ClearScore is a British financial technology company that provides credit scores, reports and affordability scores for individuals. It also operates a marketplace in which users can find credit cards, loans and car finance, earning commission from the financial services providers it refers clients to.
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Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal finance, software, financial technology |
| Founded | July 1, 2015 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Justin Basini (CEO and Co-founder)| |
| Products | |
| Revenue | £100 million (2022) |
| Owners | QED Investors, Lead Edge Capital and Invus Opportunities. |
Number of employees | 450[1] (2024) |
| Website | www |
The company was founded in July 2015 by Justin Basini, Nigel Morris and Dan Cobley.[2][3] It later expanded to include affordability assessment, using current account spending patterns via Open Banking. As of 2024[update], the company had over 20 million users[4] and operated in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.
History
editClearScore launched on 15 July 2015, offering credit scores and reports.[5] It added credit card offers later that month and personal loan offers in September. In December 2015 it launched a credit checking-app.[6]
In July 2016 the company added a credit history feature called Timeline.[7][8] It added car finance offers in November 2016, and in February 2017 launched a chatbot intended to help users improve their credit.[9]
ClearScore launched in South Africa in June 2017, India in August 2018, Australia in February 2020 and Canada in September 2022.[10] The India operation closed in 2020.
In March 2018, Experian announced plans to acquire ClearScore for £275 million ($366 million). The acquisition was abandoned in February 2019 after the Competition and Markets Authority indicated it considered that the acquisition would reduce competition in the UK market.[11]
In September 2018, the Advertising Standards Authority received 35 complaints that a ClearScore TV advert, aired in June, trivialised domestic violence. The ad was cleared by the ASA.[12][13]
In April 2020 the company launched a dark web monitoring service called ClearScore Protect.[14] In 2021 it launched a second app, DriveScore, which uses telematics to give drivers data on their driving so they can opt to share it for reduced insurance costs.[15]
In 2022, the company acquired Money Dashboard, a provider of open banking technology, and opened a technology and data science hub in Edinburgh.[16] In 2023, the it announced a partnership with illion in Australia, under which illion's former Credit Simple users would be able to continue accessing their credit scores and reports through the ClearScore app.[17]
Products and services
editClearScore provides credit scores and credit reports from credit bureaus Equifax (in the UK) and Experian (in South Africa and Australia). Most of its services are free to consumers.[18]
ClearScore Protect provides dark web monitoring for users.[citation needed] The company's Affordability Score is intended as guidance on how much a user can afford to borrow.[citation needed]
References
edit- ↑ "Join the CMA live for its 10th anniversary". YouTube.
- ↑ "Google's former No. 2 in Europe just launched a startup that gives you a completely free credit score". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ Torrance, Jack (14 June 2017). "Meet the entrepreneur making credit scores free". Management Today. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ↑ "ClearScore's UK CEO: '17 million customers is just the start'". Altfiarchive. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ↑ "Fintech start-up ClearScore to make credit scores free for consumers". Tech City News. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ "ClearScore app: How to get free access to your credit rating". Independent. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ "ClearScore debuts new credit scoring tool". Finextra. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ "Bobs Guide". 20 July 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ "ClearScore Launches World's First Chatbot to Build Credit Confidence". Bobs Guide. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ "The continuing ClearScore mission: to boldly deliver financial well-being to our users". ClearScore. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ↑ February 2019, 28th (28 February 2019). "Experian calls off £275m ClearScore acquisition". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Oppenheim, Maya (26 September 2018). "Advert accused of 'trivialising domestic violence' for depicting couple's row over avocados is cleared". The Independent. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ↑ "ASA Ruling on Clear Score Technology Ltd t/a ClearScore". ASA. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ↑ "ClearScore Protect | Dark web monitoring. For free, forever". ClearScore.
- ↑ walker, alastair (27 September 2021). "DriveScore Hits The Road: Insurance Pricing Based on Behaviour -". insurance-edge.net. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ↑ "Capital gains as credit scoring firm ClearScore Group unveils Edinburgh jobs boost". www.scotsman.com. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ↑ LIMITED, CLEAR SCORE TECHNOLOGY (20 March 2023). "ClearScore Expands in Australia: Now Serves 1m Users". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ↑ "Why is ClearScore free?". ClearScore. Retrieved 16 March 2021.