Koyo uses Open Banking data (bank transactions) rather than credit-agency scores to assess borrower risk and underwrite consumer loans. It targets "thin file" or near-prime customers—people with short or no credit history—offering competitive rates and cheaper borrowing to an underserved market. The company says the near-prime market in the U.K. equates to 13–15 million people. Koyo launched at the start of the pandemic and says its approach enabled growth during one of the toughest economic periods in the U.K. Financially, the company closed a $50M Series A made up of debt and equity and previously raised $4.9M in 2019. Koyo expects to benefit from segments of the population that accumulated debts during the pandemic and are often rejected by mainstream lenders. Koyo uses open banking to underwrite personal loans for people with thin or no credit files who are poorly served by traditional lenders. The company requires customers to connect their current account and assesses risk based on up-to-date transaction history rather than bureau scores. Koyo targets customers such as migrants or those who have never taken credit and expects to offer representative APRs around 35%, claiming loans will typically be 50–90% cheaper on an APR basis compared with alternatives. The firm says it will not charge late fees, early repayment fees, loan origination fees, or any fees other than interest. Founded in late 2018 and launching later this year, Koyo recently raised $4.9 million in a mixture of equity and debt to support its launch and lending operations. The team is a nimble six people with a four-person management team: CEO Thomas Olszewski, CTO Guy Evans, Head of Risk Kevin Allen, and Head of Marketing Peter Kent.

Total raised

$55M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Sep 2021