ClearScore buys embedded credit marketplace Aro Finance to expand beyond D2C model
The ClearScore Group has acquired embedded credit marketplace provider Aro Finance for an undisclosed sum in a bid to diversify away from direct-to-consumer (D2C) acquisition and give rise to a new B2B2C model.
ClearScore expands B2B2C model with Aro acquisition
Based in Manchester, UK, Aro offers an API integration that allows affinity partners, currently including British retailers Argos and Asda, to embed a secured loan marketplace into consumer-facing digital infrastructure.
In a statement, ClearScore says its second acquisition to date, following Money Dashboard in 2022, will add “a significant B2B2C channel through embedded finance” to its core proposition, which it asserts currently connects nearly 24 million users to tailored credit card, loan and car finance options through an assessment of credit and affordability data.
The integration of Aro and its 90-strong team is expected to provide ClearScore with “a significant capability in secured lending,” “greater choice for prospective borrowers” and “expertise in identifying financial behavioural patterns through open banking”, the statement continues.
The group claims to have previously leveraged Aro’s tech in the development and launch of its open banking business unit D•One, and confirms that it will now follow a similar route in scaling its debt consolidation loan technology Clearer, which it says “allows direct settlement of consumer debts” through access to both secured and unsecured loans.
“This acquisition allows us to continue our growth by expanding into two complementary areas as a credit broker, namely embedded finance and secured second charge lending,” explains ClearScore co-founder and CEO, Justin Basini.
Basini cites the diversification of the group’s channels and product range for lenders and consumers as “an important step in our strategy”, with ClearScore expecting “a significant growth opportunity in second charge mortgages”, being “a critical part of our debt consolidation proposition and business growth going forward”.
