Credit Monitoring And Debt Management Service Credit Sesame Raises $16 Million

TECHRUNCH: Personal finance company Credit Sesame is announcing today that it has raised an additional $16 million in an oversubscribed Series D round of funding, with plans to raise more – as much as $20 million – in the near future. The company, a prior TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield participant, was one of the first to market with solutions that allow consumers to monitor their credit and score, protect themselves against identity theft, and reduce their debt through credit and loan management services.

The new round was led by Syncora Alternative Investments, with IA Capital Partners as its advisor, and also included participation from investors Menlo Ventures, IA Capital, Globespan Capital, Inventus Capital, and other high-profile angels. This brings Credit Sesame’s total raise to date to over $35 million.

While many in the personal finance space have focused on helping people manage their money and investments, Credit Sesame has instead targeted the liability side of the balance sheet, explains CEO Adrian Nazari. That has put it in competition with others offering consumer debt management or credit monitoring, like Credit Karma or ReadyForZero, for example.

But for consumers, having a competitive market for services that help them become more financially stable is definitely a good thing. Consumer debt today is over $14 trillion, the company notes, including mortgages, credit cards, student loans, car loans, and home equity lines, and much of it is financed at high rates.

Credit Sesame’s service, which is available online and on mobile, offers consumers a way to track their debt, their credit, and their loans. And, when applicable, it can recommend savings after it analyzes a consumer’s individual debt situation, by pointing to other credit cards and loans that have better terms or lower interest rates, for instance.

The company now has $50 billion in active user loans under management, up from $20 billion in 2012, and over $2 billion in consumer loan originations by its partners on the platform, which helps it to monetize. And that growth is accelerating.

While the CEO won’t discuss the revenue specifics, he would say that, last year, Credit Sesame saw three times revenue growth and seven times growth in the alternative lending vertical.

Read the full article: TECHRUNCH