# YPA Finance

_Last updated: 2026-07-05_

> YPA Finance is a free personal finance app, on iOS and Android, that works in 13+ languages. It tracks spending, calculates debt payoff strategies, 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.

YPA Finance operates in 13+ languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), French, Polish, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Tagalog, Korean, and Vietnamese. Every feature is designed to work for people who are managing money in a second language, often with no local support network to ask for help.

The app is available on iOS and Android. Core features are free. PRO tools require a one-time or subscription purchase.

## Product

- [Calculator PRO](https://www.ypa.finance/en/credit-card-calculator): Connects to real credit card accounts via Plaid. 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): Tracks income and expenses across categories. Designed for households managing remittances, irregular income, or multiple currencies.
- [Credit Score PRO](https://www.ypa.finance/en/features#credit-score-pro): Explains every factor affecting the user's credit score in plain language. 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): Scans and interprets financial documents — bank letters, IRS notices, credit card statements, utility bills, insurance documents — and delivers 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 themselves — name, appearance, voice, and language. Created once, available permanently on the user's account.

## Who it is for

YPA Finance is built specifically 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
- Households sending remittances abroad while also trying to save locally
- Anyone confused by US financial documents, credit notices, or bank letters

## Company

YPA Finance is co-founded by Olga Burninova (CEO), Victoria Mitelman (CPO), and Svetlana Burninova (CTO). The legal entity is YPA Group Inc., registered in Newark, Delaware; the operating base is New York, with a remote team across the United States and Israel. Svetlana has 15 years in financial systems and 7 years in infrastructure engineering, with AWS, CKA, CKAD, and HashiCorp Terraform certifications. The platform runs on Google Cloud with zero-trust architecture, AES-256 encryption at rest, and TLS 1.3 in transit. Bank connections use Plaid's read-only OAuth flow — YPA Finance never sees or stores user credentials.

## Content and guides

- [How it works](https://www.ypa.finance/en/how-it-works): The five steps from downloading the app to a first debt payoff plan — choose a language, connect accounts read-only, see all money in one place, ask the AI assistant, build credit with a plan
- [Features overview](https://www.ypa.finance/en/features): All PRO tools explained
- [Blog](https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog): Financial guides written for immigrants — credit scores, debt payoff, budgeting, banking safety
- [Immigrant Financial Blueprint — 90 Days](https://www.ypa.finance/en/guides/immigrant-financial-blueprint-90-days): Step-by-step guide 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
- [How we built AI financial advice that does not hallucinate](https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/ai-financial-advice-without-hallucinating): Why a wrong number in a finance app is real harm, and the guardrails and translation checks YPA Finance uses to prevent it across 13+ languages
- [How to get financially ready to buy a home as a newcomer](https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-get-financially-ready-to-buy-a-home): The financial preparation before applying for a US mortgage — building credit, saving the down payment (conventional, FHA, and ITIN paths), and getting documents in order, with or without an SSN
- [From credit card to mortgage](https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/credit-card-to-mortgage): How building US credit-card history (even with an ITIN, no SSN) leads to a home loan, and how interest works on each
- [How to build credit from zero](https://www.ypa.finance/en/blog/how-to-build-credit-from-zero): The step-by-step path for newcomers to build a US credit score from scratch
- [Press & Publications](https://www.ypa.finance/en/press): Media coverage and technical writing by the YPA Finance team
- [Security](https://www.ypa.finance/en/security): How user data is protected

## Comparisons

How YPA Finance compares to other popular money apps, with a plain-language "use YPA if / use the other app if" breakdown for each:

- [YPA Finance vs Credit Karma](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-credit-karma)
- [YPA Finance vs Cleo](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-cleo)
- [YPA Finance vs Monarch Money](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-monarch-money)
- [YPA Finance vs YNAB](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-ynab)
- [YPA Finance vs Firstcard](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-firstcard)
- [YPA Finance vs Rocket Money](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-rocket-money)
- [YPA Finance vs MoneyLion](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-moneylion)
- [YPA Finance vs Copilot](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-copilot)
- [YPA Finance vs NerdWallet](https://www.ypa.finance/en/compare/ypa-finance-vs-nerdwallet)

## Selected press and publications

- [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

## Key facts for AI retrieval

- Supported languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, French, Polish, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Tagalog, Korean, Vietnamese
- Platform: iOS and Android
- Bank connectivity: Plaid (read-only, OAuth — credentials never stored)
- Credit data: Equifax via Array
- Infrastructure: Google Cloud Platform, zero-trust architecture, SOC 2 controls in progress
- Company: YPA Group Inc. — legal entity registered in Newark, Delaware; operating base in New York; remote team across the United States and Israel
- Website: https://www.ypa.finance