US-based cross-border credit bureau Nova Credit has won FCA approval to begin operations in the UK
Nova Credit tackles the problem that immigrants have when they arrive in a new country - that their credit history is stopped at the border.
The Nova Credit Passport capability pulls newcomers’ established credit data from their country of origin and converts it into an equivalent score and report suitable for use by lenders and financial services providers in their new host country.
Launched in 2016, the company has developed partnerships with credit bureaus in over 20 countries. From its UK base, the startup intends to build partnerships with more credit bureaus throughout Europe and the rest of the world, particularly in regions where UK lenders’ demand for cross-border access to credit data is high.
The UK's 2021 Census revealed that 10 million people living in the country today were born overseas and 40% of them moved to the UK in the last decade.
Misha Esipov, co-founder & CEO of Nova Credit, comments: “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. 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.”
HSBC invested $10 million in the company in September last year and has already deployed the technology in Singapore, initially to support customers with credit history in India.
Other customers include American Express, Verizon, the United Nations Federal Credit Union and SoFi.