San Francisco-founded Nova Credit is a cross-border credit bureau that’s on a mission to accelerate financial inclusion for millions of creditworthy individuals who immigrate to new countries every year. Upon arrival, these individuals are without any credit history that lenders in their destination country can evaluate. Subsequently, they struggle to access priced credit-based products like credit cards, car finance, or phone contracts and must pay as much as six months’ rent upfront or find a guarantor to secure an apartment. Nova Credit’s expansion into Europe unlocks similar opportunities for immigrants into the UK. Of the 10 million immigrants living in the UK today, 3.5 million are relative newcomers who have little or no UK credit history but who, based on the historic credit data in their country of origin, could be categorized by UK lenders as creditworthy borrowers.
Nova Credit is on a mission to accelerate financial inclusion and help underserved communities gain access to mainstream credit. The consumer-permissioned credit bureau helps U.S. newcomers to use their international credit history to apply for credit cards, auto loans, rental properties. Through this offering, the company has built partnerships in over 20 countries to gain real-time access to over a billion credit profiles. Founded by immigrants, Nova Credit has offices in San Francisco and New York City, and is backed by leading investors including Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst and Index Ventures, as well as executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citi.