Credit Sesame launched eight years ago to give consumers insight into their credit scores and provide education around their credit factors. The company is now expanding their product set to include digital banking. They join what seems like a never ending list of digital banks in the US. Interestingly, their closest competitor, Credit Karma which is being acquired by Intuit announced Credit Karma Savings last year.
With Sesame Cash, Credit Sesame hopes to leverage data about a consumer’s credit score to help them with cash management. It is a problem that many face with 84% of Credit Sesame’s approximately 15 million registered users living paycheck to paycheck according to CEO Adrian Nazari who was interviewed by American Banker. Credit Sesame will look at a consumer’s cash balance and repayment ability to make recommendations to lower costs, such as a new credit card or a lower interest rate loan. Unlike most digital banks, Sesame Cash will not pay interest but will instead reward users as they improve their credit score. Users will receive $5 if their VantageScore credit score increases by 10 points in a month or $100 if their score increases by 100 points.
Sesame Cash officially launched today to existing customers and will eventually roll out to the general public. The account is paired with a debit card and has no minimum balances, no monthly fees, no overdraft fees and also allows users to access their paycheck early. More features are to be added soon such as a smart bill pay service and an auto-savings tool which will round up purchases.
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