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Revenue
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue Revenue
Revenue from fees, net

The Company disaggregates revenue from fees by type of service for the periods presented as follows:
Three Months Ended March 31,
20202021
Revenue from fees, net:
Platform and referral fees, net$60,230 $106,953 
Servicing fees, net7,783 9,217 
Total revenue from fees, net$68,013 $116,170 
Platform and referral fees, net

The Company enters into contracts with bank partners to provide access to a cloud-based artificial intelligence lending platform developed by the Company (the “Upstart platform”) to enable banks to originate unsecured personal and auto refinance loans. The Upstart platform includes a cloud-based application (through Upstart.com or a bank-branded program) for submitting loan applications, verifying information provided within submitted applications, risk underwriting (through a series of proprietary technology solutions), delivery of electronic loan offers, and if the offer is accepted by the borrower, an electronic loan documentation signed by the borrower. Bank partners can specify certain parameters of loans they are willing to originate. Under these contracts, bank partners can choose to use Upstart’s referral services, which allow them to access new borrowers through Upstart’s marketing channels. The Company’s contracts with bank partners are non-cancelable and generally have 12-month terms that automatically renew.

After origination, Upstart-powered loans are either retained by bank partners, purchased by the Company for immediate resale to institutional investors under loan sale agreements, or purchased and held by the Company. For loans purchased by the Company, Upstart pays bank partners a one-time loan premium fee upon completion of the minimum holding periods. Upstart also pays bank partners monthly loan trailing fees based on the amount and timing of principal and interest payments made by borrowers of the underlying loans. The monthly loan trailing fees are paid based on the amount and timing of principal and interest payments made by borrowers of the underlying loans. Both the loan premium fees and loan trailing fees are consideration payable to customers and are recorded as
a reduction to platform and referral fees, net, which is part of revenue from fees, net, in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income for the periods presented. The Company recognized $2.4 million and $3.6 million of loan premium fees and loan trailing fees as contra-revenue within platform and referral fees, net for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The Company started paying loan trailing fees on January 1, 2019. As of December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021, the Company recorded $1.3 million and $1.8 million of loan trailing fee liability, respectively, which is recorded at fair value and included within accrued expenses other liabilities on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. Refer to “Note 4. Fair Value Measurement” for additional information on changes in fair value associated with trailing fee liabilities.

The Company’s arrangements for platform and referral services typically consist of an obligation to provide one or both of these services to customers, which are our bank partners, on a when and if needed basis (a stand-ready obligation), and revenue is recognized as such services are performed. Additionally, the services have the same pattern and period of transfer, and when provided individually or together, are accounted for as a single combined performance obligation representing a series of distinct services.

Platform and referral services are typically provided under a fixed or declining (tier-based) price per unit based on volume or as a percentage of the total value of loans originated each period; however, pricing for these services may also be based on minimum usage fees. The tier-based pricing, when offered, resets on a monthly basis and does not accumulate. Given that the nature of the Company’s promise is to stand ready and provide continuous access to and process transactions through the platform, tier-based pricing based on usage represents variable consideration. Since the variable fees relate directly to the day in which such services are provided, they generally meet the criteria for allocating variable consideration entirely to one or more, but not all, performance obligations in a contract. Accordingly, when the requisite criteria are met, variable fees are allocated to and recognized on the day the services are provided. Fees for platform and referrals services are typically billed and paid on a monthly basis. As such, the Company’s contracts with customers do not include a significant financing component.

The Company did not recognize revenue from performance obligations related to prior periods for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021. The Company had no material contract assets, contract liabilities, or deferred contract costs recorded as of December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021. The Company had $8.1 million and $11.7 million of accounts receivable that are included in other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets related to contracts with customers as of December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021, respectively. The Company’s allowance for bad debt was immaterial as of December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021, and the Company’s bad debt expense was immaterial for the periods presented.

The Company capitalizes incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer, which are certain sales commissions paid to acquire bank partners. Capitalized costs are amortized over the expected period of benefit, which we have determined, based on an analysis, to be 3 years. The Company applies the practical expedient to expense costs to obtain contracts with customers if the amortization period is one year or less. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had an immaterial amount of contract costs capitalized within other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company amortized an immaterial amount of capitalized contracts costs to sales and marketing in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company had one customer which accounted for 79% of the Company’s total revenue and two customers which accounted for 60% and 25% for the three months ended March 31, 2021. Two customers accounted for 34% and 15% of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2020 and 39% and 21% as of March 31, 2021.
Servicing fees, net
The Company also enters into contracts with bank partners and institutional investors to provide loan servicing for the life of Upstart-powered loans. These services commence upon origination of these loans by bank partners and include collection, processing and reconciliations of payments received, investor reporting and borrower customer support as well as distribution of funds to the holders of the loans. The Company charges the loan holder a monthly servicing fee calculated based on a predetermined percentage of the outstanding principal balance. Servicing fees also include certain ancillary fees charged on a per transaction basis for processing late payments and payments declined due to insufficient funds. Servicing fees are recognized in the period the services are provided. Loan servicing fees are not within the scope of Topic 606 and are accounted for under Topic 860, Transfers and servicing of financial assets.

Servicing fees, net also include gains and losses on assets and liabilities recognized under loan servicing arrangements for loans retained by bank partners or loans sold to institutional investors. Such gains or losses are recognized based on whether the benefits of servicing are expected to more than adequately compensate the Company for carrying out its servicing obligations. Servicing fees also include changes in fair value of loan servicing assets and liabilities in the periods presented. Refer to “Note 4. Fair Value Measurement” for additional information on changes in fair value associated with servicing assets and liabilities.

The Company recognized gains and losses related to loan servicing rights upon loan sales for the periods presented as follows:
Three Months Ended March 31,
20202021
Net gain (loss) related to loan servicing rights$1,459 $(67)

The Company generally outsources borrower payment collections for loans that are more than 30 days past due or charged off to third-party collection agencies. The Company charges bank partners and institutional investors for collection agency fees related to their outstanding loan portfolio. The Company has discretion in hiring the collection agencies and determining the scope of their work. As the principal in the arrangement, the Company recognizes gross revenue from collection agency fees in the period that the services are provided. Upstart also receives certain ancillary fees inclusive of late payment fees and ACH fail fees. Revenue from collection agency fees and borrower fees are included in servicing fees, net as part of revenue from fees, net in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income. The total fees charged by collection agencies are also recognized in the period incurred and reported as part of customer operations expenses.

The Company recognized collection agency fees and borrower fees, which are included in servicing fees, net for the periods presented as follows:
Three Months Ended March 31,
20202021
Collection agency fees$800 $863 
Borrower fees$517 $886 
Interest Income and Fair Value Adjustments, Net

Interest income and fair value adjustments, net is comprised of interest income, interest expense and net changes in the fair value of financial instruments, held in the Company’s normal course of business at fair value, including loans, notes receivable and residual certificates, payable to securitization note holders and residual certificate holders.

The table below presents components of the interest income and fair value adjustments, net presented in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income:
Three Months Ended March 31,
20202021
Interest income and fair value adjustments, net(1):
Interest income$9,183 $3,405 
Interest expense(3,255)(1,030)
Fair value and other adjustments, net(9,947)2,800 
Total interest income and fair value adjustments, net$(4,019)$5,175 

(1)     Includes interest income, interest expense and fair value adjustments, net related to consolidated securitization trusts for the three months ended March 31, 2020 is as follows:
Three Months Ended March 31,
2020
Interest income and fair value adjustments, net related to consolidated securitization trusts:
Interest income$3,379 
Interest expense(569)
Fair value and other adjustments, net(3,000)
Total interest income and fair value adjustments, net$(190)
Interest income

Interest income is recognized based on the terms of the underlying agreements with borrowers for loans held on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets and is earned over the life of a lioan.

Interest income also includes accrued interest earned on outstanding loans but not collected. Loans that have reached a delinquency of over 120 days are classified as non-accrual status and any accrued interest recorded in relation to these loans is reversed in the respective period. As of December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021, the Company has recorded $0.9 million and $0.7 million of accrued interest income in loans on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, respectively.
Interest expense

Interest expense is primarily related to interest recorded on the Company’s borrowings and the notes issued as part of the consolidated securitizations. Interest expense includes accrued interest incurred but not paid. Accrued interest expenses were immaterial as of December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
Fair value and other adjustments, net

Fair value and other adjustments, net include changes in fair value of financial instruments, other than loan servicing assets and liabilities, common stock warrant liabilities, and convertible preferred stock warrant liabilities. These adjustments are recorded in the Company’s earnings and include both realized and unrealized changes to the value of related assets and liabilities. Refer to “Note 4. Fair Value Measurement” for additional information.
Fair value and other adjustments, net also include income attributable to third-party residual certificate holders for the consolidated securitization and amounts received from borrowers for previously charged-off loans held on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. These amounts are recognized in the period received.