Intuit to acquire financial health start-up SeedFi

By Edlyn Cardoza

Intuit, the global financial technology platform that makes TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire SeedFi, the partner behind Credit Karma’s Credit Builder, which helps low, or no-credit borrowers build credit while saving money, all for free.

Credit Builder offers a line of credit and a secured savings account, enabling members to build their credit while building up savings. By combining SeedFi’s Credit Builder technology with Credit Karma’s long-standing relationships with credit bureaus and others in the credit ecosystem, Intuit will be able to move with greater speed and scale to help Credit Karma members make financial progress.

Late last year, Credit Karma entered a partnership with SeedFi to offer Credit Builder to its members, enabling them to make regular payments, starting with as little as $20 per month or $10 per paycheck. By reporting these payments to the credit bureaus, members took steps toward improving their financial health. Through this partnership, members increased their score by an average of 21 points in as little as 30 to 45 days and built up over $10 million in savings. This acquisition will enable Credit Karma Money to continue to build on that momentum and help put more members on a path to financial security.

“Credit Karma Money was built to change consumers’ relationship with money and help them develop responsible financial habits, like staying on top of their bills and spending within their means,” said Poulomi Damany, SVP, and GM for Credit Karma Money and Tax. “With Credit Builder, we are able to differentiate ourselves as one of the best accounts for building credit. We have long standing relationships with credit bureaus and others in the credit ecosystem, and SeedFi has built great technology, so when combined, we will move even faster and build products to help more members, including those who need it the most.”

A recent study from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) showed that nearly three-quarters of Americans with no emergency savings have credit scores below 660. The correlation between low credit scores and lack of emergency savings persists over time, and SeedFi takes that problem head-on. Similar to Credit Karma, SeedFi’s mission is to break the cycle of debt and help Americans realise their financial potential.

“We have already been working with the Credit Karma Money team for over a year to help members build their credit score and have been impressed with how Credit Karma’s mission comes through in everything the company does. SeedFi has a similar mission to help consumers become financially fit, so joining forces just makes sense,” said SeedFi co-founder and CEO Jim McGinley. “Together, leveraging Credit Karma’s resources and scale, we will be able to accelerate the momentum of Credit Builder and SeedFi’s technology capabilities to help more consumers improve their financial health.”

The transaction between Intuit and McBurberod Financial, Inc., which does business as SeedFi, is subject to closing conditions and is expected to close in the coming months. Upon close, SeedFi will become part of Intuit’s Credit Karma business. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on Intuit’s operating results for the full fiscal year 2023. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Intuit Ventures was an investor in SeedFi’s last financing round.