Mpower Financing, the primary no-cosigner lender for international students in the U.S., has largely shut down after losing access to fresh financing. The company's loan book was heavily concentrated among Zimbabwean students — roughly 35% of all borrowers — and when the Trump administration added Zimbabwe to a partial travel-ban list, investor confidence in the underlying loans collapsed. Students who planned to borrow from Mpower for future semesters need to act now: Prodigy Finance is the main remaining no-cosigner option for graduate students. Undergrads should go straight to their school's international student services office immediately.

Mpower Financing, once the largest lender offering student loans to international students without a U.S. cosigner or credit history, has largely shuttered its operations, according to a Bloomberg report published October 7, 2026.1

The collapse was triggered by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Mpower's business model relied on bundling loans to international students into asset-backed securities sold to Wall Street investors. When immigration policies began restricting student arrivals from Africa and Asia, those investors grew nervous — and Mpower ran out of new financing.

The company had come to rely heavily on borrowers from several African nations, particularly Zimbabwe. About 92% of Mpower's borrowers came from the global south — Africa and Asia — with Zimbabwe accounting for roughly 35% of all loans, followed by India at 17%, then Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya.2 When the administration added Zimbabwe to a partial travel-ban list, the concentration became a liability. Mpower had already postponed an attempt to sell a new round of asset-backed securities through Goldman Sachs after investor demand dried up on concerns about the underlying loan book.

35%

Bloomberg describes the collapse as one of the most significant corporate casualties of the administration's immigration enforcement push.

Who This Affects

Mpower served international students in STEM and business programs at U.S. and Canadian universities. Its core offering was a no-cosigner, no-collateral loan — a product that barely existed elsewhere, because international students typically have no U.S. credit history and no U.S. family member to guarantee the debt.

This collapse hits students from the global south hardest. For many, Mpower was the only viable private loan option when institutional aid and scholarships weren't enough. The timing compounds existing pressure: international student enrollment has been declining throughout 2026 amid visa uncertainty, and the ongoing F-1 visa litigation has left many students uncertain about their status before they even get to the question of paying for school.

If you already have an existing Mpower loan, your debt doesn't disappear — you're still responsible for repayment. Keep your account information, loan documents, and contact details current. If your loan is transferred to a new servicer (which can happen in a lender collapse), they are required to notify you. Watch for communication from both Mpower and any new servicer.

What Students Should Do Right Now

Contact your school's international financial aid office this week. Not when the next bill arrives. Many schools maintain emergency bridge loan programs, institutional grants, or payment deferral options specifically for situations like this. Applying to U.S. colleges as an international student has always required demonstrating a full funding plan — and financial aid offices know that plans can break down. They have seen this before.

For graduate students: look at Prodigy Finance. Prodigy is the main remaining lender offering no-cosigner loans to international students. It lends up to $220,000 without collateral, available to students from 120+ countries at more than 1,200 universities worldwide. Rates start at 11.80% APR (representative APR 13.38%), with a $500 processing fee. Unlike Mpower, Prodigy prices loans based on your future expected earnings in your field rather than your current credit score — which is actually a better model for international graduate students in high-earning fields.

For undergrads: there is no direct private loan replacement. No lender currently fills the no-cosigner undergraduate loan gap that Mpower occupied. Your options are institutional loans through your school, international scholarships, tuition payment plans negotiated directly with your bursar, or financing through your home country.

Most university bursar's offices have more flexibility than their published policies suggest — especially for continuing students in good academic standing. Ask for a formal payment deferral in writing. It won't always be granted, but international students in this situation often receive 30 to 90 additional days while they locate alternative financing. Frame it as a bridge, not a forgiveness request.

The Bigger Picture

Mpower's collapse is one of the more concrete downstream consequences of the administration's sustained pressure on international students. The DHS appeal of the F-1 visa 4-year cap ruling, CPT and SEVP work restrictions affecting internships, and declining international enrollment data from NAFSA have compounded into a financial fragility that this collapse has now exposed.

Private capital follows enrollment projections. When visa policy makes international student headcounts unpredictable, lenders who depend on those students' future earnings to back their securities face structural problems. Mpower is not likely to be the last.

Steps to Take Now

  1. Current Mpower borrowers: Confirm your account status. Save all loan documents. Update your contact information so you receive any servicer transfer notices.
  2. Students who planned future borrowing: Contact your school's international financial aid office this week with a written explanation of your funding gap.
  3. Graduate students: Start a Prodigy Finance eligibility check to understand your options before your next semester bill.
  4. All international students: Review your visa and enrollment status with your designated school official. Your F-1 visa status and your ability to borrow are connected — a gap in enrollment affects both.

Footnotes

  1. Bloomberg. (2026, October 7). Student Lender Collapses as Immigrant Crackdown Roils Loan Book. Bloomberg. https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-07/student-lender-collapses-as-immigrant-crackdown-roils-loan-book ↩

  2. American Banker / Asset-Backed Securities Report. (2026). Trump Visa Curbs Derail Student Lender's Securitization Push. https://asreport.americanbanker.com/articles/trump-visa-curbs-derail-student-lenders-securitization-push ↩