About Us
US Equity Advantage

US Equity Advantage was founded in 2003. Its signature AutoPayPlus™ program helps consumers build equity and save money in interest payments by providing automated payment strategies that accelerate the payoff of their cars and any other loan they add to the service. Since its inception, USEA has securely processed more than $2 billion in loan payments and is on track to save its customer base approximately $29 million in interest they would have paid to the bank.

When the 2008 recession hit, bringing with it higher fees to consumers, record default rates and nearly a third of home mortgages under water, USEA expanded its services beyond simply loan payment services to helping consumers achieve their financial objectives faster by reducing debt and saving for the future.

US Equity Advantage has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and is bonded in excess of $10 million by an insurance carrier that carries an AM Best Rating of A+. USEA employs a compliance officer who ensures that USEA is fully compliant with all regulatory issues relevant to the marketplace including state money transmission licensing, ACH network operating rules and guidelines, Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) requirements related to customers’ transactions, and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) including annual financial auditing.

ROBERT STEENBERGH,
CEO & Founder US Equity Advantage

More than $​2 Billion transacted securely

95% of customers feel our service is a good or exceptional value for the price

On target to save $29 Million for our customers

Who We Are

USEA has a dedicated Compliance department that is actively engaged in meeting all requlatory compliance issues for Money Transmitters in the marketplace. Under the State Money Transmitter license statutes, USEA is bonded in excess of $10M US dollars from an insurance carrier that has an AM Best Rating of A+ and is audited by each and every State banking department once every 12-
18 months

USEA operates in 75% of the United States. From Hawaii to Florida, we partner with automotive,RV, and power sport dealers to provide a payment service that helps consumers improve their financial outlook. Contact us to check on the status of our license in your state. Money transmitters are required to be licensed in the states that require it where they do business.

We provide our customers with best-in-class personal finance content on the AutoPayPlus Getting Ahead blog that covers topics such as money insights, car and home advice, saving, budgeting and more. We stay connected to our customers throughout the life cycle of their loan with debit alerts, vehicle maintenance reminders and credit monitoring alerts.

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Our Leadership Team

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ROBERT STEENBERGH

Founder and CEO

Robert is a groundbreaker in automotive financing, driving innovations for more than two decades and making US Equity Advantage the leading provider of biweekly loan processing for the automotive industry.

 AS CEO, Robert takes an active role in overseeing all aspects of USEA’s operations, banking and legal, including consulting with regulatory experts in all compliance matters pertaining to federal and state regulations. He is also a leading advocate in the broader financial space for issues related to consumer financial protections and industry compliance.

Robert began his career as a trial attorney in New York City representing auto dealers and finance companies before talking over leadership of a national automotive software company that provided financial analysis and CRM software solutions to automotive dealerships. 

In 2003, he co-founded USEA’s predecessor, MenuVantage. Automotive’s largest web-based menu selling software system at the time, MenuVantage led the industry in innovation and growth, providing dealers with best in class F&I tools and the most advanced technology available to ensure compliance and increased per unit profit. The company was acquired by ADP (now CDK) in 2009 and its software is still used in thousands of dealerships nationwide.  

Robert earned his Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School of Union University and his undergraduate degree from Siena College in Albany County, New York.

MARIA RANGLIN

Chief Operating Officer 

Maria joined US Equity Advantage in 2005. She is responsible for leading the management team in implementing USEA’s strategic business plans including developing performance measures, ensuring secure procedures for all areas of operation, and managing the processing of customers’ ACH transactions.

Her management experience in the automotive sector includes applying operational best practices and overseeing the entire sales process for Dealertrack Technologies and supervising installation sales and order processing for LML Technologies, inventor of one of the automotive industry's first desking tools.

Maria holds a certification in business management, known as a mini-MBA, from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. She is also bilingual in English and Spanish and a certified EMT.

GREG LEONARD

Chief Financial Officer

Since 1990, Greg as spent his finance career improving profitability, cash flow and business valuations for large and complex organizations, both domestic and international.

In 2018, he joined USEA as chief financial officer responsible for overseeing the company’s finance and compliance departments and ensuring that the necessary resources and disciplines are in place to support the company’s continued growth in the automotive market. He also works closely with state banking departments on the money transmission audits that occur annually with each of the states where USEA holds a money transmitter license. 

Greg’s previous career experience includes CFO positions with Hard Rock Café International, Signature Flight Support and Floor & Décor Outlets of America.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Bryant University in Rhode Island and a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University in Massachusetts.

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RICK CHRISTOPHER

National Sales Manager

Rick is a veteran automotive finance expert with an accomplished track record for helping agents and dealers maximize profits.

USEA’s clients benefit from his deep understanding of automotive retail and finance as well as his ability to deliver the innovative ideas and tools to help them succeed. He returned to USEA in 2018 after serving as regional account manager from 2013-2015.

Beyond USEA, Rick’s automotive dealership experience includes working as a finance manager, sales manager and dealer owner. On the agency side of the business, he spent more than a decade providing F&I products to dealerships, specializing in training and development, and partnering with major dealer groups to dramatically improve their Per Vehicle Revenue (PVR) and product penetrations by as much as 100 percent.

PATRICIA WEEKS

Compliance Officer

Pat is an 18-year banking business executive who joined USEA in 2012 to oversee the company’s state money transmission licensing, including the application process and staying compliant with state money transmission laws, GLBA customer privacy issues and FinCEN releases. She also supports the training of USEA employees in BSA/AML matters and works with the development team to ensure that information security and record retention matters are handled in accordance with regulation.

Previously, Pat served as a corporate underwriter for commercial and industrial lines of business and commercial real estate at several large regional banks in Central Florida and has extensive experience in BSA/AML and financial regulatory training.