EZCorp

EZCORP, Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: EZPW S&P 600 Component
Industry	Specialty Consumer Financing
Founded	1989
Founder	Courtland L. Logue, Jr.
Headquarters	Austin, Texas, USA
Area served	United States, Mexico, Europe, Canada
Key people	Lachlan Given, Chairman and Mark Kuchenrither, President, CEO, and CFO
Products	Pawn, Retail, Short-term loans
Brands	EZPAWN, Value Pawn, EZMONEY, Empeño Fácil, Cash Converters and Grupo Finmart.
Revenue	US$ 597 million (2009)
Number of employees	7,300
Website	http://www.ezcorp.com/

EZCORP is an American pawn shop operator based in Austin, Texas. It is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange and the second largest pawn shop operator in the U.S.

EZCORP owns controlling interests in Prestaciones Finmart, S.A.P.I. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (doing business under the names Crediamigo and Adex), which is a provider of consumer loans in Mexico, and in Renueva Commercial, S.A.P.I. de C.V., which is an operator of buy/sell stores in Mexico under the name TUYO. The Company also has an investment in Cash Converters International Limited, which franchises and operates a worldwide network of over 750 stores that provide personal financial services and sell pre-owned merchandise.

The company was founded in 1989. In 1994, the company had grown to operate 234 pawn shops in nine states. The company expanded its business to offer payday loan services in its EZPAWN locations in 2001. The first stand-alone payday loan stores were opened and branded EZMONEY in 2003. EZCORP then entered into international markets. EZPAWN opened 4 new stores along the Texas/Mexico border and acquired 20 stores in the interior of Mexico, which were branded Empeño Fácil in 2007. In late 2008 EZCORP purchased the Las Vegas based loan providers, Pawn Plus and ASAP Pawn. In 2009, EZCORP expanded to Canada, operating under the name CashMax. The company also acquired 30% interest in Cash Converters International in November of 2009. The company reports it acquired Value Financial Services in January 2009. In 2010, EZCORP increased interest in Cash Converters International to 33%. The company was also listed on Fortune Magazine's 100 Fastest Growing Companies for 2010. EZCORP acquired the Cash Converters master franchise rights in Canada in 2011. In 2012, EZCORP acquired a controlling interest in Grupo Finmart, a specialty consumer finance company headquartered in Mexico City and operating under the name "Crediamigo"; and TUYO, a company headquartered in Mexico City that owns and operates buy/sell stores in Mexico City and the surrounding metropolitan area.

The company offers specialty consumer lending and signature loans. The company operates over 1,400 locations in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Mexico under the names of EZPAWN, Value Pawn, EZMONEY, Empeño Fácil, Cash Converters and Grupo Finmart. It has 7,300 employees and provides short term credit services and pawn loans. It specialized in "non-recourse loans" collateralized by tangible personal property. The company also offers payday loans and fee-based credit services.