This fintech startup has launched a free credit score platform for UK companies

Open Risk Exchange (ORX) has launched a platform offering free credit scores for all registered businesses in the UK.

The London-based fintech company has created an online platform which, unlike traditional paid and restricted credit bureau offerings, is said to allow more than four million businesses to check the financial stability of their business and of their customers and suppliers for free.

The platform works by using statistical modelling and machine learning algorithms to deliver one of the supposedly most accurate business risk models in the market. This means results are delivered faster and more accurately than in the past.

Kanishk Walia, co-founder & CEO of ORX, said: “The importance of consumer credit scores has been well publicised in recent years.

“The market has embraced the available technology and advanced, yet the same cannot be said for businesses looking for the same information. There has been no ‘clearscore for business’ until now.

“Our platform means businesses looking to obtain finance and check the risk of their trading partners, or lenders and insurers looking to price the risk of business applicants are given more accurate data to make better decisions quicker than ever before.”

Like the consumer equivalents, ORX provides businesses with a credit score based on past financial history and performance in addition to which it also incorporates a range of publicly available data sources.

The platform will also be used by financial institutions when determining risk levels, insurance premiums and the cost of borrowing, which means ORX will be working closely, both with traditional sources of finance such as banks, new and alternative financing providers and insurance companies.

The company, previously known as TypeScore, was founded in November 2015 by co-founders André Röhrig and Kanishk Walia. Following its emergence from Entrepreneur First, it raised a seed round of funding from Passion Capital in May 2016, improving research and product development in order to launch.

Eileen Burbidge, representing Passion Capital on the company’s board of directors, commented: “When sourcing finance, how much is available and at what cost are absolute fundamentals to businesses. In a world of instantaneous decisions and big data, obtaining a credit score should be simple, quick and accurate. That is exactly what ORX enables.”

The company is also an alumnus of Entrepreneur First, the world’s leading deep technology incubator, which is backed by Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) and Greylock Partners, Mosaic Ventures, Founders Fund and Lakestar.

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