Petal raises $55 million in series C

Petal announced a $55 million Series C round of funding led by Valar Ventures, backers of TransferWise, Stash, BlockFi, Qonto, and Taxfix; to name a few. The round follows a $300 million debt round announced last year. In total, Petal has raised $435 million in equity and debt.

“We’re pleased to once again invest in Petal,” said James Fitzgerald, a founding partner with Valar Ventures. “They have created a better and more modern credit experience, and a game-changing technology platform that’s well-matched to these times. We’re happy to support them as they scale.”

“Traditional credit scores have become less reliable in the COVID economy, forcing mainstream banks to significantly scale back access to credit at a time when many people need it most,” said Jason Gross, Petal’s CEO and co-founder. “Cash flow scoring allows Petal to continue making credit available even in these volatile economic conditions.”

Founded in 2016, Petal wants to helps people build credit, not debt, by providing access to a high-quality Visa® credit card that people can qualify for even if they’ve never used credit before. Instead of relying solely on credit scores, Petal has built proprietary technology that also analyzes banking history—measuring creditworthiness based on income, spending, and savings. This process, referred to as “Cash Scoring”, measures economic fundamentals that aren’t typically considered in a credit approval decision. This helps more people qualify—even in today’s turbulent economy—and enables Petal to make credit accessible on terms tailored to each person’s unique financial situation.

Once approved, Petal provides customers with all the tools they need to build credit and thrive financially. This includes a modern mobile app where members can automate payments, track their credit scores, manage subscriptions, and stay on top of their spending.