Fintech CreditRich started by HBCU grads partners with Visa to become 1st Black woman-owned neo-bank

HBCU graduates and founders of CreditRich, Angel Rich and Courtney Keen, have partnered with Visa to launch the first Black woman-owned neo-bank offering intelligent bill pay for credit optimization. They have also announced the CreditRich Visa debit and credit card.

“We are proud to offer the CreditRich Visa debit cards as an excellent option for our customers in need of help building towards credit expansion. Visa is an exemplary partner for any company looking to innovate, work with Black founders or grow with a start-up company. 

“They have gone above and beyond to make our product special and tailored to the communities we serve. We are truly fortunate to have them as our partners and we look forward to a long, bright future,” Angel Rich, the Founder and CEO of CreditRich, said in a release.

The CreditRich Visa debit card is digitally issued by FDIC bank member Sutton Bank and it is designed in such a way to give account holders an instant bank account and digital card via the CreditRich app. 

With the CreditRich app, customers can check their credit reports, connect their accounts, make online payments, and directly link their paychecks. Customers also have the “options to download investment and spending tips designed to help improve credit scores, and account holders are encouraged to build savings by adding spare change from everyday purchases to their bank accounts,” the release said.

“We believe that everyone, everywhere, should have access to products and services that enable them to move their money securely and reliably,” said Erin Pursell, Vice President of Fintech New Business at Visa. “CreditRich offers an innovative solution for Black Americans who may be facing financial obstacles. We are excited to work with CreditRich to build a more inclusive payments ecosystem.”

CreditRich works to provide Millennials, Gen Z, the Black community, and the underbanked with a simple, high-reward neo-banking experience through a simple enrollment process full of “rewards and perks, no monthly fees or credit checks.”

Founders Rich and Keen met while studying at Hampton University. Since then, the two have remained business partners.

“CreditRich helps increase your credit score by using your spare change to intelligently pay your bills,” it says on its website.

It uses a proprietary algorithm to “help people improve their long-term financial positions by leveraging their credit and learning ‘credit intelligence’ to help users forecast the impact of their credit behavior,” the founders told Forbes. Rich launched the CreditRich app in April 2021 in partnership with credit report agency Experian, making her the first Black American woman to secure an institutional partnership with one of the three major credit bureaus, according to Forbes.