Kreditz secures €10M to speed up growth, expand to new markets

Stockholm-based credit information startup Kreditz has completed a funding round worth €10 million to accelerate its growth and expand its business to new markets

The startup claims that it has served 80 clients across Europe and the United Kingdom, including Ikano Bank, Collector Bank, and SaveLend. The latest funding effort has boosted the company’s valuation to €40 million.

Founder and CEO Roni Zacharion said he was “pleased” that investors like private banking firm Creades and IKEA’s parent company Ingka Investments participated in the fundraising.

Established in 2018, Kreditz assists banks and other financial firms in analysing transaction data and getting a comprehensive view of applicant profiles based on Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and Open Banking data. It aligns with the startup’s objective to strengthen financial transparency and responsibility globally.

The use cases of Kreditz’s services include personal and business loans, money transfers, insurance applications, and even online gambling.

Kreditz’s solutions allow financial firms to better understand customers’ finances and reduce credit risks simultaneously. The Swedish startup’s consumer-based product help financial companies verify incomes, track spending behaviours, check asset accumulation, and confirm debt involvement.

Meanwhile, Kreditz’s business product helps these companies verify revenues, spending, and assets of business clients. Clients can also request customised solutions for their specific businesses.

Zacharion said the transaction-based credit scoring market was developing at a rapid pace.

“More and more customers, such as banks and loan brokers, see the need to have access to accurate and fully automated real-time data that can enable better and smoother credit decisions,” Zacharion said.

The Kreditz executive also pointed out that financial regulators had urged companies to move away from “template figures” and start using real customer data to assess credit information.

Ingka managing director Peter van der Poel said its minority investment in Kreditz would “add value” to the company’s financial services propositions in the future. According to van der Poel, the Dutch holding company is impressed with Kreditz’s progress in just a few years.