FinTech News
Credit-Building Tool StellarFi Raises $15 Million
A credit-building platform is adding to its coffers, announcing a fresh injection of funding. This week, StellarFi (previously known simply as Stellar) announced that it had closed a $15 million round. The Series A was led by Acrew Capital, while ATX Venture Partners, Trust Ventures, Dream Ventures, Interplay, Accomplice Ventures, Vera Equity, FJ Labs, Fiat Ventures, Gaingels, Kelmhurst, Oyster Funds, Hilltop Ventures, Permit Ventures, Kindergarten Ventures, J2 Capital, Socially Financed and Kapital Ventures also participated.
With this round, the company has now raised a total of $22 million to date following a $7 million seed round last year, which was also led by Acrew. StellarFi says it will utilize these latest funds to grow its team as well as secure partnerships with financial institutions in a bid to grow its offerings.
Based in Austin, StellarFi is a FinTech that aims to help consumers improve and build credit. To accomplish this, the platform manages bills and recurring payments for members and reports on-time payments to four credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis) to help customers gain positive history. Moreover, the service does not require a credit check or deposit and does not carry any interest fees. Currently, StellarFi offers two plan options: the $4.99 a month Lite plan with reporting of up to $500 in bills per month and a $9.99 per month Prime plan that offers reporting on up to $25,000 per month and adds extra perks. The company is also looking to launch a $19.99 per month Premium plan “soon.”
Speaking on the impact of this latest investment, StellarFi’s founder and CEO Lamine Zarrad said in a statement, “With our strong customer conversion and exciting roadmap, this funding solidifies StellarFi’s longevity and potential for major impact in the financial industry. Our personalized, goal–oriented platform offers tailored tools and resources to help members improve their financial standing, manage their monthly payments, and work towards achieving their financial goals all in one place.” Zarrad added, We have the potential to transform credit building, lending and loan servicing for lenders and consumers.”
Additionally, Acrew Capital Venture Partner John Gardner said of his firm’s interest in the company, “StellarFi is relentlessly focused on helping their members improve financial health, starting with better credit scores. Their product has demonstrably improved members’ credit ratings in less than two months, which ultimately enables access to better and lower cost financial products. We’ve been incredibly impressed with the speed the team has built and iterated on their core solution while growing and serving the user base.”
Following a successful seed round and now a fairly impressive Series A, StellarFi seems to be setting itself apart from the pack. Although it’s far from the only startup to address the need for consumers to improve their credit, it’s clear that the company’s platform is proving popular among consumers and investors alike. All in all, StellarFi is definitely a FinTech to watch, even as the sector itself experiences some ups and downs.
