British credit technology firm Abound has achieved profitability three years after its launch and is looking to double the size of its team in London from 65 to 130 this year.
Founded in 2020, Abound’s AI technology scans customers’ Open Banking Data to accurately understand each applicant’s unique financial situation and what they can afford to repay each month. This is in contrast to traditional credit checks, which are based on statistical averages and may be right on average but are wrong in almost every individual case.
As a result, Abound claims 75% fewer defaults than the industry standard, issuing £300 million in loans since its inception. The firm is currently offering loans between £1,000 and £20,000 repayable for up 8 years with a 24.8% APR.
The company is the consumer arm of Fintern Ltd, which also owns Render - the proprietary technology being used by Abound to deliver smart loans. Render is also sold as a B2B product to other businesses that are either seeking to improve their own credit decisioning or start lending for the first time.
Last year Abound raised more than £500 million in funding with the ambition of having £1 billion on its balance sheet by 2025.
Gerald Chappell, CEO and co-founder of Abound, says: “We originally built Abound to prove that our Render technology could work. We’re delighted to therefore not only have proved that but also to have become a profitable company in our own right, as well as major employer in the London fintech scene.”