Credit Sesame has raked in $51m of funding to launch new AI-driven services to help consumers secure easier access to credit and banking services.
Investors in the funding round included Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Menlo Ventures, ATW Partners, Globespan Capital, Investus Capital, IA Capital Group and more.
Founded in 2010, Credit Sesame is a financial wellness service that seeks to help consumers achieve financial wellness by helping them manage and grow their credit and cash in one place for free.
According to Credit Sesame, this latest funding paves the way for the company’s rapid growth and expansion.
The firm claims it is entering its next phase of growth with ‘significant business momentum’ after it surpassed over one million debit account customers in less than a year from its beta launch as well as 200% annual growth in premium subscription services.
Credit Sesame said its latest product and service innovations have used its substantial consumer data and AI and aim to help close the ‘credit chasm’, an issue that currently involves over 44 million Americans who have no credit history and face major challenges in finding their way into the credit and financial system.
The company recently completed the purchase of FinTech software services startup Zingo in what it described as a ‘first step’ in helping to close this aforementioned issue. Credit Sesame said the acquisition will enable it to integrate rent reporting services into its suite of financial wellness offerings this summer. This is particularly important as almost 80% of the firm’s 15 million members are renters.
The purchase will also see Credit Sesame leveraging Zingo’s intelligent data platform to collect, verify and report rental payments to credit bureaus to help consumers establish credit and strengthen their credit profiles based on their consistent payment history.
Credit Sesame CEO Adrian Nazari said, “Creating access to better credit and finance is critical for financial prosperity for consumers in our country, and it’s enlightening to see major banks and the federal government also taking action. The impacts of the past year have only made those needs greater, and through our recent acquisition and fundraising, we are proud to be expanding our platform offerings and leading the charge in opening more doors to financial inclusion and wellness for all.”
Later in 2021, Credit Sesame claims it intending to launch a ‘first-of-its-kind’ feature that will allow consumers to use their cash to allow them to build and enhance their credit profile easier and with no credit check.
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