Customers will pass the digital display of the new green Apple iPhone 13 pro in the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York on March 18, 2022.
Mike Seger | Reuters
London — Apple has acquired UK fintech startup Credit Kudos. A person familiar with this issue told CNBC to confirm previous media coverage.
The deal was closed earlier this week, he said, hoping to discuss confidential information commercially and anonymously.
This news was first reported by The Block, a crypto-focused media outlet, citing three sources familiar with the subject. The Block reports that the deal values Credit Kudos at about $ 150 million.
An Apple spokesperson said US tech giants “sometimes buy small tech companies and we usually don’t discuss our goals or plans.” Credit Kudos’s comments weren’t immediately available when CNBC contacted me.
London-based Credit Kudos is developing software that uses consumer banking data to perform more informed credit checks on loan applications. This is a challenge for major credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
The transaction could have serious implications for some of Credit Kudos’ clients, including London-based fintech companies Curve and Fronted.
Credit Kudos had been discussing a possible sale as early as January, two people familiar with the matter had previously told CNBC. They spoke on anonymous terms due to the sensitive nature of the story.
The company operates in an early space in FinTech’s world called “open banking,” where third-party companies securely link to people’s bank accounts to extract information and if they agree to do so. Make payments on your behalf.
This trend has gained momentum in Europe in recent years, thanks to the fintech-friendly rules introduced in 2018 aimed at intensifying competition in the payments industry.
Silicon Valley startup Plaid has received a great deal of interest from investors, valued at $ 13.4 billion in last year’s funding round.
Plaid had previously agreed to a takeover by Visa, but has abandoned these plans following an antitrust proceeding from the US government.
Later, Visa acquired Tink, a Swedish company that competes with Plaid, for $ 2.1 billion.
It’s not yet clear what Apple is planning for Credit Kudos. The company has made significant inroads into financial services over the years through Apple Pay Mobile Wallet and Apple Card, a credit card launched in partnership with Goldman Sachs in the United States.
Credit Kudos, the last to receive venture capital funding in early 2020, has raised a total of £ 7.8m, according to Crunchbase data. According to Companies House filings, the company posted a loss of £ 4.5 million ($ 5.9 million) in fiscal year 2020, double the £ 2.2 million lost in 2019.
–C NBC’s Sam Shead contributed to this report