Empower Finance has agreed to buy US credit FinTech Petal and closed the acquisition of Philippines-based Cashalo.
In brief:
- Founded in 2016, Empower uses real-time cash flow, other nontraditional data, and machine learning to underwrite credit for underserved consumers no the US and Mexico.
- The deal for Petal - terms of which have not been disclosed - gives Empower a foothold in the US credit card sector. Petal also uses non-traditional data to offer a Visa credit card to people even if they’ve never used credit before.
- Reports emerged last November that the company had put itself up for sale amid Walls Street concerns about its ability to survive. Meanwhile, Cashalo give Empower a route into the credit market in Southeast Asia.
What does this mean?
"In both companies, we found a shared commitment to harnessing technology and rich alternative data to unlock financial opportunity for more people who merit our consideration," says Warren Hogarth, CEO, Empower.
