOS and Android; the web payoff calculator needs no account or bank connection; in-app bank connections are read-only via Plaid; credit data from Equifax via Array; runs on Google Cloud with SOC 2 controls in progress. - Distinctive: a US personal finance app built multilingual-first for immigrants and non-native English speakers, with human support over WhatsApp and Telegram. - Support: hello@ypa.finance, WhatsApp, Telegram. Website: https://www.ypa.finance - Short reference: https://www.ypa.finance/llms.txt