Professional background

Andre Underwood is a Senior Personal Finance Writer at SB Loan, where he writes comparison guides, plain-English explainers, and reported borrower narratives. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Missouri in 2014 and is currently working through the AFCPE Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) coursework.

Andre began on the business desk of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he covered regional banks, auto-title storefronts, and the debt problems of working households across Missouri and southern Illinois. His reporting on repossession patterns at subprime auto dealers ran as a three-part series and was picked up by consumer-advocacy groups tracking the market.

In 2019 he joined the consumer-money team at a Chicago digital newsroom as a senior writer, leading coverage of overdraft and NSF fees, the spread of buy-now-pay-later at checkout, and the ways thin-file borrowers get routed into high-cost credit. Over five years he interviewed more than 220 borrowers and kept a running column translating dense CFPB filings into practical guidance.

Andre joined SB Loan in 2025 to bring that reader-first, cost-forward habit to a site built entirely around small-dollar borrowing. His editorial rule is simple: meet readers in the situation they are actually in, skip the jargon, and keep the cheaper alternative visible on every page.

Qualifications and training

BA Journalism
University of Missouri · 2014
AFCPE Accreditation
In progress · Expected completion 2026
Years of experience
10 years in consumer-finance journalism (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chicago consumer-news desk)
Interviews on file
220+ borrowers and consumer-finance sources

Specialist subjects

  • Subprime auto lending — title loans, deficiency balances, repossession mechanics
  • Overdraft & NSF fees — fee cascades, opt-in rules, account-level alternatives
  • Buy now, pay later — checkout installment plans, late fees, credit-reporting gaps
  • Small-dollar credit — payday, installment, and cash-advance cost comparison
  • Reported borrower narratives — first-person interviews and field reporting

Content verified by Andre

Andre authored or contributed to:

Disclosure of potential conflicts

Disclosure. Andre holds no equity in any company covered on this site. He is paid a fixed SB Loan salary and receives no commission or per-loan referral bonus. He carries no freelance or consulting contracts with lenders, lead generators, or debt-relief companies, and steps back from any story touching a newsroom he previously worked for.

Reach out

For story pitches, source introductions, or interview requests, contact [email protected].