Challenger credit card company Keebo secures £5m in seed funding and UK government support

By Gaia Lamperti

Personalised credit startup, Keebo, announced today it raised £5 million ($6.9 million) in a seed funding round led by Breega and Connect Ventures, along with being awareded the Fast Start grant funding from Innovate UK.

Boasting Mastercard among its partners, the FinTech applies Open Banking data and behavioural science to provide a personalised credit line for consumers. Keebo, which is set to launch in October this year, will offer a credit card and mobile app aiming to empower users to build credit, whilst also developing financial stability and personal growth.

“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,” Micheal Vanaselja, CEO and Co-founder commented. “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.”

With the use of Open Banking technology and behavioural underwriting, Keebo aims to understand its customers’ full financial history to provide them with fair, low-interest credit, even if they don’t have a credit score. As a customer grows and evolves, their credit adapts to their changing needs and circumstances, making their credit truly personalised.

Rory Stirling, Partner at Connect Ventures, one of the investors, said: “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 investment by Breega and Connect will be used to focus on a robust recruitment drive of outstanding talent. In addition to the seed round, Keebo has been awarded 3 technology grants by the UK government, totalling £425,000 (around $587,000), including Innovate UK’s Fast Start grant for cutting-edge startups.

The FinTech company will help customers understand how every purchase and financial decision they make can improve their credit and financial wellbeing. It is a groundbreaking approach for the industry to date, making it the only credit card company authorised by the FCA for Open Banking based underwriting that looks into a customer’s broader financial behaviour.

“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,” Stirling continued. “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.”

Keebo launches against the backdrop of the sharp rise in demand for alternative credit products, such as BNPL financing. Whilst helping to open up access to better, particularly amongst freelancers, entrepreneurs, expats and first-time homebuyers who are often excluded from traditional credit, the firm’s credit card and the app will educate customers to spend responsibly, avoid bad debt and build their credit and overall financial wellbeing.