Innovative Approach Reduces Business Risk While Increasing Opportunity for Newcomers to Access Housing by Tapping Into International Credit History

Nova Credit, the fintech unlocking opportunities for those historically excluded from the credit system and companies looking to serve them, and SafeRent Solutions, an innovator in resident screening and renters insurance solutions, today announced a strategic partnership that will make it fast and easy for property managers to run credit checks on newcomer populations.

Historically, a person’s credit history has been bound by country borders. As a result, newcomers to the United States lack any domestic credit history and property managers cannot properly screen them during the application process. This gap not only limits the rental pool for property managers and renters alike, but also introduces potential greater risk to businesses and perpetuates inequalities among underserved populations.

The partnership addresses these challenges by enabling property managers to use Credit Passport® to run credit checks on newcomers as part of SafeRent’s comprehensive resident screening reports and solutions. Credit Passport®, powered by Nova Credit and currently leveraged by major U.S. financial institutions and consumer lenders such as American Express and Westlake Financial, seamlessly and securely enables applicants to transfer their credit records from more than a dozen international credit reporting agencies into a U.S.-equivalent credit report. For SafeRent, property managers armed with this insight can minimize their risk while creating greater opportunity for newcomers to succeed by granting them access to rental housing.

“To serve the broadest spectrum of the rental property market, we must also be able to screen the broadest spectrum of prospective renters,” said Frank Yankovich, CEO, SafeRent Solutions. “That involves not only having the innovative solutions our customers have come to expect from us, but also the best partners and data to fuel them. Nova Credit is the leader in translating international credit scores into actionable data and we are excited to offer Credit Passport® to our customers.”

“We are thrilled to partner with SafeRent and double down on our commitment to making the U.S. housing market more accessible to newcomers. This partnership is a win-win-win: for property managers looking to increase occupancy with responsible renters, for newcomers looking to find a reliable rental they can call home as they build their lives in the U.S., and for the credit data ecosystem where access to data can unlock a more fair and inclusive financial system,” said Nova Credit co-founder and CEO, Misha Esipov. “There are few things more important to newcomers’ success than finding a place to call home and this partnership makes that period of transition a little easier.”

Credit Passport® will be available to SafeRent users effective immediately. To learn more, visit: www.novacredit.com

 

ABOUT NOVA CREDIT

Nova Credit is on a mission to accelerate financial inclusion and help underserved communities gain access to mainstream credit. The consumer-permissioned credit bureau helps U.S. newcomers to use their international credit history to apply for credit cards, auto loans, rental properties and more with the Credit Passport®. Through this offering, the company has built partnerships in about 20 countries to gain real time access to over a billion credit profiles. Founded by immigrants, Nova Credit has offices in San Francisco and New York City, and is backed by leading investors including Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst and Index Ventures, as well as former executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi. Learn more at www.novacredit.com

 

ABOUT SAFERENT SOLUTIONS

SafeRent Solutions is a private corporation with deep experience and history in the resident screening business. Our mission is to be a true business partner to property managers, landlords, and real estate agents and provide quality information to empower good leasing decisions, reduce bad debt, and mitigate risk. SafeRent Solutions is committed to delivering and innovating resident screening and renters insurance solutions, which is the core of our business and key to what we do.