London-based challenger credit card FinTech, Keebo has closed £5m in a seed equity funding round led by Breega and Connect Ventures to provide a personalised credit line for consumers.
The funds will be used to continue Keebo towards its launch in October 2021 and accelerate hiring to achieve its mission on bringing financial wellness.
Apart from the investment, Keebo has been awarded three technology grants totalling £425k by the UK government for developing its financial modelling including Innovate UK’s Fast Start grant for cutting-edge startups. Also, it is supported by and will launch with Mastercard.
Keebo was founded by Michael Vanaselja and Matthew Hallett to empower users to build their credit and also develop financial stability. It uses behavioural underwriting, thereby enabling it to provide customers with the ability to understand each purchase they make and make financial decisions that improve their credit and financial wellness.
Every transaction made with a Keebo card – and all linked accounts – feeds into the company’s underwriting technology to give users a rounded view of their spending behaviour. Using open banking technology, Keebo understands the full financial history of customers and provides them with fair, low-interest credit even if they lack a credit score. As customers grow, their credit also adapts to their needs and circumstances that keep changing.
Vanaselja said, “It is more important than ever that we change our relationship with money – to take the fear away from ‘healthy’ debt and bring a strong dose of wellness into our finances. By leveraging new technology never used before in a credit card, we are proud to have created an app designed to change the future of finance for the next generation. We are thrilled to have the support of incredible investors in bringing Keebo’s vision of personalised credit to life.”
Set for launch in October this year, Keebo claims to be the only credit card company authorised by the FCA for open banking based underwriting that looks into a customer’s broader financial behaviour and encourages financial wellbeing, beyond simple debt repayments.
Breega co-founder Ben Marrel commented, “Access to safe and affordable credit should not be biased, yet today we see this happening time and time again, driving many to approach options which can put their financial future at significant risk. The solution that Keebo offers and the methods and technology it uses provide a real solution to this issue. We’re truly delighted to be accompanying and supporting the team on this very new and exciting venture”.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Connect Ventures partner Rory Stirling added, “Consumer credit is a fundamental and necessary part of our modern society. And yet, accessing consumer credit is broken for millions of people because they have no credit history, or because they’re negatively impacted by generic credit scoring that is outside of their control. We’re excited for Keebo to build a new category of ‘personalised credit’.
“The combination of behavioural underwriting, and a credit building app, will give each user access to the best credit for their specific situation, whilst also providing real-time feedback on how to improve over time. We love the Keebo mission and have been blown away by what the team have been able to achieve in such a short space of time, including being the first to be regulated by the FCA for behavioural underwriting.”
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