• U.K.-based digital identity provider OneID has forged a partnership with credit reference agency AperiData.
• The collaboration combines OneID’s customer authentication capabilities with AperiData’s financial and risk insights to enhance decision-making for lenders.
• Paula Sussex joined OneID as CEO in April of last year.

The new partnership between digital identity provider OneID and credit reference agency AperiData will empower lenders and other financial institutions to make instant credit decisions that are responsible and ethical.

“A partnership with AperiData is a natural fit for OneID,” company Chief Product Officer Stuart Kempster said. “Bringing the power of bank-verified digital identity together with AI-powered real time credit analysis gives our joint customers a better way to support their customers with their credit decision-making.”

Individuals use OneID by selecting the identity verification option during the online onboarding or signup process. With the individual’s consent, OneID contacts the individual’s bank and verifies their credentials. Upon successful verification, OneID securely confirms the individual’s identity to the online provider within seconds.

Both OneID and AperiData share the goal of blending identity verification with risk insights available via open banking in order to offer better and broader financial opportunities for customers. Notably, the combination of OneID’s customer authentication capabilities and AperiData’s financial and risk insights offers benefits beyond income verification. The partnership will also support use cases ranging from automated direct debit set-up and reinstatement to enhanced employee screening processes.

A U.K.-based FCA authorized credit agency and open banking provider, AperiData leverages insights from financial data and the power of open banking to enhance credit scoring and decision-making. Founded in 2020, the company has partnered with many of the largest banks in the U.K. AperiData most recently announced collaborations and partnerships with Salford Credit Union, financial inclusion software platform Inbest, and payment and retail services company PayPoint. Stephen Ashworth is CEO.

OneID covers 50 million adults in the U.K., is connected with 29 banks, and leverages 37 data sources to provide identity verification in less than 12 seconds. Founded in 2018, OneID raised $1.27 million (£1 million) in funding last fall in a round led by ACF Investors. Paula Sussex, who joined the company as CEO in April 2023, called the investment “a vote of confidence in (its) efforts to make digital identification accessible and available to more U.K. citizens.”

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok

• Arc Technologies now counts more than $100 billion in committed capital on its venture lending platform.
• Arc Technologies has closed more than 350 transactions since it was founded in 2021.
• Last year’s Silicon Valley Bank crisis launched Arc Technologies into a period of growth, with more startups seeking alternative capital sources.

Arc Technologies revealed through an exclusive interview with TechCrunch today that it now has more than $100 billion in committed capital on its lending platform.

Founded in 2021, Arc has raised $181 in funding across three rounds of funding– including a $20 million Series A round the company landed in August of 2022. The California-based company’s venture debt marketplace offers startups a capital alternative to equity funds.

Arc’s capital markets debt marketplace enables startups to onboard in as little as 10 minutes and receive debt terms for up to $250 million from the network of participating lenders. After underwriting each borrower using historical financial data, the company pre-qualifies borrowers and matches them to a lender within five days.

Notably, Arc’s rise in committed capital comes after the fall of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last year, when many startups found themselves scrambling to find sources of alternative capital so that they could meet day-to-day business requirements and make payroll.

The SVB crisis served as a growth period for the company. “In 2023, Arc onboarded more than 4,000 new users, while the deposits managed through our platform grew by a factor of more than 12x,” said company CEO Don Muir. “Specific to capital, we have completed more than 350 transactions and have made available $100B+ in AUM to deploy through our lending partners.”

In the future, Arc plans to build out more banking products into its platform, the first of which can be expected later this year.

Photo by Mathias Reding

• Chase has teamed up with debt advice charity StepChange to build upon its own efforts to support customers with financial challenges.
• Courtesy of the partnership, Chase specialists will direct vulnerable customers to StepChange for free, confidential, expert advice on debt management.
• Founded in 1993, StepChange is headquartered in Leeds, U.K.

A new partnership between Chase and U.K.-based debt advice charity StepChange extends the bank’s efforts to provide support to vulnerable customers via expert advice on debt management. Chase specialists will now direct these customers to StepChange and its online debt advice solution. The online tool is free to use and will help Chase customers build a budget that will ensure they can meet their financial obligations. Customers can communicate with the tool via webchat or phone and all information submitted to StepChange is confidential.

In a statement, StepChange Director of Client Experience Gail Arkle underscored why it was important for people with debt challenges to seek assistance rather than try to solve the problem on their own. “92% of the people we support say that they wish they’d asked for help earlier,” Arkle said, “and so working closely with leading organizations like Chase is crucial to ensure we can identify and support customers who are experiencing financial difficulty as early as possible.”

According to a 2023 FCA Financial Lives survey, there has been a significant increase in what it calls “low financial resilience” as the cost of living increased in 2023. The survey defines low financial resilience as adults who are experiencing financial challenges due to missed payments on “domestic bills or credit commitments in three or more of the previous six months.” Overall, the survey revealed that just under 13 million in the U.K. have low financial resilience.

Today’s partnership is another example of how banks are becoming more involved in the financial wellness of their customers. “Financial stress can take a toll on a person’s mental wellbeing and be a constant source of worry,” Chase Managing Director for Customer Operations Alexa Collinson said. “Finding free, impartial and trusted advice is often the first step to putting an action in place.”

The largest provider of free debt advice in the U.K., StepChange works with thousands of individuals across the country. A registered charity, the company helps people improve their financial wellness via better budgeting, responsible credit card use, and debt management and repayment. StepChange has partnered with more than 900 banks, retailers, local authorities, and charities since its inception in 1993.

Photo by Pixabay

• Affirm has extended its partnership with Walmart to offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) tools at self-checkout stands.
• Shoppers can use Affirm to pay for non-grocery purchases ranging from $144 to $4,000 in monthly installments.
• Affirm also recently landed partnerships with Amazon and Google.

BNPL heavyweight Affirm ended 2023 announcing an expansion of a partnership with one of its major customers. The California-based company announced that Walmart will use its buy now, pay later (BNPL) technology at select self-checkout locations.

Reuters reported late last year that more than 4,500 Walmart stores in the U.S. will offer Affirm’s BNPL as an option to shoppers whose non-grocery purchases range between $144 to $4,000. Consumers will have the option to pay back their purchases in monthly installments spanning three months to 24 months.

To keep things simple at the point-of-sale kiosks, the BNPL onboarding process will take place on the user’s phone. Shoppers that opt to use BNPL to pay for their purchase will need to use their phone to log into Affirm’s mobile app or website and enter credentials, including the last four digits of their social security number. Once Affirm approves the customer, they will receive a barcode on their phone that they scan at the physical self-checkout register to complete the sale.

Walmart, which ended its layaway program in 2020, has offered Affirm’s BNPL technology to U.S. shoppers since 2019 at in-person checkout locations. Expanding the alternative payment option to the self-checkout and moving the onboarding process to the customer’s own mobile device reduces the friction that may occur when shoppers onboard to BNPL with the help of a cashier. This may result in an increased use of Affirm’s BNPL at Walmart’s point-of-sale.

The expansion of its collaboration with Walmart is the latest in a string of major partnerships for Affirm. Amazon tapped Affirm for Amazon Pay option in June of last year, and five months later, the ecommerce giant launched Affirm’s BNPL as a payment option for small businesses. Additionally, last month, Google announced it is using Affirm and its competitor Zip to provide BNPL options for shoppers using Google Pay.

Affirm is one of a handful of Walmart’s existing financial services partners. The retailer is also teamed up with Capital One, which offers a rewards credit card; Western Union, Ria, and MoneyGram for money transfer services; and Green Dot for its prepaid card. Interestingly, Walmart has been in the process of building its own neobank, One, since 2022, and many of One’s offerings compete with those of Walmart’s current partners.

Photo by Fabio Bracht on Unsplash