NEW YORK, NY (February 21, 2018) - Recent immigrants to the United States face an enormous hurdle to building a new life: a nonexistent credit history.
Credit cards, bank loans, cars and real estate all require a solid credit score, and yet immigrants arrive with a blank slate in the American credit score system, regardless of their financial history abroad.
“You could be a billionaire in Australia, come over here and try to apply for a credit card. You're probably going to get rejected if you have no credit footprint in this country,” says Lend Academy founder Peter Renton.
A number of FinTech companies have evolved to serve this overlooked market and maximize opportunities for foreigners to contribute to the American economy. Nova Credit estimates that 10 million immigrants in the past decade would be categorized as prime to super prime if their international credit records were accessible.
