Credit card startup Yonder has partnered with open banking platform Yapily to provide consumers access to credit without needing a UK credit score.
According to recent research by Experian, over 5 million people in the UK – 9 per cent of the total adult population – have little to no credit history, greatly reducing their access to mainstream financial services. Together, Yonder and Yapily are addressing this problem by creating a more accurate, complete, and fairer way to assess a consumer’s financial footprint with open banking.
With the customer’s consent, Yapily Data enables Yonder to fetch individual bank account information and analyse factors such as income and expenses to create a more holistic credit profile. This has the potential to transform access to finance for millions of ‘credit invisibles’; the expat finding it difficult to open a bank account; the immigrant struggling to rent a property; the young person who has not yet established a credit record.
In addition to higher approval rates, Yonder customers will benefit from no currency exchange fees when spending abroad, access to lifestyle rewards, and a way to build their credit score by making monthly payments on time. Powered by Yapily Payments, Yonder customers will also benefit from using a direct, instant, and more secure account-to-account open banking payment method when paying off their credit balance.
Tim Chong, Co-Founder CEO at Yonder, said: “Unfair credit scoring methods, legacy app experiences, and vague pricing techniques are a thing of the past. With open banking, we’re bringing back fairness and equality to the credit industry. Yapily’s technology and open banking expertise are helping to make that vision a reality.”
Stefano Vaccino, Founder and CEO at Yapily, added: “This is yet another excellent example of how open banking is helping to serve the underbanked population, providing access to financial products to those who may not have been able to before. It’s great to see how innovative companies like Yonder are challenging traditional credit systems and joining us on our mission to create better and fairer financial services for everyone.”
