ID Finance pockets $50m to expand into Latin America

Emerging markets-focused credit scoring and lending startup ID Finance is has raised $50m in debt funding to expand across Latin America.

Russian bank TransKapitalBank led the investment with a consortium of other undisclosed banks also participating.

Founded in 2012 the company was initially based in Russia before relocating to Barcelona.

It now counts more than 380 staff across office in Spain, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Poland and Brazil.

ID Finance’s develops advanced IT and risk management systems to analyses data and offer balance sheet loans.

The company reached profitability in 2015 and is the now the largest lender in Russia and the CIS region.

It claims to issue 50,000 loans each month and to have trebled its revenue to $68m in 2016.

The new capital will be used to expand its reach around Latin America following the launch of its MoneyMan online lending platform in Brazil last year.

ID Finance CEO Boris Batine said: “The opportunity for fintech in emerging markets is so large it’s difficult to measure – we’re talking about a massive structural consumer demand for credit that is not being met by incumbents.

“These are often huge markets with highly uncompetitive financial services and limited availability of credit.

“Thanks to the growth of the internet and mobile, we can make it much easier for people to apply for loans and by using alternative sources of data we can extend credit to a much larger portion of the population.”

Copyright © 2017 FINTECH GLOBAL