December 1, 2025
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Behavioral science meets fintech in groundbreaking initiative to help low-to-moderate income families achieve the American Dream.
We're thrilled to announce that Foyer has been selected to join the second cohort of ideas42's Credit: Expanding Opportunity (C:EO) initiative, supported by JPMorgan Chase. This partnership represents a major milestone in our mission to save the dream of homeownership—and it means we'll have access to world-class behavioral science expertise to make our platform even more effective for the families we serve.
At Foyer, we simplify the path to homeownership for first-time buyers. With personalized guidance and a roadmap tailored to your financial goals, you're never alone in this journey.
Despite working to build and establish credit histories, individuals and families with low-to-moderate incomes aspiring to homeownership face significant hurdles, including high housing prices and interest rates. But the challenges go deeper than just affordability.
The path to homeownership is complicated. There are credit requirements, mountains of paperwork, specialized loan options, and mazes of eligibility requirements that can overwhelm even the most determined aspiring homeowner. For many families, these complexities become insurmountable barriers—even when they have excellent credit scores and financial stability.
That's where Foyer comes in. And now, with ideas42 and JPMorgan Chase as partners, we're positioned to remove these barriers in ways that truly work for the people we serve.
ideas42 is a nonprofit that applies insights from behavioral science—the study of how people make decisions and act in the real world—to improve lives and drive social change. For 15 years, they've been at the forefront of using behavioral science to create a more equitable world, working across 50+ countries with governments, foundations, and organizations like ours.
In simpler terms, they're experts at understanding why people make the financial decisions they do—and how to design products and services that make it easier for people to make decisions that improve their lives.
The Credit: Expanding Opportunity program brings together housing services organizations to apply behavioral science principles to help people with low-to-moderate incomes not just buy homes, but keep them, and build wealth through homeownership.
This second cohort includes Self-Help; Manna, Inc.; Preservation of Affordable Housing; and Foyer to enable consumers to leverage their credit to access homeownership and its wealth-building potential. We're honored to be the fintech partner in a cohort of respected nonprofit housing organizations that have been doing this critical work for years.
The first year of C:EO focused on credit-building for consumers with sub- and near-prime credit scores. This second year takes the next step—helping people who've built their credit actually cross the finish line to homeownership, and then maintain their homes and financial health once they're homeowners.
JPMorgan Chase's support for the C:EO initiative is a part of the firm's holistic approach to advancing financial health outcomes, particularly within underserved communities. Their commitment goes beyond just funding—it's about helping consumers access, build, manage, and protect their credit while tapping into wealth-building opportunities.
As Mercedeh Mortazavi, Head of Financial Health at Global Philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase, explains: "Homeownership is a major life milestone and an essential opportunity for building wealth—for individuals, their families, and their communities. Without financial stability and resiliency—such as savings and credit — to access homeownership, families face increased risks of instability, which can have ripple effects throughout their communities."
Over the next year, we'll be working closely with ideas42 to apply behavioral science principles to every aspect of the Foyer platform. Here's what we're building together.
We noticed that many of our members are so close to being ready to buy. They have good credit. They have stable income. But they're just short on savings for the down payment and closing costs.
Here's the frustrating part—there are hundreds of down payment assistance (DPA) programs across the country designed to help exactly these buyers. But they're nearly impossible to find and navigate. Today, only about 20% of eligible Foyer members connect with these programs, even though they could make the difference between "not quite ready" and "let's go look at houses this weekend."
Working with ideas42, our goal is to rapidly find and coordinate the best down payment help you
This isn't just about pointing you to a database of programs. We're using behavioral science to:
ideas42 Managing Director Evelyn Stark captured what we believe at our core: "While a house is an investment and a key source of wealth for families, the opportunity to own a home is even more important: a welcoming refuge for extended family, a place to educate their children and an opportunity to put down deeper roots in a community. Homeownership offers an unparalleled sense of security and permanence, reducing the cognitive burden of instability."
This is exactly why Foyer exists. We're not just building a savings app—we're building a platform that understands that homeownership is about stability, community, and creating opportunities for your family that extend far beyond the financial. It’s the American Dream, and it’s at risk.
As we work with ideas42 and JPMorgan Chase over the coming year, our commitment remains the same—to create a personal path to homeownership for every member. To make the complex simple. To turn "someday" into "I'm ready."
We're learning from the best in behavioral science so we can serve you better. We're partnering with one of the world's leading financial institutions because they share our vision of making homeownership accessible to everyone who's willing to work for it.
And we're doing all of this because we believe the American Dream shouldn't be reserved for those who can navigate a broken system—it should be accessible to anyone willing to save, plan, and build toward it.
We'll be sharing updates throughout this partnership as we roll out new features and improvements informed by behavioral science research. You'll see changes to the platform that make it even easier to save, plan, and prepare for homeownership.
But the core of what we do won't change. We're here to walk with you on your journey to homeownership, one step at a time.
Want to be part of this journey? Open your free Foyer account today and join thousands of aspiring homeowners who are building their personalized path with our help.
About Foyer
Foyer is a fintech company focused on personalized homeownership preparedness, starting with a high-yield first-time homebuyer savings account that can save up to 30% more on down payments. Our comprehensive platform keeps future buyers on track with a 401k-like savings match, rewards system, step-by-step education, partner network, and a team of home advisors always available for questions and assistance.
About ideas42
ideas42 is a nonprofit that uses behavioral science to improve lives, build equity, and solve seemingly intractable problems. For 15 years, ideas42 has worked globally to design better products, services, and policies. Learn more at ideas42.org.
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading financial services firm committed to helping consumers access, build, manage, and protect their credit while tapping into wealth-building opportunities, particularly in underserved communities.
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Foyer is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Pacific West Bank, Member FDIC. Deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank.
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