FairMoney, a Nigerian app-based bank that uses alternative smartphone data to underwrite microcredit, has raised $42 million in a Series B funding round led by Tiger Global Management.
Launched in 2017, FairMoney began life by applying machine learning techniques to smartphone data to assess credit worthiness.
In 2020, the firm lent $93 million to over 1.3 million users who made more than 6.5 million loan applications, according to TechCrunch.
FairMoney has also secured a microfinance bank license, enabling it to launch a current account, with a debit card in the pipeline.
Meanwhile the startup has expanded into India, where it has processed more than half a million loan applications.
With the new funding in place, CEO Laurin Hainy tells TechCrunch that FairMoney plans to add new products, including savings, stock trading and crypto.