Financial literacy platform Kikoff slam dunks with $42M in funding, Steph Curry backing

A personal finance platform backed by basketball star Steph Curry this week announced it has raised $30 million in fresh funding. [caption id="attachment_219012" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Markus Spiske/Unsplash[/caption] The San Francisco-based Kikoff was founded in 2019 with the goal of helping consumers both establish credit history and continue to build credit. The company offers a $500 revolving line of credit to customers, many of them millennials and Generation Z, CEO Cynthia Chen told Bank Automation News. Customers apply for the revolving line of credit and build their credit history through purchases at Kikoff’s online store, which offers e-books on financial literacy and skill-development programs. While interest is not charged on the credit extended to customers, the company earns money through margins on the wholesale and retail prices of products offered in its store. Repayment history is reported to credit bureaus and helps users improve their scores. By using the credit account and making repayments on time, Kikoff customers can also become eligible for better interest rates, competitive credit cards and home mortgages, the company said in a statement. Kikoff’s $30 million dollar fundraise was led by Portage Ventures and follows the fintech's previously unannounced seed and series A funding rounds, which raised a total of $12 million and were led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Coatue and Core Innovation Capital. In addition to the investment from Curry, the company has been backed by Teresa Ressel, former chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. “Establishing and building credit are the keys to accessing the financial system in the U.S., yet the on-ramps are completely broken for millions of Americans,” Ansaf Kareem, a partner at Lightspeed, said in a statement. “Kikoff is solving a critical problem for consumers in the early part of their financial journey. We’re excited to continue partnering with them as they grow the platform.” [caption id="attachment_219013" align="alignright" width="300"] Kikoff CEO Cynthia Chen. Image via Kikoff[/caption] The credit account is the starting point for Kikoff’s offering, but the firm has plans to expand into a wider range of products and help its customers refinance student debt, and obtain auto loans and even mortgages, Chen said. “Credit scores resemble a GPA,” Chen said, adding that unless users apply them to a tangible use case, like applying to graduate schools with a GPA, they just become numbers on a paper. She added more than half Kikoff’s users have unpaid student debt, and the firm aims to help them transition from a limited credit history to using their credit scores for real-world outcomes. Bank Automation News would like to know what our readers think about bots. We invite readers to take part in a short BAN reader survey .

Financial literacy platform Kikoff slam dunks with $42M in funding, Steph Curry backing

The company recently secured a Series B round for $30M led by Portage Ventures

Germany Thwarts Cyberattack, Denies Impact on Banking System

Movers and Shakers: Truist gets new investment banking head, Jack Henry hires new sales lead

Related Posts

AI-driven ‘SaaSpocalypse’ fears overblown, experts say

Is Your Technology Supplier There for You?

Bluevine’s AI chatbot resolves 80% of customer queries

Movers and Shakers: Truist gets new investment banking head, Jack Henry hires new sales lead

EMERGING FINTECH DIRECTORY

FinAi Podcast

SPONSORED

Build an Antifragile Strategy to Outperform the Market

How AI and Product Experts Turn Fuzzy Requirements Into Focused Dev-ready Roadmaps

Is Your Technology Supplier There for You?

Connect

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Continue Reading with FinAi News Premium - Less than $2/Day

Financial literacy platform Kikoff slam dunks with $42M in funding, Steph Curry backing

The company recently secured a Series B round for $30M led by Portage Ventures

Germany Thwarts Cyberattack, Denies Impact on Banking System

Movers and Shakers: Truist gets new investment banking head, Jack Henry hires new sales lead

Related Posts

FinAi Podcast

Connect

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Unlock This Article

Continue Reading with FinAi News Premium - Less than $2/Day