Customers walk past the digital display of the new green Apple iPhone 13 pro inside the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, March 18, 2022.
Mike Segar | Reuters
LONDON – Apple has acquired British fintech startup Credit Kudos, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC, confirming an earlier media report.
The person, who said the deal was finalized earlier this week, wanted to remain anonymous to discuss commercially sensitive information.
The news was first reported by crypto-focused media Block, citing three sources familiar with the matter. As reported by The Block, the deal values Credit Kudos at around $150 million.
An Apple spokesperson said the US tech giant “occasionally buys smaller tech companies, and we generally don’t discuss our goals or plans.” Credit Kudos was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Based in London, Credit Kudos develops software that uses consumers’ banking data to perform a more informed credit check on loan applications. It is a challenge for major credit reporting agencies, including Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
The deal could have serious implications for some of Credit Kudos’ customers, including London-based fintech firms Curve and Fronted.
Credit Kudos discussed a possible sale as early as January, two people familiar with the matter previously told CNBC. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
The company operates in a nascent space in the fintech world known as “open banking,” where third-party companies securely link people’s bank accounts to extract information and perform transactions. make payments on their behalf, provided they have agreed to do so.
This trend has gained momentum in Europe in recent years thanks to fintech-friendly rules introduced in 2018 that aim to increase competition in the payments industry.
It has attracted great interest from investors, with Silicon Valley startup Plaid being worth 13.4 billion dollars in a funding round last year.
Plaid previously agreed to purchase by Passportbut scrapped those plans after an antitrust lawsuit from the US government.
Passport then bought Tinka Swedish company that competes with Plaid, for $2.1 billion.
It is still unclear what Apple has planned for Credit Kudos. The company has made significant inroads into financial services over the years through its Apple Pay mobile wallet and Apple Card, a credit card it has issued in partnership with Goldman Sachs in the US. .
Credit Kudos, which last received venture capital funding in early 2020, has raised a total of £7.8 million to date, according to Crunchbase data. The company lost £4.5 million ($5.9 million) in the 2020 financial year, double the £2.2 million it lost in 2019, according to Company filings.
– CNBC’s Sam Shead contributed to this report
