Credit Kudos works hard for a £2.2m funding round
Credit Kudos, the challenger credit bureau, has raised £2.2 million in its latest round of funding.
“A core solution to tackling the lack of fair and affordable access to credit for customers”
The funding was led by Ascension Ventures, through its social impact fund Fair by Design, with additional investment from existing investors NFT Ventures and Entrepreneur First’s Next Stage Fund.
New backers include Dragons’ Den star Sarah Willingham; prolific angel investor Charlie Songhurst (investor in Affirm, ClassPass, and Coindesk); and other figures from the credit industry, including both the former CEO and MD of Callcredit, now TransUnion, John McAndrew and Graham Lund.
The investment will be used to drive further growth within the UK and support expansion into Europe, alongside further investment into Credit Kudos’ platform.
Credit Kudos, which launched its open banking platform in January 2018, was co-founded by software engineers Freddy Kelly and Matt Schofield.
Upon returning to the UK after working in Silicon Valley, Freddy faced a myriad of challenges accessing credit due to his “thin” credit file. With little to no recent financial activity in the UK, Freddy was offered only limited credit product options, with higher interest rates and restrictions. This experience led Freddy to co-found Credit Kudos to help all people access affordable credit.
In the UK alone, it is estimated that one in four families have less than £100 in savings. However, due to insufficient data, many individuals with the most need for credit are at risk of being pushed into high-cost credit options, and have the hardest time accessing affordable loans.
Credit Kudos’ solution aims to enable lenders to make better decisions, whilst simultaneously helping previously overlooked individuals access credit.
“Credit Kudos is very much at the centre of the FBD investment thesis,” says Emma Steele, investment manager for Ascension Ventures. “They are a core solution to tackling the lack of fair and affordable access to credit for customers, with thin files or no credit history.”
“Credit Kudos has the potential to advance financial inclusion by improving approval rates for people previously excluded by the system; help prevent borrowers from being forced into higher priced products; and make it easy for lenders to check affordability,” she adds.
