Fintech company Cred blends finance and recruitment, 750+ credit score must for job applicants

Founded by Kunal Shah, the fintech company Cred places equal importance on a high credit score and a strong resume for job applicants. To be considered for a position, candidates must have a credit score above 750.

"The intent is simple. If you're building products that are meant to promote responsible financial behavior, we have to live it first. We can't advocate for this if we don't live up to this promise," Shah said during a company event on Feb 25.

"I would love to raise the threshold to 800, but many people are just starting their careers and can't achieve 800 right away—they need time to build their credit history. But 750 is something we want to ensure. If people don’t have the score, they have three months to work on it, and we actively help them achieve that," Shah added.

While not common in India, many employers in developed markets conduct credit checks on job applicants, particularly for positions involving sensitive financial data.

According to Shah, people often have lower credit scores unintentionally, and in 80–90% of cases, they are unaware of the underlying issues.

"Sometimes, we’ve discovered that people had a loan account in the credit bureau that they didn’t even apply for. Disputing these discrepancies can help them improve their scores," Shah explained.

On Feb 25, Cred launched Svalbard, a suite of credit-focused services designed to help users manage and improve their credit scores. Currently, the company only allows users with a credit score of 750 or higher to sign up for the program.

Cred’s product head, Akshay Aedula, shared that a poor credit score nearly cost him his job six years ago when demonstrating these services.

He also mentioned that 79% of Indians have faced negative consequences due to low credit scores because they "don’t understand the system that controls their future."

As part of the Svalbard launch, Cred users can pledge their mutual fund investments to access digital credit lines with interest rates starting at 8.99%. This move is expected to boost the lending goals of the Bengaluru-based company.

Cred's total loan book has surpassed ₹19,000 crore. The remaining portion of the managed Asset Under Management (AUM) comes from six lending partners, while Newtap Finance, its NBFC subsidiary, contributes 2.7%.

Lending, alongside payments and insurance, remains one of Cred’s core revenue streams.

Cred is also enhancing its credit card management experience by introducing a unified dashboard that consolidates statements from various credit cards into a single view.

The app will feature a real-time monitoring system to track credit usage and offer a comprehensive view of spending patterns across all cards.

Additionally, a gesture-based interface will make it easier for users to manage multiple cards.

Founded in 2018, Cred raised $140 million in funding in June 2022, led by Singapore's GIC, with participation from Tiger Global, Sofina Ventures, Alpha Wave Ventures, and Dragoneer.