DirectID backed by IKEA store owner’s investment business

Ingka Investments, which is part of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, has made a minority investment of €9 million in UK-based fintech DirectID, to help fund the expansion of its credit risk offering.

DirectID, which operates globally, specialises in credit risk, risk analytics and predictive modelling based on bank transaction data.

The fintech will use the proceeds to accelerate the launch of the most advanced predictive models, for credit and risk, built from Open Banking data, as well as to grow its offering to include new markets.

DirectID will also use the investment to accelerate the development of models for each stage of the credit lifecycle, from originations, through to portfolio management to collections.

“We are pleased to have made this investment in DirectID and are confident of their continued growth in the Open Banking market,” said Peter van der Poel, managing director of Ingka Investments.

“They have developed an innovative solution with the potential to complement and disrupt the traditional credit and risk market and help drive financial inclusion for more people.”

He added: “Open Banking-enabled credit and risk insights is an area we believe can add value to Ingka’s financial services proposition in the future.”

Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems BV, and has three business areas, including IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres.

James Varga, chief executive officer and founder of DirectID, said: “We’re proud to join Ingka Investments’ portfolio of market-leading firms. We are excited to be shaping a new global standard in credit scoring that enhances people’s lives by enabling access to products they need in an affordable way.

“Our coverage, advanced insights and predictive models provide a unique opportunity to achieve this by creating the world’s first real-time, inclusive, credit score based on Open Finance data.”