The FICO-free credit card brings increased diversity to the consumer credit industry with a focus on cash flow, not on credit scores for customers
TomoCredit, a fintech company offering a credit card focused on building a credit history for first-time borrowers, announced a $10 million Series A funding round led by Kapor Capital and KB Investment Inc. (KBIC), a subsidiary of South Korea’s leading consumer bank. This comes on the heels of TomoCredit raising $7 million in seed funding, which brings the total funding to $17 million this year. The company also appointed Ash Gupta, former CRO at American Express, to the board.
“TomoCredit is a glowing example of financial services innovation that meaningfully benefits individuals and families”
According to the company’s analysis of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau statistics, 76% of GenZ and Millennials have not previously built up a credit history. Ultimately this means they cannot obtain loans from traditional financial institutions, which require at least a credit score with some history to get started. Such lending policies prevent 40 million people from accessing credit, including cars and homes.
TomoCredit aims to bring millions of individuals that lack a credit score into the financial system, allowing a diverse group of consumers the opportunity to better position themselves as qualified candidates for mortgages, auto loans, or other major life purchases. Powered by Finicity – a Mastercard company –and leveraging their secure data network and open banking technology, applicants permit TomoCredit to securely access their bank accounts to access financial data for underwriting purposes. Once approved, applicants receive the TomoCredit Mastercard, a no-fee credit card with 0% APR. The company has already pre-approved more than 300,000 customers and expects to issue a total of 500,000 cards by year’s end.
“TomoCredit is a glowing example of financial services innovation that meaningfully benefits individuals and families,” said Steve Smith, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Finicity. “The team at TomoCredit understands the value of open banking, the wide range of data and how it can deliver richer insights and better decisioning to drive inclusion for those who are underserved by traditional borrowing processes. We expect big things from the team.”
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“As a South Korean immigrant, I understood the true pain point when I came to the US and couldn’t get qualified for an auto loan. I knew there must be a solution so with my co-founder Dmitry, we built TomoCredit centered around helping consumers build credit faster,” said Kristy Kim, co-founder of TomoCredit. “We believe we have the opportunity to not only foster a diverse and inclusive team but to break socioeconomic barriers and provide credit solutions to a much wider audience impacted by this issue. Currently we have a 50% female representation in our executive leadership team and we are proud of our inclusive culture here at Tomo,” said Kristy.
With this latest funding round, TomoCredit will hire additional staff and enhance key features like weekly AutoPay and High Credit Limits to boost credit scores faster. Through a no credit-pull method with no fees, the company can provide credit to everyone, especially to the ones neglected by major lenders due to their lack of FICO scores. TomoCredit’s Advisory Board includes current and past executives from LendingClub, Mastercard, Chime, SoFi and Venmo.
“At Kapor Capital, we believe in the power of transformative ideas and diverse teams. TomoCredit is just that,” said Brian Dixon, Partner at Kapor Capital, ”TomoCredit gives fair opportunity to everyone that is looking to start building credit and it is much needed for underrepresented communities. TomoCredit founders understand the pain points in the credit system from their own struggles as immigrants.”
Also joining this round is Lewis & Clark Ventures. “We are enthusiastic about the potential for TomoCredit to make a real impact in our nation by offering opportunities for inclusion for immigrants, foreign students, and those just beginning their careers with something as basic as their access to credit,” said Tom Hillman, Founding General Partner, Lewis & Clark Ventures.
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