Credit Kudos, a London-based banking business that provides APIs for lenders, has been bought by Apple.
According to The Block, the purchase was completed early this week and was for roughly $150 million/£114 million. “Credit Kudos is a division of Apple,” says a paragraph on Credit Kudos’ website’s terms of service page.
“Apple buys smaller technological businesses from time to time, and we normally do not share our purpose or plans,” stated in a statement.
Credit brand of a challenger
In April 2020, Credit Kudos secured a £5 million Series A investment round. The startup’s founders stated at the time that their goal was to become a “challenger credit bureau.” The business analyses open banking data in a safe manner to assist lenders in making better decisions.
Credit scores are perplexing to say the least, with a plethora of organizations giving their own perspectives – and frequently enhancing credit scores simply by joining up for their services.
Expansion of Apple Cards?
It’s unclear why Apple spent so much money on Credit Kudos, but the business has been working on Apple Card technologies for a long, and the startup might help the company grow into the UK.
Apple might employ Credit Kudos’ technology to expand into lending by utilizing machine learning to assist calculate credit ratings. “Buy now, pay later” services are one area where this may be beneficial.
BNPL services, which let customers to spread the cost of an item over several months with no interest or extra costs, were pioneered by Klarna, AfterPay, and others.
We’ll have to wait and see what Apple’s plans are, but bringing Apple Card to the UK, along with the services it provides, appears to be the safest choice.
To read our blog on “Apple and Samsung have collaborated on eradicating the notch from future iPhones, report,” click here.
