American Express has teamed up with Nova Credit to enable more newcomers to the US to use their home-country credit history to apply for its cards.
Nova Credit is a startup taking on the problem that immigrants have when they arrive in the US - that their credit history is stopped at the border.
Its Credit Passport technology translates foreign credit data into a US-equivalent score and report in a format familiar to American underwriters. The data is delivered in real time, enabling banks to get credit cards and loans to immigrants quickly.
The Credit Passport has been seamlessly integrated into the American Express online card application process. Already helping newcomers from Australia, Canada, India, Mexico and the UK, it is now being expanded to people from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Kenya and Nigeria.
Sara Milsten, SVP, new member acquisition, US consumer services, AmEx, says: “Serving newcomers lets us back more people going places and deliver on our commitment to build financial confidence for everyone.”