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Tech giant Apple reportedly acquired British fintech start-up Credit Kudos for USD150m to bolster its financial services operation.
FREMONT, CA:Credit Kudos, a fintech startup based in London that specialises in using consumer data mining to check credit, has been acquired by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Apple's acquisition was completed early this week, citing persons with knowledge of the situation, however, it should be noted that there is no formal confirmation of the agreement. However, one of the sources claimed that the transaction, which could indicate Apple's goal to strengthen its financial services division, values Credit Kudos at about USD 150 million.
Credit Kudos creates software that uses banking information from customers to conduct more thorough credit checks on loan applications. The company had been in talks about a potential sale as early as September. Credit Kudos works in the open banking fintech industry, where third-party companies securely link to individual’s bank accounts to extract information and make payments on their behalf, providing they have the appropriate consent. Apple's intentions or thoughts behind its acquisition of Credit Kudos are now unclear.
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But it's important to keep in mind that Apple already works in the financial services industry.
The company introduced Apple Pay in 2015, allowing iPhone users to make purchases at checkout using their Apple mobile device or smartwatch without utilising cash or a credit card thanks to NFC near-field communication. Then, in 2019, the iPhone manufacturer unveiled the Apple Card, a credit card the company did in collaboration with MasterCard and Goldman Sachs in the US. With its Tap to Pay on the iPhone contactless payment system, Apple entered the market for mobile payment terminals last month.
US retailers and businesses will be able to take Apple Pay and other contactless payments by utilising an iPhone and a partner-enabled iOS app. That development will undoubtedly worry existing market competitors. Apple's solution does not require any additional hardware aside from an iPhone. Payment providers and app developers can include Tap to Pay on iPhone in their iOS applications and provide it as a payment option to their business clients.
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