A new Valentine’s Day dating app requires a 675 credit score. Score is a dating app for people with fair to excellent credit that Neon Money Club launched today and encourages financial literacy in partnerships.
“We need to take the conversation to areas where finance isn’t traditionally discussed,” Luke Bailey, co-founder and CEO of Neon Money Club, told Eltrys. Traditional financial awareness approaches are outmoded. To educate, you must first attract their attention. Score makes dating conversational.”
Money is unpleasant to discuss, yet many people value it in relationships. According to CNBC, the majority of Americans think debt is a good cause for divorce. Financial difficulties are a major cause of divorce in the US.
The app concept was born at AfroTech last year. To improve credit health, the Neon Money Club held a party that drew hundreds of people to downtown Austin. Bailey and his crew wondered what they might ask partygoers to make them feel comfortable discussing economics as they queued up.
“What should the minimum credit score be for someone you’re dating?” Bailey stated. “That question became Score.”
The app will be accessible for 90 days, and applicants must be accepted. Bailey said Neon Money Club would run a soft credit check on new users that will not affect their credit reports and will not publish the score on the app. Users may find financially compatible people on the app if permitted. Someone with a 700 score may match someone with an 800 score since credit levels are not used. From there, swipe left or right as normal.
The app’s discriminatory nature will certainly irritate some, particularly because the average U.S. citizen’s credit score is 716, and black and Hispanic people are more likely to have scores below 640. Bailey said that excellent credit is more aspirational than classist when questioned about how the app may perpetuate class division. He also noted that high income and poor credit are feasible. He added that those rejected scores would be routed to financial literacy resources and credit builder Grow Credit to enhance their credit ratings. “Afterwards, those people are sent back to us to qualify for our products,” Bailey added, the loop being purposely positive. “There needs to be more awareness about the doors a good credit history can open.”
In 2021, Neon Money Club began measuring financial literacy and became the first black-owned internet company to establish an AMEX credit card. The card lets consumers turn credit card points into cash for stock market investments.
The startup raised almost $10 million in venture capital, according to PitchBook.
“We need more creative and diverse voices in finance,” Bailey remarked. “This isn’t just our opinion. The industry should expand opportunities for us.”
