Keebo acquired by financial wellbeing FinTech Wagestream

By Gloria Methri

Wagestream, the financial wellbeing provider backed by charities, VCs, and BlackRock, has acquired challenger credit card start-up Keebo. Keebo’s product, technology, and team, including CEO and founder, Michael Vanaselja, will become part of the Wagestream Group.

The acquisition will support Wagestream’s mission of improving the financial wellbeing of shift and frontline workers – who are often excluded by traditional financial services.

Keebo is the first credit card company authorised in the UK that uses Open Banking data to approve customers based on their broader financial behaviour – instead of just their credit score. Keebo’s approach means it can help the 5 million ‘credit invisibles’, who have a thin credit file or no credit file at all, get access to the UK’s financial system and build better financial futures.

Michael Vanaselja, CEO and founder of Keebo, said, “Keebo set out to serve the millions of people who are unfairly denied traditional financial products and services – by helping them get access to credit and build their credit over time. Now, we will be able to bring our solution to even more people with Wagestream and reach millions of frontline workers who are underserved by traditional financial institutions. The mission overlap is huge, and we can’t wait to help even more people build towards better financial futures.”

Keebo now becomes part of the Wagestream Group, whose financial wellbeing app is used by more than 3 million workers through employers like Bupa, Asda, Pizza Express, and the NHS. Workers can use the Wagestream app to manage budgeting, choose when to get paid, build up a rainy-day fund, chat with a money coach, save on their bills, and more – all in one app.

The company was founded and created with social impact funds and the Fair By Design campaign and operates on a social charter to improve workers’ financial wellbeing.

Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-founder of Wagestream said, “Many UK frontline workers are locked out of fairer financial services because of low credit scores. With a phenomenal team and a product that’s already making credit fair and accessible for underserved households, joining forces with Keebo is another great example of how we can make work more rewarding for frontline workers with workplace finance. By offering Wagestream, more than 1,000 employers now subsidise fairer financial services for their people, and soon, help with building up a better credit history will be yet another benefit they can offer.”