In 2019 , global student loan debt climbed to an astonishing US $ 1.41trn , the highest amount spent in history . As education debt grows , fintechs are moving to consolidate this debt with innovative technology . Entrepreneur Michael Bloch is the co-founder and CEO of Pillar , a mobile app designed to manage student loan debt by recommending repayment rates to users . Though the Kleiner Perkins-backed app is little over a year old , it is continuously expanding the type of loans it supports and has been met with a greatly positive reception from its users across the US . 77 www . fintechmagazine . com