Credit Sesame‘s new tech will allow customers to use the money they have to establish and build credit more easily, a press release says.
The impetus for the project was awareness of the 44 million Americans who are “invisible” to the credit system, stuck in loops of paying mostly with debit cards — particularly among younger generations. Now their habits will be able to be an asset to them in terms of credit, the release says. They can build their credit by responsibly using their debit card.
A survey quoted in the release found that 72 percent of respondents with no credit don’t have a finance product like a checking or savings account, mortgage, auto loan or credit card, and that this ended up putting them at a disadvantage, leaving them less able to rent apartments they want, buy cars or get the jobs they had opportunities for, among other things.
Now Credit Sesame will offer resources including free daily credit score refreshes, allowing customers to monitor their progress. It will help them by rewarding them with cash when their scores increase, and they will be improving their credit by using a debit card and bank account, with no separate credit card.
“We have long believed in the need for equal opportunity and inclusion in our credit and financial system,” said Adrian Nazari, CEO, Credit Sesame. “Now, the cash consumers actually have and the daily debit purchases they make can help build the credit score they really deserve. Credit Sesame is proud to lead the way and bring new solutions and financial inclusion to the industry by allowing consumers to use their cash to build their credit in a quick and simple way and pave the way for all consumers to access credit.”
Credit Sesame recently raised $51 million, which it intends to put toward the rollout of artificial intelligence-driven services to let customers access credit and free banking services.
The company also recently acquired Zingo, the FinTech software services startup. That will let the company incorporate rent reporting services into its suite.