TransUnion makes strategic investment in Bud

Global information company TransUnion has made a strategic investment in Open Banking data provider Bud, to jointly develop credit, affordability and fraud solutions.

As part of the new partnership, Satrajit “Satty” Saha, CEO of TransUnion in the UK, will join UK-based Bud’s board of directors and will work closely with its executive team on growth objectives.

Satty Saha, CEO of TransUnion UK

Bud’s platform is used by clients to improve the customer onboarding experience and for personal financial management services, while its data intelligence services enable consumers to access affordable lending products.

Earlier this year, Bud partnered with subscription and bill management app Little Birdie to help consumers save money on unused or unwanted subscriptions and recurring payments.

“TransUnion is committed to increasing financial inclusion by continuing to expand the information available to create an accurate and reliable picture of each consumer,” said Saha.

“This strategic investment marks the start of an exciting new partnership with Bud, combining our global infrastructure and insights expertise with Bud’s end-to-end Open Banking platform. This will allow us to grow our Open Banking offering and jointly develop the next generation of credit, affordability and fraud solutions.”

Bud CEO, Edward Maslaveckas, said that the company exists to make financial decisions simple by turning transactional data into “rich customer insight”.

“By partnering with TransUnion, we’re able to combine advanced data intelligence capability with TransUnion’s expertise in financial services,” he added.

“This will drive improved return on investment for all of our customers, by connecting more people, through the banks they trust, to financial products that make their lives better.”

In June last year, Bud raised $80 million in a Series B funding round, based on its work on data enrichment and its data labelling capability.