China credit assessment player gets $160m Series D
Chinese financial technology company Wecash has closed a $160 million Series D round led by Orix Asia Capital and Hong Kong-based property investment and development firm SEA Group.
Existing investors SIG Asia, Forebright Capital, Lingfeng Capital, and Hongdao Capital also took part in the round, along with Sagamore Investments, according to a statement. Wecash will use the new capital to expand its lifestyle service portfolio and to deepen its use of artificial intelligence in data mining, machine learning, and smart cards.
Wecash was founded in 2014 with the goal of using data mining and analysis to provide rapid and accurate credit assessment to help banks make lending decisions. The company bases its assessments on personal information such as income history, online and offline consumption, social network activity, repayment records, and other financial data.
As of January, Wecash claims to have provided hundreds of millions of credit reports for 130 million people. In addition to China, it is present in India, Singapore, Brazil and the US. The company has raised several rounds of VC investment, including a $6.6 million Series A round from IDG Capital in 2014, a $20 million Series B round led by SIG in 2015, and an $80 million Series C last year from China Merchants Venture Capital, Forebright, SIG, Hongdao, and Lingfeng.
Wecash has recently begun to expand its service offering beyond credit assessment, launching a VIP service last year. It will partner with lifestyle service providers in areas such as hospitality, transportation, shopping, and entertainment. These service providers see the company's massive database of consumer information, particularly in the highly attractive 18-30-year-old age group, as a valuable resource for targeting potential customers with special offers and promotions.
Wecash also plans to target these consumers itself through a consumer financial services vertical, along with platforms for online residential rentals and cosmetic surgery.
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