Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
How one startup aims to help ‘credit invisible’ foreign workers in the U.S.
For millions of immigrants and temporary foreign residents in the U.S., establishing a financial identity here can be complicated and expensive. Since credit reports don’t cross borders, an immigrant with an exceptional credit score in his home country may arrive in the U.S. as “credit invisible” — a status that may render him ineligible for loans or long-term housing.
“From getting a credit card, an auto loan, or getting a mortgage, all those use cases require a financial identity,“ said Misha Esipov, CEO of Nova Credit, a startup that’s developed a product called “Nova Credit Passport,” an alternative credit report that’s based on credit bureau data from other countries. The product launched last summer.
Nova Credit is an alternative score to assess foreign residents’ creditworthiness based on their home country credit data. It can also be used for Americans returning to the country after years working abroad. The company obtains the data through agreements with major foreign credit bureaus, a process that can only be initiated with the customer’s consent, Esipov said. Though Nova Credit is initially focusing on India and Mexico, it has entered into arrangements with credit bureaus in Europe, Canada, Australia and the Philippines. The company said it has forged relationships with U.S. banks and credit card issuers, though one analyst said U.S. lenders may still have questions about scores based on foreign credit data.
More in Marketing
What Amazon’s proposed big-box store could mean for Walmart
Public documents published by the Village of Orland Park described a 225,000-square-foot Amazon store that would sell a range of products.
Future of Marketing Briefing: AI companies are staffing up for a reputation fight
AI has an image problem, which explains why the industry is suddenly investing so much energy in who gets to tell its story.
Albertsons is putting digital screens for ads in more than a third of its stores
The retail giant has seen enough success in its digital screen network to begin a rollout in 800 of its 2,200-plus stores in 2026.