Digital banking group Varo Bank announced on Thursday the launch of Varo Believe Program, which is described as an innovative credit building product that includes a Visa credit card and credit monitoring. According to Varo, the Believe Program is aimed at the 45 million Americans who are “credit invisibles,” meaning they have insufficient credit history to qualify for credit – and the millions more who are seeking to improve their credit score.
“The Varo Believe Program is a new kind of credit card program that is linked to a Varo bank account to help avoid runaway debt. The card reserves the money that is spent from a linked Varo bank account in real-time into a secure Vault Account to pay your credit card balance on time and in full every month.”
While sharing more details about the program, Colin Walsh, CEO and Founder of Varo Bank, stated:
“A healthy credit score is so important to many of the foundational aspects of our daily lives – renting an apartment, accessing utilities, buying a car, or even applying for a job in many cases. And access to affordable credit is fundamental to long-term financial health. That’s why we knew that Varo’s first credit card needed to lead with innovation and directly target one of the biggest challenges facing millions of American consumers today: responsibly building, repairing, and accessing credit.”
Founded in 2015, Varo Bank is designed for the millions of Americans left behind by traditional banks, combining the affordability and accessibility of a fintech app with the strength and breadth of services of a bank.
“We’re working toward our mission with a team that uniquely and strategically combines banking veterans with technology experts. The banking experts provide decades of industry experience, and the tech experts can build a mobile app that offers everyone access to premium banking, including quicker access to your money, high-yield savings, and automatic saving tools.”
The bank recently announced a new brand identity and a groundbreaking new campaign, “A bank for all of us,” as part of its first multi-million dollar, integrated brand launch across TV, radio, and out of home in the U.S. Varo also revealed an extensive engagement with Russell Westbrook, nine-time NBA All-Star, NBA MVP, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and designer. Varo reported that Westbrook is now an investor as well as an advisor. Varo further noted that Russell Westbrook Enterprises, who was exclusively advised by Jefferies LLC in this transaction, led the digital bank’s latest investment round that raised $63 million.