In May of last year, Petal announced it had raised a new funding round and was spinning off its infrastructure unit, Prism Data.
But then we heard in November that Petal was struggling and looking for a buyer.
Today, the breaking news is that Petal is being acquired by fellow cash flow underwriting pioneer Empower. When Petal publicly launched its credit card in 2018 it broke new ground as the first card to base its credit decision on cash flow underwriting.
Unfortunately, it never received the traction it needed to be successful, with the last reported number of 400,000 cards issued (as of August last year).
But Prism Data continues as a standalone company, having raised its first round and is working with some big names in fintech and banking.
Empower was founded in 2016 (the same year as Petal) and provides cash advances of up to $250 with decisions made through cash flow underwriting. With the Petal acquisition it will now add a credit card to its offerings.
Empower also announced it completed the acquisition of Cashalo, a consumer fintech based in the Philippines.
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> Credit fintech Petal agrees sale to Empower
www.finextra.com
Empower Finance has agreed to buy US credit fintech Petal and closed the acquisition of Philippines-based Cashalo.
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