Nova Credit gets regulatory nod to provide credit references in the UK

By Gloria Methri

Nova Credit UK has received the requisite permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide credit references in the United Kingdom. Through its Nova Passport technology, the firm intends to make it easier, faster, and more equitable for immigrants living in the UK to access its credit products and services.

Nova Credit’s technology unlocks consumer-permissioned access to over 2 billion credit profiles worldwide. By working with Nova Credit UK, financial services providers in the UK can now incorporate credit information from foreign bureaus as part of their creditworthiness assessment.

Misha Esipov, Co-founder & CEO of Nova Credit, said, “The UK is home to one of the world’s largest and most diverse immigrant communities; one in seven people in the UK was born overseas. We are thrilled to bring Nova Credit across the Atlantic to support the next generation of UK-bound immigrants. This critical consumer segment is the largest driver of the country’s population growth and is mission-critical to any business looking to maintain and grow market share.”

Collin Galster, Non-Executive Director of Nova Credit UK, added, “Using the Nova Passport, UK lenders will be able to understand the financial history of consumers from over 20 countries and instantly use this information to make more fair and inclusive decisions. We have been thrilled by the reception we’ve received from the UK’s leading banks, FinTechs, auto lenders, and telecom providers, and look forward to announcing our first wave of partners in the coming months.”

Blending deep relationships with credit bureaus globally and API-driven credit risk technology, Nova Passport pulls newcomers’ established credit data from reputable bureaus in their countries of origin and translates it into an equivalent score and report suitable for use by lenders and financial services providers in their new host country.

Seamlessly integrated into a financial institution’s credit application process, the company’s technology enables UK lenders to make more real-time application approvals responsibly and at a greater scale to people who would otherwise be excluded from obtaining financial access.