Business

PRESS ROOM: Advance Financial Continues West TN Expansion

THE TENNESSEE TRIBUNE — Leading fintech company Advance Financial continued its expansion across Tennessee with the opening of a new store in Millington, the company’s 103rd location.

Published

7 years ago

April 25, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Tennessee Tribune

MILLINGTON, TN — Leading fintech company Advance Financial continued its expansion across Tennessee with the opening of a new store in Millington, the company’s 103rd location.

“We look forward to serving and being part of the Millington community,” said Jessica Jackson, Advance Financial Regional Director. “West Tennessee is an area Advance Financial is working hard to have a bigger presence to make it easier and more convenient for our customers to access our products and services.”

Advance Financial celebrates every new store opening with a community event that’s open to all. Festivities in Millington will include giving away 100 lunches provided by a local caterer, live radio remotes by popular local stations and everyone’s favorite activity — a Money Machine booth where customers get a chance to grab cash that is blown around inside a booth for up to 60 seconds. The grand opening on Friday, April 12 runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is open to the public.

Advance Financial’s new location, at 8322 N. Highway 51, is now open for business 24 hours, 7 days a week. Advance Financial is one of only a handful of companies in its industry that serves customers around the clock.

“Having a store in Millington provides a central location close to Memphis where our customers can go anytime to cash a check, send a money order or withdraw money from their loan,” says Tina Hodges, the company’s chief executive and chief experience officer. “Of course, we’re also available online and by phone 24/7/365 to provide our customers the choice of how they prefer to access their money.”

Advance Financial offers a broad range of financial solutions. The company’s flagship product is the FLEX Loan, a flexible line of credit that gives customers the freedom of withdrawing cash at any time (up to their credit limit), then paying it back at their own pace with conveniently scheduled payments. Other products and services include 24/7 check cashing, Western Union electronic wire transfers, NetSpend Prepaid Cards, free bill-pay, unlimited free money orders and ATM services.

Founded in 1996, Advance Financial is a leading multi-state fintech company based in Nashville, Tennessee. With more than 100 stores in Tennessee and more than 1,100 employees, the family-owned and operated company is aggressively investing in the expansion of its market presence in Tennessee, as well as online in other states. In keeping with its vision of a world-class customer experience, Advance Financial is delivering instant lending decisions and brick-and-mortar money services 24/7/365. In 2018, the company was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country for the seventh year in a row and it is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. The Nashville Business Journal also named Advance Financial as 2018’s fourth fastest growing company in the Nashville market. Forbes included the company on its 2018 list of Best Employers for New Graduates. And most recently, Indeed named Advance Financial a Top-Ranked workplace for Compensation/Benefits.

For more information visit https://www.af247.com.

This article originally appeared in The Tennessee Tribune.

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

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Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.