How Does SoFi Make Money?

SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) is known for its one-stop-shop financial services platform that offers a wide range of personalized solutions through a single, unified app. This model is particularly appealing to millennial and Gen Z consumers, who usually prefer to manage their finances digitally. Unlike traditional banks with costly physical branches and outdated infrastructure, SoFi operates an entirely online, low-overhead model. This allows it to offer lower fees, higher savings yields, and faster services to its customers.

SoFi stock has delivered a significant run-up in 2025 (up over 100% since the start of the year). Its growing track record of profitability, its record member and product growth, and its accelerating revenue have demonstrated the strength of the underlying business, and investors have responded in kind. If you want to find out more about what SoFi does, how SoFi makes money, and more, you've come to the right place.

Image source: Getty Images.

What does SoFi do?

SoFi is a top fintech company that offers a diverse selection of personal financial products and services across three main segments: lending, financial services, and its technology platform for other businesses. As a major online lender, SoFi offers various loan and refinancing options. These include personal loans, student loan refinancing, private student loans, home loans, auto loan refinancing, and home equity loans and lines of credit.

The Financial Services division includes products like SoFi checking and savings accounts, which are high-yield, FDIC-insured, have no monthly fees, and offer early direct deposit. The SoFi Invest platform allows users to trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, mutual funds, and alternative funds with commission-free options. The platform offers both self-directed and robo-advisory (automated) investing options, as well as various retirement accounts.

There's also the SoFi Credit Card, which provides cash back rewards on all purchases; SoFi Protect, which offers various insurance products (auto, home, life, renters) through third-party partners; and SoFi Relay, a personal finance management tool for tracking external accounts, credit scores, and spending habits, and setting financial goals.

SoFi Travel is an application that helps users manage travel search and booking experiences. The SoFi platform even offers estate planning document creation and services to customers via its partner network.

SoFi also operates Galileo and Technisys, which provide a cloud-native digital core banking platform, software licenses, and API access to other financial and non-financial institutions to help them launch financial services and process payments. While SoFi does not directly offer business bank accounts or loans, it provides a marketplace where small business owners can compare financing options from other third-party lenders.

SoFi has proven its ability to consistently add new members and successfully cross-sell additional products. This flywheel effect tends to increase a customer's lifetime value and foster strong, recurring member relationships. The company continuously introduces new and innovative products, too. SoFi focuses on a high-earning, financially responsible demographic (personal loan borrowers have a weighted-average FICO score of 743), which has helped manage the company's credit risk and build a more stable customer base.

How does SoFi make money?

SoFi makes money through its lending division. It generates income from net interest and fees on products like student, personal, and home loans, and from selling these loans to institutional investors. Additionally, the company earns revenue from its technology platform, which provides back-end services for other fintech companies.

It also makes money through its financial services products, which include credit and debit card interchange fees, investment platform fees, and insurance referral fees.

The bulk of SoFi's revenue comes from its lending segment. However, in recent quarters, there has been a notable increase in its balance sheet growth from the financial services and technology platforms. This is driven by fee-based income.

SoFi's financials

SoFi had a robust financial year in 2024, as the business achieved annual profitability for the first time and reported record revenue. The company delivered revenue of $2.6 billion (up 26% year over year), and net income under GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) of $499 million. SoFi completed record loan originations totaling $23.2 billion, and clocked $25 billion in member deposits. It also launched two new credit cards, expanded its loan platform business, and launched a new robo-advisor platform in the fiscal year.

In the third quarter of 2025, adjusted net revenue reached nearly $950 million, a 38% increase year over year. SoFi reported its eighth consecutive quarter of GAAP net income, which reached $139.4 million, up 129% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was a record $276.9 million, up 49% year over year.

The company added a record 905,000 new members in the third quarter, bringing the total to over 12.6 million, up 35% year over year. Total products grew 36% to nearly 18.6 million. Fee-based revenue came to $408.7 million, up 50% year over year and generating over $1.6 billion on an annualized basis.

SoFi also reported that its cross-buy initiatives hit their highest levels since 2022, with approximately 40% of new products being opened by existing SoFi members. Importantly, credit metrics are also improving. Personal loan net charge-offs reached their lowest level in over two years, and delinquency rates remained stable in Q3.

Recent developments

In September 2025, SoFi launched a new ETF called the SoFi Agentic AI ETF to offer investors access to companies involved in artificial intelligence development. SoFi also launched Cash Coach in Q3 2025. Cash Coach is an AI-driven tool that provides personalized insights and recommendations to help users optimize their cash flow management across all their linked accounts.

For instance, Cash Coach might suggest moving cash from a low-interest savings account at another bank to a higher-interest SoFi account, or using excess cash to pay down high-interest credit card debt. SoFi intends to roll out a more comprehensive SoFi Coach that will cover other areas of financial services, such as wealth management, in 2026.

SoFi has launched a new service for international money transfers that uses blockchain technology to send funds quickly and at a lower cost. This service allows users to send U.S. dollars through the SoFi app, which are then converted to local currency upon arrival. The initial launch focused on transfers to Mexico, but the company plans to expand to more countries soon.

SoFi also plans to relaunch direct in-app crypto trading for multiple tokens (including Bitcoin and Ethereum) later in 2025. It had previously suspended this service in 2023 due to regulatory constraints. SoFi has even announced plans to introduce its own SoFi USD stablecoin in the first half of 2026. This stablecoin will be integrated into the SoFi Pay wallet over time.

Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.