Deserve, a credit card targeted at Generation Z, has received $17m in its Series C round, which was led by an unnamed strategic investor.
Other participants to the round included Accel, Aspect Ventures, Pelion Ventures, Mission Holdings, Alumni Venture Group and GDP Venture.
Deserve is a credit card producer for Generation Z (those born after 1997), utilising machine learning to help decide a credit score and ensure people are offered fair credit products. The platform aims to help consumers that do not have a credit card get access to one, by using machine learning algorithms to predict credit potential, based on attributes including education, current financial health, and future employability.
There are two separate credit cards offered Edu, which is designed for college students and Pro, a card for those out of education.
The Edu card offers 1 per cent cash back on purchases, no annual fees or deposits. Its Pro card offers the 1 per cent cash back and no annual fees; however, it also gives holders 3 per cent on travel and entertainment and 2 per cent cash back from restaurants.
With the new wave of funding, the company hopes to scale its platform and infrastructure, as well as achieve its goal of helping 40 million college students and young adults across the US receive financial independence through access to fair credit.
This capital has already been put to use through the introduction of a new, user-friendly mobile application for Deserve. The app enables consumers to manage finance, build credit and earn rewards.
The company also announced it has partnered with a number of companies to provide a selection of new perks. Holders of the Deserve Edu card will receive an 18-month subscription to Amazon Prime Student, and $100 off a new smartphone or tablet through T.Mobile.
Card holders will access MasterCard Cell Phone Insurance, $10 statement credit when paying three monthly insurance statements through Lemonade, and $100 off rental furniture with Feather.
Deserve CEO and founder Kalpesh Kapadia said, “We are thrilled to introduce our perks program and mobile app in tandem to raising our largest equity round to date. We’re another step closer to fulfilling our mission of expanding access to fair credit to all deserving, yet underserved populations.
“We have spent the last few years building a modern cloud-first infrastructure powered by machine learning to originate, process, and service credit cards, providing Gen Z with the means to achieve financial independence.”
Earlier in the year, the company picked up $50m in debt financing from Keystone National Group.
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