To add value to customers financial institutions continuously look for unique opportunities much like the recent acquisition of Pinch a startup that focuses on helping millennials build their credit buy Chime a no fees mobile bank that was recently valued at $500 million. Pinch who had been preparing to announce a $1.8 million dollar funding round stated that since its founding in 2016 more than 80% of its users had seen an increase in their credit scores ranging from 10 to 100 points.
Millennials who typically have short of credit histories can struggle to improve their credit and therefore sometimes need unique ways to help build that score. This struggle is where pinch steps in and can provide unique information such as rental information that they then can submit to credit bureaus.
Chime who claims it has opened 1.7 million bank accounts and is opening more than 150,000 accounts per month look to build each of their accounts from the ground up as stated by their CEO Chris Britt, “ So we’re very deliberate in how we think about helping our members along with their financial journey. We start with the checking account, we make sure you’re paying all your bills, then we make sure you have a savings account balance – because you should have a savings account balance before you start day trading.”
As all financial institutions continue to look at ways to add additional value to their client’s banks are going to need to look for unique opportunities to serve their clients. Opportunities that add value today are going to be tomorrow’s table stakes, and therefore financial institutions need to diligently monitor consumer behaviors and trends to capitalize and stay ahead of competitors.
